How to Celebrate Shark Week in Your Elementary Classroom!

Shark Week! Every year I have a student or two who is obsessed with sharks. Why not capitalize on this interest with some fun Shark Week activities? Let’s dive right in and explore these Jawsome ways to celebrate Shark Week in your classroom! Sharks and Ocean Animals also make a “fintastic” Summer School theme! This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase through these links I will receive a small commission at no cost to you!

What is Shark Week?

Every year the Discover Channel has a week where they feature shark-based programming! It has become a popular time of year. You may not be in school during the actual shark week, but this would be a great idea for the last weeks of school when testing is all done. Keep your students engaged and interested with super fun shark activities. Can’t do a whole week? I gotcha! You can always just do a Shark Day instead!

Read about Sharks!

Reading books about sharks will get your students excited about the different types of sharks. There are so many great books about sharks. This is a great way for your students to read non-fiction and fiction titles. Taking the time to discover and learn about different types of sharks can be a fun and educational experience for your elementary school students. Here are a few Shark Book ideas to get you started (these are Amazon Affiliate links):

Write about Sharks

After doing all that reading about sharks, it is always fun to do some writing about sharks! You could have your students do some non-fiction writing and do a report or make a mini-book of shark facts! There is a free mini-book template in my Free Resource Library if you need one!

Another way to incorporate different shark species into your classroom is by having your students create their own shark fact trading cards. Each student can choose a different species of shark to research and write about. They can then share their facts with the class and create a bulletin board display showcasing their work.

You could try these super fun Shark-themed Cootie Catcher Writing Prompts! Kids love cootie catchers (or fortune tellers). These are great for getting their creative writing juices flowing! You can check out this video for how to use these hands-on writing prompts with pictures (the video shows Fall Writing Prompt Cootie Catchers, but they are used the same way no matter what the theme).

Another fun way to get your students’ creative writing juices flowing is with these Picture Prompts! Students choose one item from each category (Character, Setting, Plot), and write the story! My students always LOVED these. They are also a great addition to your writing center!

Math for Shark Week

Gotta have some “jawsome” math activities for your shark week too! You can find this “BANG!” type subtraction game: Shark Attack! In my Free Resource Library. This game would be fun whole group, a small group, or as a math center!

How to play:

1st player takes a card and answers the question. If he or she is correct, they keep the card. If they are not correct, they put the card back on the bottom of the stack. The play follows for the next player. If a player takes a Shark! card, he/she hollers Shark Attack! and then must put all of their cards back on the bottom of the pile. Whoever has the most cards at the end WINS!

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Another fun Math Activity is Ocean Animals Pattern Block Mats! These would be good for a math center, or small group activity. These Ocean Animal Pattern Block Mats, Puzzles, and Challenges will help your students discover, explore, and investigate shapes and mathematical concepts using pattern blocks! Low prep and easy to use! Easy to differentiate as well!

Shark Week STEM

Of course, you will also need a fun STEM activity for your Shark Week! These ocean-themed playdough STEM mats are super easy to set up. Print, laminate, and add playdough! This fun STEM resource also contains technique posters, mini-books, and task cards to help your students get the most out of these fun Ocean and Shark-Themed STEM Challenges.

Shark Week Movement Breaks!

There are plenty of other ways to bring the excitement of Shark Week into your classroom. One popular game is “Shark Attack,” where one student is the shark and everyone else is a swimmer trying to avoid getting tagged. Another idea is to have a classroom-wide scavenger hunt, where students must search for hidden shark-related items around the room.

My kiddos always loved Brain Breaks! Here are some super fun shark-themed movement videos that your students will eat up! Need a little downtime after all of the fun shark-related activities? Put on a little shark ambiance while your students are working!

Shark Week was always a hit! We learned a ton about these amazing creatures and had a great time doing it! I hope you will give it a try. Don’t forget to head over to my Free Resource Library to grab your freebies, and save this post by pinning the image below!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and Happy Teaching!