Big Students!

Big Sharks!

published by Scholastic

written by  Torri Kosara

Ever wonder how sharks are different than regular fish? How many teeth they have? Or what senses sharks use the most?  Well, this book is a great introduction to the particularities of the shark physique.  It is full of detailed photographs and graphic text and would be great for any individual with a special interest in sharks.  Conversely, the large photographs could easily scare a student who is uncomfortable with unfamiliar animals, especially those who are known predators (imagine a 12x12 photo of a shark with its jaws wide open, seemingly swimming in your direction...). The text is arranged in "pop-up video" style with bold text boxes floating on top of large photographs and shark-shaped graphics containing leading questions such as, "Why do you think sharks need to be able to move quickly?"  In order to read this book independently, students need to be familiar with words like "skeletons," "flexibility," and "rough."  Basic knowledge of the physical make up of fish would also be useful but not necessary.

This text would be very useful to a teacher planning a unit on sharks or ocean life for both graphic inspiration and factual content. Kosara cleverly delivers specific topics and facts in one to two sentences per page, cutting out unnecessary "fluff" and potentially overwhelming information.  She draws attention to the main text with thick borders and bright colors while the supporting text (like the extension questions) blends into the background a little more.  She bolds important vocabulary within the text and provides cut-aways when zooming in on a picture would benefit student understanding and observation.  Teachers could easily project select pages from this text using a document camera or by scanning them into a computer to help illustrate certain points to a class.  While the text is relatively simple in its layout, the content might be a little advanced for most lower elementary level science standards;however, it would be a great inquiry prompt while studying living systems or earth patterns in third or fourth grade.  The questions provided on each page could be useful for organizing small group inquiry activities in which students conduct their own research and present it to the class.  It might also be interesting to hear our BrainPop friends, Moby and Tim, talk about their experience with sharks if the subject is of particular interest to the class, http://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/sharkattacks/preview.wemlhttp://www.brainpop.com/science/earthsystem/sharkattacks/preview.weml.


Although this book does not have a table of contents, there  there is a one page glossary with simple definitions of the bolded words at the end of the text. As mentioned earlier, this text is very subject-specific and might not be that useful for instruction at every level; but, it would definitely be considered a strong addition to any classroom library.