Misunderstood Shark: Questions and Activity Ideas for Teaching Upper Elementary

This is a funny book about a shark who is constantly trying to convince others that he is not really dangerous - he is just misunderstood. Throughout the book, Shark claims he is not trying to hurt anyone, blaming his behavior on showing someone a new tooth, helping to find a missing family, or playing hide-and-seek. Your students will want to read the sequel, Misunderstood Shark: Friends Don’t Eat Friends, to find out how the story ends.

Bonus: This creative fiction also contains non-fiction facts. For example, a great white shark can eat 22,000 pounds of food in a year.

• What do you know about sharks?
• Look at the cover of the book. Is this a fiction or nonfiction book, and how do you know?
• What kinds of things might sharks do in a fiction book?

• Do you think Shark is going to eat the fish? Why or why not?
• Why do you think Shark’s Tooth Fairy is exhausted?
• What is a great white shark’s favorite food?

• Have you ever been misunderstood? Explain. How did you feel when you were misunderstood? 
• What new facts about sharks did you learn from the book?
• What do you think will happen next in the story? After making predictions, have your students read the sequel, Misunderstood Shark: Friends Don’t Eat Friends, to find out how the story ends.

Misunderstood Shark pairs perfectly with my book, What Do You Think About Ocean Animals?

The book presents opposing opinions about sharks (as well as other ocean animals), providing facts that support both the claim that sharks ARE dangerous and the claim that sharks ARE NOT dangerous. Students get to take in all the facts and arguments, and then decide for themselves what they think!

Ame Dyckman uses ellipses throughout the story, so this is the perfect book to get students thinking about why authors include them in their writing.

Ask students

• Why does an author use ellipses?
• How do ellipses add to the story?
• How would the story have been different without the ellipses?

Then have students try adding ellipses to their own writing. They could go back to a previous story they have written and look for places to add ellipses, or they could write a new short and intentionally add ellipses to make their writing more interesting and to add suspense.

Use this story as a springboard for discussing science concepts related to sharks. Ask students:

• What is a predator? What is prey? 
• Are sharks predators or prey?
• What animals do sharks eat?
• Can an animal be both predator and prey? If so, give an example and details to support your claim.
• What would happen to the prey population if all the predators disappeared?
• How are predators and prey interdependent?
• How do an animal’s teeth tell us if it is a predator or prey?

And as a quick review, ask students to share their favorite fact they learned from Misunderstood Shark. 

Here are some other shark books you might display in your classroom after students have read Misunderstood Shark (affiliate links):

• National Geographic Readers: Sharks
• What Do You Think About Ocean Animals? by Kalena Baker
• Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale 
• I am the Shark by Joan Holub 
• What If We Had a Pet Shark? by Deanna Chelsey 
• Weird But True! Sharks: 300 Fin-nomenal Facts to Dive Into 
• Who Would Win? Killer Whale Vs. Great White Shark By Jerry Pallotta