Shark Week: Take A Bite Out Of Learning

Discovery’s Shark Week is upon us, as it’s set to kick off August 9th. So who’s ready for shark week? We are!!! My son, a budding marine biologist, looks forward to this week every summer. Not only do we watch the shows on Discovery, but we make an event out of it. I team up with my good friend, Nicolette, to provide our kids with a week full of crafts, science experiments, and eat tasty treats. Here’s a look at what we did last summer.

Science

Water Density Float an Egg Activity This is a simple experiment to gain an understanding of density. All that is needed is salt, a cup filled with water, a spoon and an egg. Salt is added to the water one teaspoon at a time until the egg comes to float. The salt water becomes denser than the egg. The density of the salt water makes it easier to float in the ocean than in a lake.

Shark Buoyance – Which is more buoyant air or oil? In this experiment we learn how the sharks fatty liver keeps them buoyant. For this experiment you need: a toilet paper roll. 3 pennies, 2 balloons, packaging tape, and a bucket or sink filled with water.

Layers of the Ocean Jar – To learn the layers of the ocean and reinforce what we learned about density, we filled a jar with liquids of different densities and colors. The liquids stay separated in layers, representing the ocean. An Ocean Layers Worksheet gave the children a visual aid to compare their jars to.

Reading

I highly recommend the picture book Misunderstood Shark!!! By Ame Dyckman. I love this book! My kids get the biggest kick out of it. Plus it gives true shark facts throughout the story. 

For the upper elementary students, I recommend Sharks! By Animal Planet .

Art

Mosaic Shark Suncatcher 

• Supplies:
  • Coloring sheets with sharks (example https://www.lifeissweeterbydesign.com/shark-color-pages/ )
  • Crayons / markers
  • Scissors
  • Tissue paper in white and blues
  • Contact paper

• Color in the sharks and other sea related objects. Then cut them out.
• Cut or tear the tissue paper into 1″ squares or smaller.
• Cut 2 pieces of contact paper the same size (ours were about 18″). Peel off the back so the sticky side is facing up. Then arrange the cutouts on the contract paper.
• Next fill the empty space with the tissue paper squares.
• Now take the other piece of contact paper and start to peel off a small portion of the paper. Line it up with the decorated paper, glueing the two pieces together (Note, it’s best to peel little by little as you go so you don’t get wrinkles in the contact paper). Smoothe out the picture and voila! 

Writing

Here are some FREE resources for writing activities:

• Pre-K and Kindergarten https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sharks-FREEBIE-Zoo-Animal-Research-Mixed-w-Authentic-Literacy-Practice-3333225 
• Read & write activity 1st – 3rd https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Shark-vocabulary-activityRead-Write-the-room-FREEBIE-1st-3rd-1248488 
• Research & write 4th – 5th https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Independent-Research-Informative-Writing-Great-White-Sharks-1574993 

Geography

There are OVER 500 SPECIES OF SHARK! They can be found in all five of the world’s oceans. Sometimes sharks (specifically the bull shark) can even be found in freshwater lakes and rivers. 

To learn the 5 oceans plus the seven continents download this FREE packet. It’s designed for 2nd – 4th grade.

Snacks

My friend, Nicolette, did a wonderful job decorating and making shark themed snacks! It just added to the excitement for the kids. 

A healthy snack of fruits and veggies. Look at this watermelon carved out like a shark!

LifeSaving Punch – refreshing punch served with a straw containing Gummy Lifesavers!

Respect Not Fear

The majority of shark species are classified as threatened or endangered. According to the IUCN Shark Specialist Group , 64 species of open ocean (pelagic) sharks are threatened with extinction. Sharks are apex predators making them extremely important for a healthy ecosystem. Learning about these fascinating creatures can help us gain respect for sharks, and realize their importance to our oceans health. This will lead to greater efforts to conserve these creatures who have been around for 450 million years. 

Have a FINtastic week!