Do you need some simple activity ideas for a shark or marine week at school or home? This mix of real-world science and research-based activities will help children sink their teeth into the jaw-some world of sharks!
Watch a live shark cam
The Aquarium of the Pacific’s Shark Lagoon’s live feed shows zebra, grey reef, and black-tip sharks swimming in their tank. You may even spot the large sand tiger shark! This is an interesting way for kids to observe shark movement and interactions in real-time!
Search for mermaid’s purses
Around a third of sharks as well as their close relatives, rays, reproduce by laying leathery eggs in the water. If you live near a beach, look along the strand line for washed-up egg cases (also known as Mermaid’s purses). Children can note similarities and differences between them, including size, shape, and length/shape of the tendrils (the stringy parts on each end). You could even have a go at identifying the shark or species the egg case came from – there are lots of online and written guides, and the species will depend on your location.
Compare and contrast different shark species
There’s so much variety in the world of sharks! Some lay eggs whilst others give birth to life pups. Some are patterned, others are grey. Have a go at comparing 2 species with these free Venn diagrams. Children can research both species on their sheet and note the shared, and the features specific to each shark.
Use a shark tracker app
The Ocearch shark tracker is a free app that you can use to follow the journeys of sharks tagged by the team. For each shark, you can see a profile showing where it was first tagged, and where it has been. Find out how many miles each shark has travelled and where their tracing device has been logged.
Ocearch also has some free-to-download lesson plans for science and more.
Shark lapbook project
This interactive, hands-on project helps children to learn about lots of different aspects of sharks’ lives. It has activities to explore food chains, a shark’s life cycle, body parts, species of shark, and interesting facts! The templates are ready to print (UK and US paper sizes) and instructions are provided. You can purchase all the templates to make it in my TeachersPayTeachers store or in my Etsy store.
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