I don’t know about your kiddos, but my students have always LOVED learning about sharks. Something about these sea creatures just fascinate little ones (and really all of us if I’m being honest!). I normally saved sharks for the end of the school year when bodies got restless, minds got tired, and engagement needed a spark. It seems like all things SHARK-related normally did the trick. Today I’m going to share 5 of my favorite shark activities with you, as well as a round-up of my favorite shark books.
First, let’s look at shark research activities. For this, I like to pull out all of my shark nonfiction books for students to peruse. We read Sharks by Anne Schreiber, and create a CAN HAVE ARE anchor chart to discuss what we have researched about sharks. It would go something like this:
Sharks can swim fast. Sharks have sharp teeth and fins. Sharks are fish.
This type of a chart allows you to observe an animal in three different ways. I also love involving students when making this anchor chart. Students have sticky notes that they have written on. Then they come up to the class, share their research, and add it to the chart.
After studying different types of sharks, students create a flap-book to share facts about sharks. Students write the shark names on the outside of the flaps. Students write their research about that shark underneath the flap. We pair this with a fun shark craft made from a newspaper.
Both the anchor chart and shark craft can be found HERE.
The second set of activities I want to share involve both fiction and nonfiction books. Students read a nonfiction reader about Great White Sharks. This will give them information that they will use in their writing about the animal. Students also read Clark the Shark to enjoy a little fiction fun. Students use the digital or printable activity to respond to the story as they are reading.
You can find that activity by clicking HERE!
The third shark activity I am going to share is one of my all-time favorite activities… The SHARK SNATCHER! This is actually an activity that incorporates the addition strategy of counting on. Students become the shark and snatch up the greater number. Then they count on from there. Of course their engagement is at an all time high because they get to wear shark harks, roll dice, and more!
You can find this activity HERE! and HERE is a blog post with all the details
Next up on the list is a Shark Poem! I really try to incorporate as many skills as I can when we are ending out the school year. After reading , watching videos, and researching sharks, students have all kinds of knowledge and information to share. They become little fun fact agents. We might as well use that creativity and eagerness towards writing poetry! I’ve done shark poems with acrostic and haikus. Either works great. You can grab this freebie HERE!
Last on the list is a STEM project that is just perfect for the end of the school year. In this group project, students have one mission: SAVE THE SEAL.
Here’s what I gave each group of three students:
12 pipe cleaners
3 pieces of tape
2 pieces of foil
1 rubberband
2 notecards
1 paper cup
a seal to save!
Groups had to work together to plan out how they were going to save the seal. I gave them an image of a shark popping out of water to put on the ground. They had to build a structure that would lift their seal far above the shark! It is always so neat to see what they come up with! My only rules were: You have to use everything in your bag. You cannot use anything extra.
You can find this activity HERE
Of course this post wouldn’t be complete without sharing our all-time favorite shark picture books. I’ve searched through my stash and picked out just the very best to share with you.
Want to save these activities for later? Pin the image below to your Pinterest boards!
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Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
Sample a day of Rooted in Reading with these lesson plans and activities for Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Grammar!
