Myth or Fact: 3 - 5 min
Blue Sharks Article: 15 - 30 min
Sharks in Oregon: 15 - 45 min
Shark Shapes: 5 - 10 min
All sharks look the same: 45 - 60 min
Shark Physiology: 20 - 40 min
Careers & Conservation: 20 - 40 min
Total Lesson Time: 128 - 230 min (2 hours, 8 min - 3 hours, 50 min) *Note: to fit this lesson into an hour, the shark Venn diagram or shark dichotomous activities can be completed along with the “Sharks can’t be endangered” and “Sharks have no predators” sections
Introduction
Image description:
First comic shows an otter wearing a red and white striped shirt sitting on a beach talking to a shark.
Otter asks: Should we go?
Shark replies: Yeah, let me just get my costume ready.
Second comic shows the otter sitting on the beach with the shark in the water.
Otter sits on the beach.
Shark says: I'm jaws (his head is above the water and all of his teeth are showing.)
Image description:
First comic shows a hammerhead shark holding a white t-shirt that says sharks rule. An otter and a dolphin swim nearby.
Dolphin asks: How are you even gonna wear that?
The second comic shows the shark with the t-shirt over his head with just his eyes showing.
Image description:
First comic shows two sharks talking to each other. The shark on the left is looking at a shark fin and the shark on the right is pointing at the fin.
Shark on the right says: OMG! Shark!!!
The second comic shows the sharks talking.
The shark on the left says: Dude, we're sharks.
You will need a few pages for this lesson, so it would be a good idea to label the first page you use “sharks” to help identify the section (using color to write this title can also help!). Take a few minutes with your field journal (using a pencil) and mark whether you think the following statements about sharks are myths or facts. As you complete this lesson, correct yourself as you learn the answers.
After reading the article, do you have any questions about sharks? Write them down in your nature journal. Also, on the bottom half of the page or on the next page, write down anything you think you already know about sharks.
Myth or Fact? Part 1
Myth or Fact: There are no sharks in Oregon
Myth. There are lots of sharks off the Oregon Coast; just because you don’t hear of shark attacks does not mean there are no sharks there. Sharks, like other marine animals often migrate vast distances, and aren’t constrained by state or country borders, so they can be found in some surprising locations.
Did you wonder why sharks and other marine animals migrate? And how they navigate or travel long distances? Or did you wonder, after reading the article, what are ocean currents? Check this out:
What you’ll need: (this experiment is optional as it requires some items you might not have available to you)
Hot water or hot juice, cocoa, milk, or tea (and an adult’s permission or help)
Very cold (ice) water and food coloring
A clear baking dish or bowl
Myth or Fact: Sharks are man-eating predators.
Let’s get one thing straight: Sharks are friends not food, and they think the same thing about us. Have you ever had to do a double-take of somebody walking down the street or of the moving thing in the corner of your bedroom (whew, it’s just the cat)? Sharks do the same thing but, just like babies, they test everything with their mouths, and to double-check they give a little feeling bite. But can you blame them?
Take a look at the purple shapes, can you tell which one is the seal, the surfboarder, and the turtle? Sharks look at shapes swimming above them like most people look at the cars driving by them: they can tell you the general shape, but not the details.
Try it out: From memory (no peaking), draw the door nearest you. When you are done with your drawing, look at that door. Did you remember that it was open or closed, or that the color differs on the inside or outside? How did you do?
Remember that sharks look at the general shape and not the details so it’s better to give sharks their space (just like you do the crying toddler at the grocery store).
So sharks aren’t scary, now what? Let’s see if we can answer some of your shark questions and bust a few shark myths you may have heard of!
Myth or Fact: Sharks are all the same / All sharks look like Great Whites
Believe it or not, all of these are sharks, and all of these sharks can be found off the Oregon Coast. Check out the Oregon Aquarium’s “Shark of Oregon” pamphlet and pick a shark that looks interesting. Then, see if you can find a shark that looks completely different. Compare the two: Do they have the same range and habitat? What is their conservation status? What’s a fun fact about each?
Draw a Venn Diagram (like the one shown) about the sharks you picked. Then, answer the form to tell us about one of the cool sharks you learned about!
