If you’re looking for a fun way to add learning activities to summer vacation, don’t forget sharks! A shark unit study would be a great way to observe World Oceans Day on June 8. Shark Week in July or August (depending on the year) on the Discovery Channel is a perfect time for a shark unit study. Reminder: It’s Shark Week this week! 🙂
Do you need a fun way to get children interested in learning at the end of the summer or beginning of the school year? August 30 is International Whale Shark Day – a day to celebrate whale sharks, promote whale shark conservation, and teach the public about whale sharks. This would be another ideal time for a Montessori-inspired unit (or mini-unit) on sharks, a topic most children find fascinating.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).
You’ll find lots of free shark printables and activities in this roundup post. Many of the posts have a variety of Montessori-inspired shark activities within them.
Montessori-Inspired Free Shark Printables
Free Shark Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
Free Shark Printables and Montessori-Inspired Shark Activities (my post)
Shark Water-Bead Number or Letter Sensory Bin (my post)
Free Animal Classification – Fish Cards – 9 types of fish (including shark) from Montessori Materials
Shark Matching (Photo from Natural Beach Living)
Shark Activities for Kids (Free Printable) + More Shark Resources from Natural Beach Living
Montessori-Inspired Shark Cards from A Moment in Our World
Parts of a Shark (Photo from The Natural Homeschool)
Parts of a Shark (Subscriber Freebie) from The Natural Homeschool
Free Parts of a Shark Cards from Welcome to Mommyhood
Montessori-Inspired Shark Activities and Free Printables (a number of shark posts) from Every Star Is Different (Go to Free Printables Tab, then to Thematic Activities, and then to Animal Activities to find the shark posts.)
Free Mini Shark Pack from 3 Dinosaurs (ages 2-7)
Free Shark Pack Update from 3 Dinosaurs (ages 2-9)
Free Parts of a Whale Shark Cards from Montessori Helper
Free Parts of a Whale Shark Cards for ages 3 to 9 from Montessori Helper
Free Shark Unit from Royal Baloo (grades 1-3)
Montessori-Inspired Shark Activities
Non-Scary and Montessori-Friendly Resources for a Shark Tooth Dig (my post)
Free Fish Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fish Activities (my post with shark books and a couple of shark activities)
Montessori-Inspired Ocean Unit (my roundup post)
Summer Nature Table with Sharks (Photo from Little Wonders’ Days)
Summer Nature Table from Little Wonders’ Days (blog is no longer available)
Shark Unit (Photo from The Pinay Homeschooler)
Montessori-Inspired Shark Study for Kids with Free Shark Skip Counting and Free Shark Matching and Fact Cards (plus Shark Printable available for purchase) from The Pinay Homeschooler
Making Shark Models (Photo from How We Montessori)
Follow Your Child’s Interests – Animals from How We Montessori
Shark Lesson from Just Montessori
Feed the Shark Playdough Geometry from Left Brain Craft Brain
Five Little Fishes Activity (Photo from Training Happy Hearts)
Fish Mini Unit (with Five Little Fishes activity) from Training Happy Hearts
Learn Your Phone Number Shark Activity (Photo from Mommy and Me Book Club)
Kindergarten is FIN-tastic shark activities and shark party from Mommy and Me Book Club (Many of the activities could easily be used with activity trays.) Great for a party at the beginning of the school year or end of the unit.
Digging for Shark Tooth Fossils Sensory Bin (Photo from Stir the Wonder)
Digging for Shark Tooth Fossils Sensory Bin from Stir the Wonder
Shark Water Bead Sensory Bin (Photo from 3 Dinosaurs)
Shark Water Bead Sensory Bin from 3 Dinosaurs
Shark Sensory Bottle (Photo from Stir the Wonder)
Shark Sensory Bottle from Stir the Wonder
STEM Shark Activities for Kids – How Do Sharks Float? from JDaniel4’s Mom
Shark Lapbook from School Time Snippets
Timeline of Life Fossil Collection from Montessori Services
Timeline of Life Fossil Collection (including a shark tooth) available for purchase from Montessori Services
Shark Nonfiction Books for Kids
More Shark and Ocean Resources and Activities
Free Ocean Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ocean Activities
- Free Shark Printables and Montessori-Inspired Shark Activities
- Shark Water-Bead Number or Letter Sensory Bin
- The Ultimate Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
- Non-Scary and Montessori-Friendly Resources for a Shark Tooth Dig
- Free Fish Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fish Activities
- Favorite Books for a Fish Theme
- Free Fish Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Fish Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Shark Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Shark Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
- Favorite Books for a Shark Theme
- The Best Ocean Books for Kids
- Free Ocean Animal Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Octopus Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Non-Scary and Montessori-Friendly Resources for a Shark Tooth Dig
- Free Ocean Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Relaxing Ocean Images, Sounds, and Music for Kids and Adults {Mindfulness Resources}
- Free Guided Ocean Meditations for Kids {Mindfulness Resources}
- Montessori-Inspired Ocean Unit
- Montessori-Inspired Beach Language Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Resources for World Oceans Day
- Montessori-Inspired Ocean Math Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Turtle Activities
- Shells and Starfish Activities + Free Printable from Montessori By Mom
- Free Shark Printables and Montessori-Inspired Shark Activities
- Shark Water-Bead Number or Letter Sensory Bin
- Farm, Zoo, & Ocean Animal Sensory Bottles for Babies and Toddlers
- Montessori-Inspired Toddler Geography Activities with Baby Beluga
- Coral Reef Kit and Sensory Bin
- Letters and Words in the Sand {Montessori-Inspired Beach Phonics Fun}
- Wonderful Whale and Water-Bead Sensory Bin {Free Printables}
- Seashell and Sea Life Nature Tray: How to Teach Vocabulary Using the 3-Period Lesson
- Free Turtle Printables and Montessori-Inspired Turtle Activities
- Free Turtle Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Turtle Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Seashell Color Matching {Easy-to-Prepare Variation of Montessori Color Box 3}
- DIY Coral Reef Water Table with Practical Life Activities
- The Ultimate Montessori-Inspired Shark Unit
MONTESSORI-INSPIRED PACKS – SUBSCRIBER FREEBIES
Don’t miss our themed monthly packs! You’ll get the link and password for the Living Montessori Now subscriber library with the current pack and all the past monthly packs if you subscribe to the Living Montessori Now weekly newsletter!
