Shark Lessons and Research

lessons and research by Lynn Pitts

lapbook created by Ami Brainerd

Library List
The Best Book of Sharks by Claire Llewellyn
All About Sharks by Jim Arnosky
Sharks by Gail Gibbons
Hungry, Hungry Sharks (Level 3 Reader) by Joanna Cole
Everything Kids' Sharks Book by Kathi Wagner
Eye Wonder Shark by DK Publishing

Complete:
Book Log Hotdog Book
Hotdog Book Instructions

Vocabulary
Cartilage: Rubbery material that forms the skeleton of a shark.
Denticles: Small, stiff, thorny scales that make up a shark's rough skin.
Gill: Part of a fish's body that allows it to breathe oxygen. They breathe in oxygen
from the water and release carbon dioxide.
Pup: Baby Shark
Prey: An animal hunted by another for food.
School: A group of fish.

Complete:
Vocabulary Shark Shapes

What are Sharks?

Sharks are fish. They are one of the fastest fish in the sea. Most fish are cold-
blooded. Their body temperature changes with the temperature of the water
around them. Fish breathe with organs called gills. Sharks do not have bones.
Their skeletons are made entirely of cartilage, which is lighter and more flexible
than bone. There are more than 250 species of sharks.
Complete: What is a Shark?

Nine most familiar sharks and their sizes:

Mako Shark- Length: 13 feet

Bull Shark- Length: 12 feet
Leopard Shark- Length: 7 feet
Whale Shark- Length: 60 feet
Great White Shark- Length: 24 feet
Great Hammerhead Shark- Length: 20 feet
Nurse Shark- Length: 14 feet
Tiger Shark- Length: 24 feet
Thresher Shark- Length: 20 feet

Complete: Shark Sizes Graph

Each species of shark belongs to a larger group called a family, which include
similar types of sharks.

There are four categories of sharks:

Requiem Sharks:
This is the largest family of sharks. It includes: Tiger, Blue, Leopard, Bull, Blacktip,
Lemon, and Whitetip Sharks.

Mackerel Sharks:
This is the second largest family of sharks. It includes: Great white, mako, and
porbeagle sharks.

Hammerhead Sharks:
The third largest family of sharks includes: Bonnethead, Scalloped Hammerhead,
and Great Hammerhead Sharks.

Carpet Sharks:
This large family includes: Nurse, Whale, and a wide variety of Carpet Sharks.
Complete: All in the Shark Family Triangle

Anatomy
Shark skin is covered with tiny tooth-like scales that make it feel like sandpaper.
Male and female sharks are similar in color, shape and size. Parts of a typical shark
include first dorsal fin, second dorsal fin, anal fin, pelvic fin, pectoral fin, gill slits,
nostrils, eyes, mouth and spiracle.

Eyes: Sharks can move their eyes in their sockets to see in different directions.
They do not have eyelids, but many species have movable, transparent,
membranes that cover and protect the eyes when attacking and eating.
Dorsal Fin: Large fin keep the shark from rolling over.
Pectoral Fin: Moves the shark up and down.
Caudal Fin: Pushes itself through the water.
Denticles: Tooth-like scales that cover and protect the skin from bites and
scratches.

Complete:
Diagram to Label
Shark Parts Tab Book

Shark Senses
Sharks need all their senses to locate food. Sound travels over great distances and
moves quickly. A shark can locate prey by sight or smell, by sensing movement
with its lateral line, and by picking up electrical impulses through its sensory pores.
Sharks can smell food over great distances. The scent of blood in the water can
attract dozens of sharks and trigger a feeding frenzy. Sharks also use their sensory
pores to pretaste food by bumping it with their snouts. A shark uses sight to find
prey. It can spot movement and recognize light and dark objects. Sharks are color
blind and also have difficulty identifying shapes.

