Sharks: Help Or Hurt?

Sharks: Help Or Hurt?

Many people are afraid of sharks. They think sharks will hurt them. Some people know that sharks are important. They know that sharks keep the ocean healthy.

Think about these shark problems.

1. There are over 400 kinds of sharks. Only twenty-five kinds of sharks will hurt people.

Write twenty-five in numerals.

______

2. The biggest shark is a whale shark. It is fifty feet long.

Write fifty in numerals.

______

How tall are you?

______feet

What is bigger – you or a whale shark?

______

3. The smallest shark is a dwarf lantern

shark. This shark is only six inches long.

Write six in numerals.

______

Name two other things that are about six inches long.

Dear Colleague,

We at Maggie’s Earth Adventures have been concerned about sharks since the days we first came online back in 2000. Our first animation is an example of our commitment to the problems of overfishing. We hope you will take a look at A Great Catch on our site, www.missmaggie.org.

We find it interesting that fear of sharks greatly increased in the United States after the release of the first Jaws movie. Since that time, organizations have worked to help people understand the important role that sharks play in the ocean ecosystem. We often have our children create food chains, like mobiles of predators to decomposers, etc. They may make paper cup towers showing these food chains. But one of the aspects of these creative representations of food chains is too often overlooked. That is the importance of the layers of the food chain, especially those at the apex of the chain. Top animals like sharks help to keep the ocean ecosystem in balance. They keep smaller creatures like plankton from overtaking the ecosystem. This is one of the many reasons sharks need protection. The highly endangered shark often has a “bad” reputation. The next generation can help correct this.

Your children may want to write a class letter from the viewpoint of a shark. This allows practice of the important literacy skill of point of view but also allows children to articulate the problems sharks face. Have children learn more about other endangered animals – use www.missmaggie.org for reference! You can find information about animals in the cartoons, Herd of Elephants. Here you will find a field guide complete with pictures and information about conservation status. Enjoy!

Happy teaching,

Dr. Kathy

Encourage children to share and discuss their responses.

Goals:

Children will read key facts and figures about sharks. The text is written at an appropriate level for emerging readers. They use the information to understand mathematical concepts about sharks. This activity is also available on the primary and intermediate levels. The emergent level is aligned with Common Core Math, Counting and Cardinality and with NCTM’s Content Standard, Number and Operations, and with the Process Standard, Problem Solving.