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Overview:
Students probably know that many people have negative impressions of sharks and may assume that most sharks hunt people, posing a major threat to swimmers. In this lesson, students will conduct research to address the question, "Are sharks as dangerous as we think they are?" They will present their findings in oral presentations.
Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, life sciences
Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 14: "How human actions modify the physical environment"
Standard 15: "How physical systems affect human systems"
Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"
Time:
Three to four hours
Materials Required:
- Computer with Internet access
Objectives:
Students will
- analyze a map of reported shark attacks in the United States;
- view and discuss pictures of sharks and their relationship to humans; and
- research and report on the question, "Are sharks as dangerous as people think they are?"
Geographic Skills:
Acquiring Geographic Information
Organizing Geographic Information
Analyzing Geographic Information
S u g g e s t e d P r o c e d u r e
Opening:
Ask students to list the words that come to their minds when they think about sharks. Discuss their responses as a class.
Explain that each year, there are shark attacks in the United States. Although such attacks are infrequent, the news media tends to take a great deal of interest in them. The public sees stories about shark attacks and their victims on the nightly news and on the covers of major magazines. Ask students how they think this media reaction affects the public's ideas about sharks.
Development:
Have students look at this map of shark attacks reported in the United States between 1670 and 2000. Can they figure out which states have had the highest numbers of shark attacks?
Explain that, as students may already know, Florida and California are very popular places to swim and to take beach vacations. Knowing this, why do students think these two states have had the highest numbers of shark attacks?
Show students this picture of a great white shark. Explain that this type of shark is responsible for the greatest number of reported attacks on people. Two other shark species that can be aggressive toward people are the tiger shark and the bull shark (you can see pictures of these sharks in the "Photos" section of this website). Ask students to contemplate what might go through a shark's brain as it is about to attack a person. Is the shark really thinking about what it is doing ("Yum! A human for dinner tonight and a yellow swimsuit for dessert!") or is it acting on instinct?
As a class, look at the painting entitled "Watson and the Shark" by John Singleton Copley (1778), and this picture of marine biologist Eugenie Clark swimming with a bull shark, one of the shark species that most frequently attacks people. Ask students to describe the differences between the painting and the photograph. How can people swim alongside an animal that has the potential to attack humans? Why do people sometimes view sharks as fearsome people-eaters and other times as peaceful fish suitable for beautiful photographs? Discuss students' ideas about these questions.
Write this question on the board: "Are sharks as dangerous as we think they are?" Divide the class into pairs or small groups, and ask students to conduct research that will help them answer this question. They should use the following Web sites and take notes on the questions below.
National Geographic: Shark Surfari! Online Quiz
CNN: Number of Shark Bites Not Unusual
Shark Myths
WildAid: Shark Conservation Program
Questions to answer during the research process:
- Do sharks hunt people?
- What do sharks prefer to eat?
- Why are sharks an important part of the ecosystem?
- What threats exist to shark populations, and what is being done to help prevent shark populations from declining?
Closing:
Read to the class this quote by David Doubilet, a photographer who has taken many pictures of great white sharks:
"The great white shark is the ultimate predator, a living myth. But it is not a nightmare…The great white shark is powerful, but it is delicate. It dominates its world, but is threatened by ours."
Discuss what students think Doubilet means. Why does he say the white shark is a "living myth"? How is it "delicate"?
Suggested Student Assessment:
Have students compile their research findings into oral presentations entitled "Are sharks as dangerous as we think they are?" The presentations should provide at least five examples to support their answers to this question and should include images and text to illustrate their points.
Extending the Lesson:
Have students construct surveys to find out what other people (their parents, classmates, other teachers, etc.) think about sharks. Ask them to conduct the surveys and then attempt to educate the people they have surveyed about sharks. When students return to class, have them compile and discuss their findings. What do most people think about sharks? How easy or difficult does it seem to be to change people’s opinions about sharks?
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