Shark palaeontology

Suitable for 14-19-year olds (secondary and high schools, and college), this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom, STEM clubs and at home.

This resource links to KS4 and KS5 Palaeontology, Geology and Biology.

It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks:
Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• This teaching resource explains the work of Professor Kenshu Shimada, a shark palaeontologist at DePaul University in the USA. By studying modern sharks and the fossils of extinct species, he has been uncovering fascinating facts about the gigantic, ancient megalodon.

• This resource also contains an interview with Professor Shimada. If your students have questions for Professor Shimada, they can send them to him online. All they need to do is to go to the article online (see the Futurum link below), scroll down to the end and type in the question(s). Professor Shimada will reply!

• The activity sheet provides ‘talking points’ (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) to prompt students to reflect on Professor Shimada’s research and challenges them to go fossil hunting to find the remains of prehistoric creatures.

This resource was first published on Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE).

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