Sea Creature Cards | Visual Flashcards

Printable realistic sea creature cards — ideal for vocabulary building, science topics, SEND learners and early years.

These Realistic Sea Creature Cards are a versatile, high-quality printable resource designed to help children learn about marine life through visual, verbal and spelling tasks. With realistic images of sea creatures, these cards support vocabulary development, classification, spelling practice, and science learning.
Designed with inclusivity in mind, this resource is especially effective for neurodivergent learners (including those with ASD), SEND settings, early years and KS1 classrooms.

What’s Included
A PDF set of sea creature cards with realistic illustrations.
Matching cards for picture + word
Clean, uncluttered design to support focus and recognition.
Sized to print on A4 or smaller; works well laminated.

Who This Resource Is For
Early Years (EYFS) and KS1 students
Learners with ASD, ADHD or SEND who benefit from visual supports.
Teachers, teaching assistants, speech & language therapists.
Science / Biology topic lessons on ocean or marine life.
Home educators, parents, and carers.

How to Use It

1. Say & Learn: Show the picture, encourage children to say the name of the creature out loud. Reinforces vocabulary and speaking.
2. Spelling Practice: Use the cards for children to write the names of the creatures, or use them as a spelling quiz / test.
3. Topic Integration: Use in science lessons about oceans, marine habitats, or biodiversity.
   . Intervention & Support: Use in SEND classrooms or therapy to build literacy, vocabulary and science knowledge in a structured, scaffolded way.

Why It’s Useful
Builds marine vocabulary using realistic visuals — helps children connect the appearance of each creature with its name. Similar to other high-quality resources on TES.
Supports speech & language development: saying and spelling reinforce word recall.
Encourages literacy and spelling skills in a science context.
Promotes visual learning — realistic images help attention and recognition.
Adaptable: great for group work, 1:1 teaching, classroom science corners or home learning.

Practical Tips & Extensions
Laminate the cards so they last longer and can be used again and again.
Use velcro / magnetic boards to display and sort the cards.
Combine with a writing activity: after matching, ask children to write 1–2 facts about each sea creature (or draw them).
Include in a sea life unit: pair with worksheets about habitats, food chains, or conservation.
Use as memory / recall game: after using the cards, remove the words and ask children to remember and spell names from the pictures alone.