As you can see, and as you learned, there’s a lot of biodiversity (or differences in living things) in the ocean biome, and that’s just in types of sharks off the Oregon coast, think about the wide variety of plants, animals, and bacteria in the whole ocean!
But, as you demonstrated in your Venn Diagram, there are similar characteristics that sharks have. We can use these characteristics to identify sharks too!
Shark Anatomy
Anatomy, or the structure of an organism, can be used to identify, classify, and differentiate organisms. Try your hand at some shark identification using this dichotomous key. A dichotomous key is a chart that you can use to determine the identity of an organism or feature by answering questions one at a time and following your answers to another question.
Here’s an example of a Dichotomous Key about the Fall 2019 Camp Magruder Outdoor School Staff.
You could follow the orange path and say yes the staff has long hair, yes they sing Ricky the Rock, yes they give out lots of beads, but no they don’t smell like coconuts and you’d identify that the staff member was Sun Bear.
Or you could follow the blue path and say no they don’t have long hair, no they don't introduce themselves in Spanish, yes they ride a bike at camp, but no they’re not a Field Instructor, and you’d identify that the staff member was Nurse Happy Feet.
Try it Out: Can you make a dichotomous key of your family or your friends? Draw it on a piece of paper and give it to your adult, you might have to come up with some creative or silly questions to differentiate yourself from your siblings or members of your household!
This dichotomous key is about sharks in Florida from the FWC Fish and Wildlife Institute, but some sharks found all the way out there can be found in our neck of the woods too!
Use the slideshow images and labels to help you follow the dichotomous key to the correct shark species. Stumped? The answer is hidden in the corner on each slide.
Myth or Fact? Part 2
Myth or Fact: Sharks have to keep swimming or they sink to the bottom of the ocean and die.
Let’s dissect this statement, because it has two parts. The first says sharks have to keep swimming or they die. This part of the statement is true for some sharks, but the second half of the statement makes the whole sentence false. Sharks do not have to swim to keep from sinking, they swim to keep water moving through their gills to breathe.
What you’ll need: (this experiment is optional as it requires some items you might not have available to you)
A bowl of water
A rubber band or hair tie
A coin, button, or other small and waterproof object
Small plastic bottles (like old travel shampoo bottles)
Vegetable Oil
Myth or Fact: A Shark’s fins are as aerodynamic as an airplane
Fact! Just like a cheetah’s body has adapted to be fast and an owl’s eyes have adapted to help them fly at night, a shark’s body is often adapted to give them their apex predator status. Try it yourself:
Myth or Fact: It is a whole career to study sharks.
Fact! Mads St Clare is a British Tropical Marine Biologist and Dive Master. She didn’t know she wanted to be a Marine biologist. She went to school in the UK for general biology, and then specialized in Marine Biology. She didn’t fall in love until she saw her first coral reef.
She was scared of sharks and struggled to learn how to dive before she became a marine biologist, but now devotes her time to saving sharks and promoting marine conservation and education! After seeing the destruction of oceans first hand, she is becoming an ocean advocate with nonprofits like “The Marine Diaries”, “Women in Ocean Science”, and a podcast called “Oceanpoddy”.
Myth or Fact: Sharks can’t be endangered because they’re apex predators.
Myth, sharks have no natural predators, but humans certainly hunt sharks for sport, food, and medicinal purposes. But is hunting, even endangered species, always bad?
Reflect in your Field Journal:
How does it make you feel that shark fin soup is considered a delicacy?
How do we separate what animals we eat or keep as pets, or what animals are for food and which aren’t? Why?
If an indigenous group of people have always hunted a certain animal or gathered a certain plant, should they be allowed to continue even if the organism is now endangered?
Who causes organisms to become endangered? Is it indigenous communities, large corporations and businesses, or someone else?
A lot of hate goes to indigenous communities who hunt and use endangered plants and animals, but for these cultures, hunting or harvesting those things are a sacred or revered ritual that were based on survival and what was best for the management of the ecosystem. Read this article from Scientific American called “What Conservation Efforts Can Learn from Indigenous Communities”
Reflect in your Field Journal:
Did the article change your position on anything? Why or why not?
What role do indigenous communities play in conservation efforts?