Montessori-Inspired Shark Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Montessori-Inspired Fish Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Ocean Unit Study Pinterest Board
Ocean Unit Study Pinterest Board
I have an Ocean Unit Study Pinterest Board with ocean activities of all types, including many activities about sharks.
If this is your first time visiting Living Montessori Now, welcome! If you haven’t already, please join us on our Living Montessori Now Facebook page where you’ll find a Free Printable of the Day and lots of inspiration and ideas for parenting and teaching! And please follow me on Instagram, Pinterest (lots of Montessori-, holiday-, and theme-related boards), and YouTube. While you’re here, please check out the Living Montessori Now shop.
And don’t forget one of the best ways to follow me by signing up for my weekly newsletter. You’ll receive some awesome freebies in the process!
Tweeted and pinned. This is such a vast amount of resources. I hope to join in next year!
I love to use your products but my country Nigeria is not listed
Yet another fantastic resource! I plan to focus on sharks next August during Shark Week. I have pinned your post and plan to use many of these ideas next school year! Thank you for linking up to my Enchanted Thursdays Blog Hop!
Thanks, Jill! This was really a fun unit to research! I’ll look forward to reading about your Shark Week activities next year! 🙂
I just wanted to let you know that I featured this AMAZING shark unit at TGIF today (http://www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com/2012/09/tgif-linky-party-46.html) Thanks for linking up and I can’t wait to see what you link up today =-)
Have a great weekeend,
Beth =-)
Thanks so much, Beth! I was excited when I went to link up and found my shark unit study was featured! Have an awesome week! 🙂
So comprehensive and interesting as always, even the adults will learn from all these wonderful resources. How fun. Carolyn
Thanks so much, Carolyn! This was definitely a fun unit study to put together! 🙂
I love this round up. What a fun theme! My boys will love some of these ideas. I love the learning your phone number shark since that’s what we are working on right now.
Thanks, Jackie! I love that shark activities are so inherently interesting … and I love the learning your phone number shark, too! 🙂
FUN! I love that learn your phone number activity!
Thanks so much! Isn’t that an awesome idea?! 🙂
What a great list of shark activities! I will be pinning and using in the future! Thanks so much for sharing! Have a great holiday weekend!!
Thanks so much for your kind comment and for pinning my post! I hope you have a great weekend, too! 🙂
What a COOL looking study! Sharks are so fascinating!!
Beth =)
Thanks, Beth! That’s so true … I find sharks fascinating, too. 🙂
Fantastic ideas, as usual. Definitely a great way to spice things up at the end of summer. I love the summer nature table especially 🙂
Thanks for your kind comment, Melissa! I love that nature table, too … makes me want to go to the beach! 🙂
I am honored that our mini-unit is featured in this collection of shark-themed activities and so excited by all the links. Undoubtedly, my children will be asking for further shark studies and now I have one go-to location for inspiration. Thank you!
It was my pleasure to include your fun unit, Martianne! I love the way you stay tuned to what your kids need! 🙂
Thanks for featuring so many of our shark activities! We were at the beach last week and Little J must have found a hundred fossilized shark teeth. He was very excited. I love this round up of activities!
My pleasure, Kelly … I LOVE your activities! It’s wonderful that you’re following your son’s interest in sharks! 🙂
What little I know about Montessori is all good and if I hadn’t home schooled my children…would have looked deeper into sending them to a Montessori school as my next best option. I learned about unit studies when my kids were in their second year of home school and used it exclusively throughout the rest of their elementary and middle school years. I LOVE unit studies and have thought a lot about doing some with my granddaughter, who will be 5 in November. (We actually already do them…but nothing structured). She’s in Kindergarten but she and I have so much fun time together that I am going to follow your site for fresh ideas. Thank you.
Thanks for your comment, Annie! Unit studies are awesome, aren’t they?! I really appreciate your following my site! 🙂
I love your pinterest boards!! I know a few kids who would go crazy with these activities. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much, Discovering Montessori! I probably have way too much fun with all my pinning! 😉