Ocean animals word search, free printable with pictures
Ten sea animals, from the blue whale to the seahorse, hidden in a 12 by 12 grid with a drawing of each to colour. Page two has the answers and one short fact for every animal, with the page it comes from.
Two pages in each file: A4 90 kB, US Letter 90 kB. Free, with no account and no email address.
The words
The ten ocean animals in the grid, with a fact for each.
WHALEBlue whale
The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever existed, up to about 30 m long.
DOLPHINBottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins address one another by copying each other's signature whistle.
SHARK
A shark's skeleton is made of cartilage, and its teeth are constantly replaced throughout life.
OCTOPUS
An octopus has three hearts and bluish blood, and two thirds of its neurons are in its arms.
TURTLESea turtle
Sea turtles cannot pull their heads into their shells; females nest on the beach where they hatched.
JELLYFISH
Most jellyfish have no central nervous system; the group has existed for at least 500 million years.
STARFISH
Most starfish have five arms, and some species can regrow an arm they have lost.
SEAHORSE
A female seahorse lays up to 1,500 eggs in the male's pouch, and he gives birth to the young.
CRAB
Many crabs can run swiftly sideways, though others walk forwards.
WALRUS
A walrus uses its tusks to keep holes open in the ice and to climb out of the water onto it.
For teachers and parents
What is on the sheet, and how to use it.
- Grid
- 12 by 12 letters
- Names
- Ten to find, 4 to 9 letters long
- Directions
- across, down and diagonally, always forwards
- Pages
- the puzzle, then the answers with ten facts
- Paper
- A4 or US Letter; page 1 is line art and needs no colour printer
Who it suits. Our suggestion is children who already read short words on their own, roughly ages 7 to 11. Younger children can colour the drawings while an adult reads the names aloud. This is our suggestion, not a tested reading level.
How long it takes. We have not timed it with a class. The grid on its own is a short activity; the colouring and the facts on page 2 can stretch it to fill a lesson.
The grid has one word per name; where the full name is longer, the list on the sheet shows it under the word, for example WHALE for blue whale.
In class or at home
- Print page 1 for each child, and page 2 once, for yourself or to share at the end.
- Read the names aloud and look at the drawings together before starting.
- Each child ticks a name in the list when it is found, then colours the drawings.
- Finish with page 2: read a fact or two aloud. Each fact names its Wikipedia page, so older children can look it up and read more.
Questions
Questions about this word search.
Is this ocean animals word search free to print?
Yes. Both PDF files, A4 and US Letter, are free to download and print, with no account and no email address.
Where are the answers?
On page 2 of the same PDF: the grid with every name circled, the drawings in colour, and one short fact for each animal with the Wikipedia page it comes from. Print only page 1 if you want to keep the answers for later.
Which way do the words go?
Across, down and diagonally, always forwards, never backwards. Each of the ten names is in the grid exactly once; our program checks that before the file is made, and also checks that no rude word turns up among the filler letters.
Should I print A4 or US Letter?
Pick the paper in your printer: US Letter in the United States and Canada, A4 in most other countries. In the print dialog choose actual size or 100%.
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All nine on one page: free printable word searches. Or play Field Notes online, with the same drawings and facts in the browser and a new page every day.