Free Printables and Unit Studies About Invertebrates

Invertebrates are animals without a backbone. More than 90 % of all the animal species in the world are made up of invertebrates. WOW. That’s a lot of creepy, crawly, squishy, gooey little animals. Are your children fascinated with insects, ocean animals, mollusk type sea shells, or any creepy crawly thing? If so, then it would be fun to do a unit study with them on invertebrates. 

Here are some fun facts about invertebrates:

• They do not have a spinal cord, and most of them have an exoskeleton or a shell, that covers their entire body.
• Invertebrates are cold blooded animals.
• They mostly hatch from eggs.
• Most invertebrates are very small and do not grow large. Except for the giant squid, who is the largest invertebrate ever.
• They do not have lungs and breath through their skin.
• Insects make up the most invertebrates in the world. They are part of the phylum Arhropoda which has over 1,000,000 species! Eeeewwwww.

Since there are so many types of invertebrates, we will not be covering a specific phylum or kind in this post. This is a general round up of learning how to identify invertebrates or understanding what they are. If your children find some they like more than others, then you can dig even deeper about that type for even more learning fun!

In the Ocean Notebook students learn all about life in the ocean, layers of the ocean, the ocean floor, coral reefs, tide pools, and much more.

Vertebrate vs Invertebrate

When you are teaching your kids the differences between vertebrate vs invertebrate, it’s good to get a solid understanding yourself. 

Invertebrates Worksheets

• Invertebrate Facts and Worksheets – Kids Konnect
• Types of Invertebrates Jumpstart Worksheet
• Invertebrates Worksheets – All Kids Network
• Vertebrates and Invertebrates Sorting Mats -Simple Living Creative Learning
• Invertebrate Animal Classification Activities – TPT
• Invertebrates Word Search Printable – Classroom Freebies
• Vertebrates and Invertebrates Research Worksheets – Simple Living Creative Learning

Vertebrates and Invertebrates Worksheets

• Vertebrates and Invertebrates Worksheet – Education.com
• Invertebrates Printable Chart and Video – Loving 2 Learn
• Hands-On Invertebrate Clay Project – Shut the Door and Teach
• Vertibrates vs. Invertebrates Investigation Activity – The Owl Teacher
• Hands-On Sorting of Invertebrates and Vertabates with free Printable – Stir the Wonder
• Invertebrate Study Links and a Jellyfish Craft – The Homeschool Scientist
• Montessori Invertebrate Resources – Living Montessori Now

Invertebrates for Kids

• Interesting Facts About Invertebrates – Thought Co.
• Invertebrates Photographs and Facts – National Geographic
• DK Findout Invertebrates – you can click on the pictures for more facts and information.
• Science Learning Hub has articles, activities, and lesson plans on different types of invertebrates.

Here are a bunch of fun books about different invertebrates:

Invertebrate Zoology (Real Kids/Real Science Books)Classifying Animals into Vertebrates and Invertebrates Octopus, Squid, and CuttlefishBugs & Slugs: A Folding Pocket Guide to Familiar North American Invertebrates (Wildlife and Nature Identification)Teacher Created Materials – TIME For Kids