Complete: Sense-ational Hunters Flap

Shark Teeth
Sharks have up to seven rows of teeth. When a tooth falls out the one behind
moves in and takes it's place. The front row has about 40-45 teeth. The teeth of
living sharks are pure white. They vary in shape from species to species.
Sharks can't chew their food. If a meal is too big to swallow then it will shake it
from side to side to tear it into chunks. Sharks can lose up to 30,000 teeth in their
lifetime. A few teeth drop out during each mealtime, and new ones move up to
take its place.

Complete: Shark Teeth

Diet
Many sharks are at the top predators (at the top of the food chain). Top predators
eat many types of animals, but few animals eat them. Many sharks are picky on
what they will eat, but if food is scarce they will eat most anything. Sharks hunt
mainly fish, squid, octopus, crab and shrimp. They will also eat bodies of dead
animals. Some sharks hunt alone or in groups called schools.

Complete: Matchbooks (complete diet)

Where do Sharks Live?

Sharks can be found in all the oceans except the coldest waters around Antarctica.
Some inhabit along coastlines and coral reefs, and others live in deep water. Some
types of sharks can swim in salt water and fresh water.

Complete: Where Sharks Live (pop-up)

Shark Relatives
Sharks are related to skates and rays. Their relatives are called elasmobranches.
They all have cartilage skeletons.

Complete: Matchbooks (complete relatives)

Baby Sharks
Shark babies or pups, are born in a couple of ways.Some shark species lay eggs.
Laying them in underwater weeds and grasses. Some mothers carry their pups in a
sac inside their body for about 10-12 months. Some are carried for 2
years. Female sharks give birth to fully developed baby sharks tail first.

All shark pups are miniature versions of their parents. Once born they must fend
for themselves. A mother shark can give birth to up to 48 pups in her lifetime.

Young sharks mainly eat small fish and tiny shrimp.

Complete: Babies

Shark Species

Great White:
This shark is also known as the white shark. They have been found in all oceans.
Both deep and shallow water. They eat salmon, tuna, dolphins, porpoises, other
sharks, and the bodies of dead whales. It surprises it's prey by attacking from
behind and below.

Hammerheads:
Some scientist believe there head is shaped like it is to help them smell and feel
electrical charges better. It also might help the shark turn quickly.
They eat small fish, other sharks, crustaceans, and stingrays. They usually hunt at
night. They live in warm, shallow ocean waters. These sharks swim south in winter
and north in summer.

Tiger:
They are named from the stripes they have on their sides when they are young.
These sharks will eat most anything including license plates, and tin cans.
They spend most of their time in deep waters near coral reefs. They eat lobster,
squid, fish, sea turtles, birds and smaller sharks. They have also been known to eat
people.
Whale:
These are the largest fish in the world. They are found in warm oceans and seas.
They swim alone and in schools. They have gills that are covered with thousands of
tiny hooks. They simply swim with their mouth open and pick up plankton, shrimp,
and small fish.

Nurse:
They live at the bottom of shallow water. They eat at night and lie in dark spots
during the day. They eat crabs, shrimp, lobster, sea urchins, and fish.

Complete: Species Cards & Pocket

Shark Safety
Most sharks attack in shallow water. There are about 30 different species of sharks
that have reported to have attacked humans. Many great white's have mistaken
people paddling on surfboards for prey. From below, they look like a seal or sea
lion. Noise travels a long way under water. The splashing and noises from rescue
crew can attract sharks from several miles away. Shark attacks are rare. You are
more likely to get a bee sting or attacked by a dog than a shark.

Never go in the ocean with an unhealed cut.

Wade only where you can see the ocean floor.
Avoid dark water.
Never swim in the ocean at night.
Never touch a small or injured shark.
If you fall overboard into the ocean, do not shout, splash, or kick your legs.

Complete: Shark Safety

Sharks in Danger
Sharks are important to our oceans and seas. They help keep it healthy by eating
sick animals. Scientists are researching shark's bodies as it may cure cancer in
people. Some shark's are killed for sport for there meat, to make leather from their
skins and for their fins. Others are killed by accident with boats and fishing nets.
Sharks may help us, but we are their worst enemy.
At least 100 million sharks are caught each year for food or sport. We are killing
sharks faster than they are being born as some species only have one pup at a time
and may take several years to have them. There are many species of sharks that
are in danger of becoming extinct.

