Shark Week Fun

Learning about Sharks

Shark Baby follows a baby shark as he explores his undersea world in a quest to “find himself.” His egg case becomes dislodged and washes away, and Baby Shark sets out to discover what kind of shark he is. As he explores the ocean bottom, he encounters other types of sharks and ocean life, and ultimately learns what type of shark he is in a surprising way.

Keeping young readers guessing until the end, with many details about ocean creatures and habits explained clearly, Shark Baby is wonderful preparation for a trip to the beach or to an aquarium, or to get into the spirit of Shark Week. In addition, the “For Creative Minds” section contains reproducible activities about sharks and shark egg cases that extend the learning opportunities even further.

I like how sharks are portrayed in a non-scary way, and how the book shows them as beautiful and interesting creatures. Shark Baby is well-written and beautifully illustrated, and geared toward kids from preschool to mid-elementary age.

Click here for additional book resources from Arbordale, including free printables and teaching activities for:

• reading and language arts
• science
• math/math word problems
• geography
• coloring pages
• interactive quizzes for reading comprehension
• alignment to state and core standards

Creatures of the Deep

There is an abundance of life in the deepest parts of the ocean that you wouldn’t even imagine! A Day in the Deep explores the ocean depths and features many fascinating creatures and how they survive in these dark habitats.

Written in rhyme, the facts about the unique habitats, lifestyles, and food chains in the ocean deep are presented in a fun way:

Descending five hundred feet deeper, there in the blackest of darks, a vampire squid turns inside-out to hide from an oncoming shark.

The difficulty of the vocabulary along with the rhyming text make this book best suited for reading aloud to a young audience. The full-page glowing illustrations hold my son’s interest and pique his curiosity. Did you know that some sea creatures can light up? Or that some creatures never, ever see the sun? These and many other facts are covered in this book.

The “For Creative Minds” section includes activities about deep ocean habitats, ocean life zones, glowing animals, and life under pressure. Like Shark Baby, this cross-curricular book covers language arts, math, and science skills and is correlated to core and state standards. Visit the Arbordale website for free teacher helps, including a downloadable activity guide with lesson plans, worksheets, and other free printables.

Check out our Pinterest board for more fun resources for Shark Week!
Follow Learning Table ‘s board Fish and Oceans on Pinterest.

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