Shark Books, Projects, Songs and an Awesome Collection by Destiny For Shark Week!

I love finding picture books that can be turned into wonderful reading and learning experiences for students in the library, classroom and even at home.

Last week I came across How To Survive As A Shark!  From the moment I saw it, I knew it was going to excite readers and hook them into wanting to learn more about sharks.

The author is Kristen Foote and...

 the illustrator is Erica Salcedo.  

Kristen is also the author of How to Survive as a Firefly, which is another one that will lead to lots of creative and meaningful reading, writing, creating and listening.  

You will find Kristen's website here. 

Let me give you a little peak into How To Survive As A Shark now.  I know you will love this book just as much as Hagan and me!  

Inside the book jacket, you will read,

How to Survive as a Shark provides a unique take on fish science that will entertain and educate in and out of the classroom.  

If you've ever wondered how to think and swim like a shark, and you like to laugh, while you learn, this book is for you!  

I love how fun little hidden facts,

quizzes,

funny and amazing illustrations,

detailed sketches,

and intriguing content brings readers into the story wanting to know even more.

Towards the back of the book, you will find some of the best stuff!

There is a Frequently Asked Questions page that is from the voice of a shark.  So funny and interesting....kids will love this and you can turn it into an interesting discussion or project.

There is even an Author's Disclaimer page.....I can't wait to try to connect with Kristen and Erica!

As I was learning more about the book, I even came across this sweet book trailer and an amazing site with even more!  

 You will find tons of How To Survive Activities on Kristen's website here.

 And lots of How to Survive Printable Resources too!  You will find them here.

I love all of these ideas for all areas of the curriculum, including art, music, the library and more.

Think about how this one book cab be the springboard to so many learning opportunities and experiences.  It is also a wonderful book to inspire collaboration between librarians, classroom teachers and even others around the world who are shark experts and enthusiasts.

One of my favorite activities and projects is to have our students create their own digital projects about what they are learning and investigating.

And one of my favorite digital tools and apps to use when they are creating is Buncee!

They will find lots of background, stickers, animations and can even search YouTube videos about sharks to embed into the pages.

Not only is this the perfect way to see and hear what they have learned and know, a Buncee can be used as a tool to make global connections and share their work and voice with others within the community and throughout the world.

Skype in the Classroom is another place to find these connections!

I especially would love to take part in this one...Sharks and Their Amazing Adaptations.  You can request this virtual field trip here. 

Of course this post is timely with Oceans Month 2018 being this month in June too! You can read more about all of the activities and events Skype in the Classroom, Buncee and others are hosting here.

Now, as you get ready for Oceans Month in June, remember that Shark Week is also starting again on July 22.

Animal research and connecting your readers and researchers to the best shark content available is super important and there are three of my favorite things.

One of my favorite places to go to research sharks is PebbleGo Animals and PebbleGo Animales.  PebbleGo will be a favorite stop of your students and teachers too!

First thing I did was type in Sharks into the search bar at the top.

There are 8 different articles on sharks which include awesome photos, a video,

an Activity which has students label each sharks parts,

a Share What You Activity, map and more!

A great series to pair up with the shark articles in PebbleGo is the All About Sharks series from our friends at Capstone and I hear they have an exciting NEW book coming out this fall....

All About Sharks 4D!  With this one, they will really be able to make reading about sharks come to life! 

Think about how meaningful and fun learning and researching sharks, along with lots of other animals, will be for your students.  It was definitely a game changer for our school too.

Second, you must check out Sharks4Kids!  

I love this resource and the goal behind Sharks4Kids.  It contains not only educational materials, but also lots of resources and activities for our kids!  

I can't wait to connect with Sharks4Kids next year as we celebrate and learn more about sharks too.

ONE MORE new book I am super excited about is Misunderstood Shark by....

 Ame Dyckman and...

illustrated by Scott Magoon. 

As it says online, Explosively funny, extraordinarily clever, and even full of fun shark facts, this surprisingly endearing story gets to the heart of what it feels like to be misunderstood by the people around you. With a surprise twist ending, Misunderstood Shark will have kids rolling with laughter!

I can't wait to share this one with my little friends too! 

You will also find some awesome activities, shark quiz and video on this website too. 

And last but not least, to bring all of these resources and more together, I created A Shark Collection by Destiny for all of us to use, share and feel free to make a copy too.  You will find it here. 

If you have something to add or want to be a collaborator, please let me know.  I will continue to add things too. 

Happy World Oceans Month and Shark Week, friends.  I hope you have fun using and sharing these shark resources. 

I added this topic to Capstone Community so if you have something to share, please feel free to share it there too.  You will find it here.