Ultimate Guide to an Awesome Shark Week
What is it about sharks that is so alluring? Their size? Ferocity?
I’m not sure. I would prefer they stay in the ocean and I stay out of the ocean.
But my kids (and many many other people) seem to love watching sharks, learning about sharks, and just general shark stuff.
So I’ll bite (excuse my lame pun) and provide my kids with a full week of shark learning!
And I’m providing it all here for you to copy/steal/adapt for yourself!
Shark Unit Study
If you need a quick hands-on unit study that’s already put together and ready – this is the thing for you. It’s 5 STEAM projects, 2 writing activities, and a printable set. Nice and easy for a great shark unit study.
If you’d still like more shark resources, scroll on!
Shark Week Unit Study by the Day
This is our plans for shark week (although we’re also adding in the activities from my Shark Unit). There are a ton of resources listed underneath so feel free to substitute anything on this list with something below!
I’ve also asked my kids to all pick a book to read on their own but haven’t listed that here. They’ll use their reading time to finish their own books. But we will also be reading books every day.
Day 1
Poetry Tea Time – Shark Mad Libs and Shark Bait Soda and goldfish
Book – Shark Lady
Experiment – How Do Sharks Float?
Day 2
Art – How to Draw a Shark
Book – How to Survive as a Shark
Math – Measure and compare sharks (using the informational bookmarks to determine length)
Day 3
Book – Wild Kratts – Wild Sea Creatures
Extra Vide0 – Wild Kratts Shark-tastic. (My kids love Wild Kratts so it was a given that we would watch this)
Writing – We will be doing the shark project in my unit study, but we may also use the shark fact sheet from this Shark Journal
Day 4
Game – Shark Life Cycle Game
Book – Hark a Shark
LEGO – Make Shark LEGOs
Day 5
Movie – Finding Nemo
Movie Snacks – Shark Jell-O Cups and Shark Bait Popcorn
Book – Encyclopedia Prehistorica Sharks
Shark Books
There are so so many great shark books that I’ve had to split them up into a few categories – novels, non-fiction, biography, early readers, and picture books.
Finding great books to go with unit studies isn’t always easy. But there are a lot of great options for shark books so you shouldn’t have any problems!
Visit your local library to find as much as possible.
Shark Novels
- I Survived: The Shark Attacks of 1916
- Shark School
- Shark Wars
- Shadow of the Shark
- The Great Shark Escape
- The Great Shark Mystery
- Simon Thorn and the Shark’s Cave (This is the 3rd book in the series)
- Shark Bait
Non-Fiction Shark Books
- Hark! A Shark
- Wild Kratts Wild Sea Creatures
- Sharks by Gail Gibbons
- Sharkopedia
- Sharks and Other Deadly Ocean Creatures
- Fly Guy Presents Sharks
- Sharks and Other Predators (Magic Tree House)
Biography
- Shark Lady: The True Story of Eugenie Clark
- Swimming with the Sharks: The Daring Discoveries of Eugenie Clark
Shark Early Readers
Shark Picture Books
- How to Survive as a Shark
- Shark vs Train
- Shawn Loves Sharks
- Misunderstood Shark
- If Sharks Disappeared
- Sharks Lift the Flap
- Encyclopedia Prehistorica Sharks
Shark Experiments
My kids thrive on hands-on activities so we are always finding new activities to go with our unit studies. Of course, there is nothing like a great hands-on activity to get kids really engaged in a study.
- Why Don’t Sharks Sink? Experiment
- Royal Baloo Shark Unit – multiple experiments included!
- Shark Anatomy Model
- Shark Tooth Dig Kit
Shark Games
We are getting really big into gameschooling so I had to include a few games.
I think playing games with your kids is one of the best ways we can teach things like good sportsmanship, losing/wining with integrity, and how to be a team player. There are so many lessons to be learned from games.
So I feel incredibly lucky that we can involve games into our every day life as include them as part of school!
There are some games that you can print and play and links for a few that you purchase. They all look like great games!
Shark Games to Print
Shark Games to Purchase
- Shark Island
- Shark Bite
- Jaws Yahtzee
- Get Bit
- Crowded Waters
- Chomp
- Shark Bait
- Shark Mania
- Sharky’s Diner
Shark Writing
My kids are not big fans of writing. So incorporating writing into a fun unit study is something I often try to do. It’s a way to get them writing without the groans and sighs.
- Shark Week Journal
- Shark Week Pick a Prompt
- Shark Craft and Writing Prompt
- Copywork in the Royal Baloo Shark Unit
Shark Math
Math is another subject I try to sneak in with unit studies. But I like to include math puzzles more than just math. I call it sneaky math.
It’s fun to say things like ‘I wonder what the biggest shark is’ and ‘I wonder what the smallest shark is’ and then watch them naturally try to work out the difference.
They often don’t even realize they’re doing math.
- Shark Addition Puzzles
- Shark Array Multiplication
- Shark Shenanigans Math (Grades 3-4)
- Shark and Minnows Math Game
Sensory Activities with Sharks
Even though my kids are getting older, they still love sensory time. There is something comforting about playing with slime or watching a sensory bottle with it’s mesmerizing movement.
Shark Arts and Crafts
I still have some crafty kids at home and there are some amazing crafts on Pintereste. I picked a few of my favorites to share here. I just wish we could do all of these for shark week (we might try…).
- Shark Perler Beads
- Make a LEGO Shark
- Shark Origami
- Make a Shark Bookmark
- Newspaper Shark Craft
- Draw a Shark
- Shark Photo Booth
Food for Little Sharks (humans…)
I love completing a theme with some fun food. So I just had to include a few of these fun finds.
I especially love adding themed food to a movie day. How much fun would it be to eat shark bait while watching Finding Nemo? (hopefully a LOT of fun)
Shark Stuff to Watch
My kids will never turn down the opportunity to watch a movie or anything on Netflix. Especially if I refer to it as school time.
These movies aren’t educational and most don’t even show anything realistic about sharks. But they’re fun and entertaining!
Movies
- Finding Nemo
- Shark Tale
- Shark Boy and Lava Girl
- Soul Surfer
- The Reef (make sure to get the animated version, not the horror movie)
- Jaws
Youtube/Netflix
- Great White Sharks by Jonathan Bird’s Blue World
- Netflix has a show called ‘Sharks’ that includes multiple episodes all about sharks
