Introduction:

Stimulate the children's thinking by having them give their prior knowledge about sharks.

Materials:
Pencils, paper, crayons, markers, books about sharks, Internet sites, encyclopedias, films.

Procedures:

1. Ask each student to record what they know about sharks.  
2. Make a classroom chart to refer back to during the remainder of the project.  
3. Ask the students to make predictions about what a shark looks like by having them draw a shark on a sheet of manila paper.  
4. These can then be displayed on a bulletin board in the classroom.  
5. Visit the Zoom Web site and read about various sharks.  Locate which types of sharks can be found in your area.  
6. Scan newspapers to find shark sightings.
 
Home Learning:

Have the students create a Venn diagram which compares and contrasts two types of sharks.

Evaluation:

Create a shark coloring guide to be used by divers.  A minimum of five sharks must be included in the guide.
 
Extension: Shark-shaped poetry

• Have students write a poem about sharks using desktop publishing software such as The Student Writing Center, ClarisWorks/AppleWorks or Microsoft Word and place a copy into the student's writing portfolio.
• Draw or trace a shark body on a piece of paper
• Write

line 1. the name of the shark
line 2. two words that tell the enemies of the shark
line 3. three words about what the animal eats
line 4. four words that describe what a shark looks like
• Proofread, spell check, print
• Share with class

Take the students to visit an aquarium or take a virtual fieldtrip to the Monterey Aquarium. Observe the sharks that dwell in the water. Students will design their own shark exhibits in diorama form.

Resources:

Michaels, Joel. Shark Watch. Worthington Press: St. Petersburg, Florida. 1997.

Anton, Tina. Sharks Sharks Sharks. Raintree Steck-Vaughn: Austin, Texas. 1992