TODAY’S LESSON: SHARK TALES

Learn new things, test your understanding and practice writing skills. These lessons are provided free by Achieve3000, an educational technology company that works with schools to enhance comprehension, vocabulary and writing proficiency for students in grades 2 through 12.

Step 1: Write your answer to the questions below before reading the article.

Some shark researchers were in the water with a great white shark near the Hawaiian island of Oahu. One swam near the shark and touched it.

FACE TO FACE WITH A GREAT WHITE

HALEIWA, Hawaii

What would you do if you were diving and saw a massive great white shark? Would you head back to the boat? Or would you want to get closer to those sharp teeth? A group of researchers got close in January 2019. But experts warn: Don’t do what they did.

The shark researchers were diving near the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Ocean Ramsey and others were watching tiger sharks. Then, they saw a 20-foot great white shark!

Would you be scared? In movies and on TV, great white sharks usually appear frightening, but what are these sharks really like?

Great white sharks are predators. Each one has about 300 sharp teeth. The sharks attack about 100 people each year. But they don’t hunt for people. Instead, they’re likely to bite humans out of curiosity.

In fact, scientists say that people are more of a danger to these sharks than the other way around. Things like pollution, hunting and climate change are all threats to great whites. So is overfishing of the fish that the sharks eat. Still, most people think sharks are bad.

“There’s not a lot of (love) for sharks,” Ramsey said. “You can’t hate them for being predators.”

Ramsey does love sharks. So she didn’t freak out when she saw the great white. Ramsey swam closer. She recorded videos. She touched it and even held onto its fin. She wanted to show others that sharks aren’t “monsters.”

But she was criticized for her actions. Great white sharks may not hunt people, but they’re still dangerous. And now, others may try and get close to the creatures. This could put both people and great whites in harm’s way.

Experts say that no one should interfere with a great white shark. The same is true for all large predators. It puts yourself and the animals in danger.

The Associated Press contributed to this story. ■

Step 3:

Retell this news story from the point of view of researcher Ocean Ramsey. Include information about great white sharks. Also include details about seeing one near Oahu. Use information from the article, as well as vocabulary terms and describing words, in your answer.