Invertebrates for Kids: Animals Without a Backbone

Invertebrates are animals without a backbone, and they make up about 97% of all animal species. This puzzle has seven of them from very different groups: the crab and the lobster, crustaceans with a hard outer shell; the octopus, the squid and the snail, all mollusks; the spider, an arachnid; and the starfish, an echinoderm.

Starfish fills a whole column of the 8x8 grid. Crab and octopus read backwards, and squid runs upward.

Invertebrates Vocabulary: 7 Words to Find

Words run across, up and down; 3 of the 7 read backwards. The longest word is Starfish, with 8 letters.

Crab: A crustacean with a hard shell, ten legs and two claws.
Lobster: A crustacean of the sea floor with a hard shell and two large claws.
Octopus: A soft-bodied sea animal with eight arms and no bones, known for its intelligence.
Snail: A slow-moving mollusk with a spiral shell.
Spider: An arachnid with eight legs that spins silk. It is not an insect.
Squid: A sea mollusk with eight arms and two long tentacles that can squirt ink to escape.
Starfish: A sea star, an animal with five or more arms that lives on the sea floor. It is not a fish.

How to Solve the Invertebrates Word Search

"Starfish" fills a whole column from top to bottom, and it is the only word with an F or an H. "Squid" has the only Q and runs upward. "Octopus" reads backwards, so look for SUPOTCO.

Vertebrates and Invertebrates Activities

Feel your own backbone, then sort animal pictures into those with one and those without.
Count the limbs: spider 8 legs, crab and lobster 10, octopus 8 arms, squid 8 arms and 2 tentacles.
Ask children which of the seven live in the sea and which on land.