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Elementary students can learn a lot about the complex food chain that exists in the world’s oceans with shark food chain printables.
These interesting and informative activities help children understand how energy from sunlight is converted into energy by plants, then passed onto animals as they move through various levels of the food chain.
Through diagrams, text and interactive tasks, elementary science students can gain a better understanding of the roles sharks play in this intricate web of life.
This set of science worksheets is perfect for elementary students who are studying food chains, sharks, or the ocean.
Kids of all ages are fascinated by sharks, the apex predators of the sea. Whether it’s through books, movies, television shows, or swimming in the ocean, children everywhere are intrigued and excited by these powerful creatures.
From their sharp teeth to their powerful bodies, kids love learning about the unique adaptations that make sharks one of the oldest living species on Earth.
Sharks have been around for a long time and continue to capture the imaginations of children everywhere with stories of these mysterious creatures.
What is a food chain?
Food chains are like a game of energy tag! Every living organism needs energy to survive, and in nature, one organism will get its energy from another.
At the start of a food chain is an autotroph—plants or some organisms that can make their own food. Then, animals that eat these plants are called primary consumers.
Secondary consumers eat the primary consumers and tertiary consumers eat the secondary ones, until all the energy is used up!
What Is the Shark Food Chain?
Sharks are natural predators in their food chains! A shark’s diet consists of fish, crustaceans, and other marine animals.
At the bottom of the shark’s food web is algae and plankton. These tiny organisms grow in the ocean and provide energy for small fishes.
The small fish get eaten by bigger fish which then get eaten by even larger predatory fish such as tuna and marlin. The largest predatory fishes may then be eaten by sharks at the top of the food chain!
Shark Food Chain Printables
These free printables are designed to help you teach your kids about food chains – specifically, the shark food chain.
Our shark worksheets offer a great opportunity to introduce vocabulary words related to food chains, sharks, and more.
You’ll receive the following pages:
- anchor chart
- food chain sequencing
- word search
- shadow math
- food chain identification
- writing prompt
What You’ll Need
- printer
- printer paper
- pencils
Preparing the Activities
Print out your desired pages. Laminate the anchor chart. You can also laminate the word search and shadow match activity pages if you’d like to make them reusable. Kids can use dry erase markers to complete these.
Using the Worksheets
After printing and preparing the shark worksheets, complete the worksheets according to the instructions below:
Anchor Chart
Use the anchor chart to introduce the shark food chain. Not only does this anchor chart illustrate the sequence of the food chain, but it offers an opportunity to teach students new vocabulary related to food chains.
Introduce words like phytoplankton, zooplankton, consumer, producer, primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary.
Shark Food Chain Sequencing
Once kids are familiar with the food chain sequence, have them cut out the sequencing discs and glue them in the proper order on this worksheet.
There are six steps to sequence.
Word Search
There are ten words to find in this word search grid. If you laminated this page, you can use a dry erase marker to find the words. Then, wipe it clean and use it again with another student.
Shadow Match
This worksheet is a great way for kids to strengthen their visual discrimination skills as they match sharks to their shadows. There are five sharks featured.
You could also take this time to teach kids the names of these sharks if you have a couple of nonfiction shark books on hand.
Shark Food Chain Identification
This worksheet is a great way for kids to review food chain vocabulary words and definitions. Kids will read the definition and choose a word from the word bank to fill in the blanks.
Writing Prompt
Kids will use the picture prompt to complete this page. Children are encouraged to write about how to preserve marine life.
Books About Sharks
Reading books about sharks can be an exciting and educational experience for kids! Sharks are fascinating creatures, full of mystery and adventure!
There are many different types of books out there that feature these amazing animals. Whether it be a picture book filled with breathtaking photographs or a fictional story about a daring underwater quest, shark literature offers something for every reader.
Kids can learn about the anatomy and behavior of different species of sharks, journey to unexplored depths, and discover new facts about this majestic creature – all from the comfort of their own home.
My Little Golden Book About Sharks – This simple yet informative book brings to life the fascinating world of sharks. Little ones will enjoy bright, bold artwork and lively descriptions of all kinds of sharks, from the fierce great white shark to the rare goblin. They’ll learn that sharks have teeth but no bones, as well as interesting facts about diet, camouflage, and habitat that teach why we must care about sharks.
So Cool! Sharks – Sharks are among the world’s top predators, but that’s just ONE reason why they are SO COOL. So who wouldn’t want to hang out with them to learn more! This is the perfect little reader to get your child’s brain buzzing and keep them laughing during downtime, bedtime, or anytime.
National Geographic Readers: Sharks! – From great white sharks and sawfish to the great hammerhead shark and tasseled wobbegongs, sharks rule Earth’s oceans. Discover all about their incredible hunting skills, amazing shark teeth, awesome adaptations, and more in this accessible collection of 100 weird-but-true facts and engaging text.
Round Out Your Unit with These Activities
Add some shark figures to your pretend play area or your science area so kids can explore the different types of sharks you teach them about.
When you add a shark anatomy model to your science center, kids can get up close and personal with all the parts of a shark – inside and out!