Scientists are studying sharks to find out more about them such as how long they
live, how fast they grow and how far they swim. They put sonic tags on their fins
which give out signals to help follow them. The more they know about them, the
better chance they have in helping them from becoming extinct.

Complete: Hurt/Help Flap

*Cover image used with permission from www.earth-touch.com

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. © Homeschool Share
Print on cardstock. Cut out pieces. Write appropriate vocabu-
lary words on each piece. Stack together with cover on top
and attach with brad where indicated.
a group of fish
Cut each piece out. Write one way to stay safe on each piece. Stack together with cover on
top and staple.
Cut each piece out. Write one “shocking” shark fact on each piece (include tidbits
from books that fascinate your student). Stack together on top of the template (with
cover on top) and staple as indicated.

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. © Homeschool Share
Cut the book out as one piece. Fold in half. On the inside write about shark classi-
fication or how sharks are fish. List other defining characteristics of sharks as
well.

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. © Homeschool Share
 How do How Are
Sharks Help? Sharks Hurt?

Cut out book as one piece. Cut line between flaps. Fold flaps down. Write answers
under flaps.
This is a pop-up book. First, print book on cardstock. Mountain fold the book in half on the dotted line. Snip the two
solid lines. Fold that flap down towards you on the dotted line. Now, valley fold the book in half, on the dotted line, pop-
ping the box to the inside of the book. Cut out the shark and color it, if desired. On the box marked “glue” glue the
shark sitting level with the paper. Make sure it lies flat when closing the book. In the blank area, have your student
write where sharks live.
glue
Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. © Homeschool Share
Cut out book. Fold each triangle flap under. Fold book in half on dotted line. When you open the book, there should be four flaps to life and record infor-
mation.
Cut pocket out as one piece. Fold back up. Wrap flaps around the back and glue down.

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. © Homeschool Share
Print cards on cardstock, if desired.
Write facts on the back of each card.
60 feet

55 feet

50 feet

45 feet

40 feet

35 feet

30 feet

25 feet

20 feet

15 feet

10 feet

5 feet

Leopard Nurse Whale Thresher Tiger Great White

Cut out graph on previous page. Fill in as appropriate. Fold in thirds. Cut and paste on cover
piece, if desired. Use blank book as desired.
 Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. © Homeschool Share
Cut out book as one piece. Fold left side in. Fold right side in. Open book. Cut on dotted line to form four flaps.

Sensory
Pores
Sight
Smell
Refold book.
Cut books out. Fold on lines (matchbook style).

RELATIVES DIET

I’m
A

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. © Homeschool Share
Complete diagram. Cut out and fold in half. Cut and paste cover piece to the front.

First Dorsal Fin

Second Dorsal Fin

Snout

Caudal Fin
Pelvic Fin
Gills
Anal Fin
Pectoral Fin

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. © Homeschool Share
Cut pieces out. Write one fact on each piece.
Stack together with cover on top and staple.
 YES YES YES YES
I liked this book I liked this book I liked this book I liked this book
Author: Author: Author: Author:
Title: Title: Title: Title:
Title: Title:
Finding folding instructions
here.
This is the back cover of your
hotdog book. Paste it to your Author: Author:
I liked this book I liked this book
YES YES
Cut the strips along the solid outer lines. If there is a rectangle piece in the right
corner of the strip, cut it off as indicated (remove this area). Stack your strips in
order with cover on top and staple where indicated.

Pectoral Fin REMOVE THIS AREA (Cut away so you have just a tab left)

Dorsal Fin REMOVE THIS AREA

 Eyes

Caudal Fin
REMOVE THIS AREA

Denticles
REMOVE THIS

Materials and information may be used for your own personal and school use.
Material may not be used for resale or shared electronically. © Homeschool Share
Fold paper in half. Cut around tooth shape. Write a title on the
front, if desired. Write about shark teeth on the inside of the book.