Being a Shark Scientist
Level: 5-9 grade
Theme: Sharks
Description: This multi-part lesson allows students to explore the latest, shark-tracking
technology (used by Mote Marine Laboratory scientists) to explore the fascinating world
of juvenile shark ecology. The learning objectives use the excitement generated by
these cool creatures to reinforce the basic skills and methods of conducting scientific
research.
Objectives:
a. Students will use research materials and methods to accumulate background
information on shark biology and ecology.
b. Students will interpret Shark Tracker data to explore shark ecology.
c. Students will hypothesize potential explanations for the observed data.
d. Students will synthesize an experiment to test their hypotheses about shark
ecology.
Sunshine State Standards:
Strand G. How living things interact with their environment.
Strand H. The nature of science.
Mote Research Connection: Center for Shark Research, SHARKTRACKER exhibit
Supplies: Shark Attack Facts and Shark Myth or Shark Fact?! sheets
(www.SeaTrek.org) found in background information, computers with internet access,
various shark reference books
Procedure:
1. Ask students to make a list of everything they know about sharks.
2. Collect student-generated “shark facts” in a list divided into three columns:
SHARK BIOLOGY
Cartilage
Conveyor teeth
Live birth
SHARK BEHAVIOR
Carnivores
Eat fish, rays, birds, etc
Solitary
No parenting
SHARK HABITATS
Open water
Near shore
Rivers (bull sharks can
live in fresh water)
Estuaries
3. Use the Shark Attack Facts and Shark Myth or Shark Fact?! sheets to
help you and your students identify shark facts, and to provide a background
for future questions.
4. Explain that scientists study sharks using a variety of sampling methods and
experiments. Ask students if they can think of ways scientists could study
sharks? Catching them. Watching them in aquaria, tagging them.
5. Go to the SHARKTRACKER web page on www.mote.org and show students
the way that Dr. Michelle Heupel is studying sharks using a series of listening
devices.
6. Guide students to use the internet and library to find out which of their
“facts” were actually myths, and to learn as much about sharks as they can
because they are going to become shark scientists.
7. Again, visit the SHARKTRACKER web page (or come to the aquarium and see
the SHARKTRACKER exhibit) and follow the fate of several juvenile sharks
that are tracked in a local bay.
a. Develop each scenario with the students and have them hypothesize
what they think happened to each shark. Have them defend their
hypothesis with information they know about sharks.
b. Repeat for each shark.
8. Have each student (or student team) design an experiment that will help
them test their hypotheses.
Background Information:
1. Companion web page for the Shark Tracker Project:
www.mote.org/sharktracker
2. Mote SeaTrek shark curriculum: http://www.seatrek.org/pdf/01_20904.pdf
3. Other helpful websites:
Mote Marine Laboratory- Center for Shark Research
http://www.mote.org/~rhueter/sharks/sharks.phtml
San Diego Natural History Museum
http://www.sdnhm.org/kids/sharks/index.html
Enchanted Learning
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks
Florida Museum of Natural History
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/sharks.htm
National Geographic
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/sharks/
NOVA: Shark Attack
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sharks/
Discovery School’s Search for Ancient Sharks
http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/prehistoricsharks/
Discovery Science Shark Week
http://www.discovery.com/stories/nature/sharkweek/sharkweek.html