Vertebrates and Invertebrates Sort

3rd Grade ScienceAnimal Classification3 pages

About this worksheet

This 3-page 3rd grade science sheet sorts 14 animals by whether they have a backbone. A short box defines vertebrates and invertebrates, then students place each labeled picture in the right column, from a dog and a shark to a snail and an octopus. Page 2 adds three questions on insects, an ocean invertebrate and where people belong. The answers page lists both columns in full and gives extra accepted ocean animals such as starfish, clam and lobster. It sits in the Animal Classification topic.

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Curriculum objectives covered

โ€œSort animals into vertebrates and invertebrates by whether they have a backbone.โ€

Page 1 asks for seven animals in each column, from dog and eagle to earthworm and crab.

โ€œPlace familiar animals, including insects and people, in the correct group.โ€

Questions 1 and 3 on page 2 ask about insects and about people.

What's inside this worksheet

Backbone Sort

A shaded box says vertebrates have a backbone and invertebrates do not. Fourteen small labeled pictures sit above a two-column table with seven lines under each heading.

Three Questions

Students write whether insects are vertebrates or invertebrates, name one invertebrate that lives in the ocean, and say which group people belong to.

Answers

Both columns filled in, then a short answer for each question. Question 2 lists other ocean invertebrates to accept.

How teachers use it

Before you teach the words

Hand it out cold and watch where students put the jellyfish, the butterfly and the earthworm. Those three tend to split the room, so they show what each student thinks a backbone means.

Feel for a backbone

Have students find the bumps down their own backs before they sort. It makes question 3 a quick one and ties the new word to something real.

Ocean follow-up

Collect the answers to question 2 on the board. Many students name the octopus or the crab from the sheet, so push for a starfish or a clam to widen the list.

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