Clark The Shark

Name: Clark The Shark
Author: Bruce Hale

A story that explores patience and opens a conversation with your child.

★★★★★ Loved by families

Read the Guiding Questions Find this book →

♥ This book teaches: Patience. staying calm while something unfolds.

Before, During & After Reading

Guiding Questions for Parents.

Definition: Patience means having self-control, waiting and enduring when one would rather not. In short: Stay calm while you wait. Summary: Clark the Shark is the biggest and strongest student at the top school for fish. He loves school but he is too loud and too wild, so no one will play with him. His teacher reminds him to “stay cool” and work on controlling his actions. Clark invents a rhyming game to help him remember to “stay cool.” When a new kid comes to school, Clark helps him figure out how to behave and stay cool, too. Lesson Objectives:

Students who have trouble with self-control will work with their teacher to practice techniques to “stay cool” and develop more awareness of how their actions affect others.

Guiding questions:

How would you describe Clark the Shark?
Do you think Clark realized he was too loud and too rough with the other kids or was he surprised when his teacher told him what he needed to change?
Was Clark upset when the other kids wouldn’t play with him?
What are some of the ways that Clark upset other students?
Can you give an example of how Clark used rhyming to help him remember to stay cool?
How did Clark help the new kid feel welcome at school?
Do you know anyone in your family or at school who’s like Clark the Shark?
If your answer was yes in #7, what do you think you could do to help that person stay cool?
Ask your parents if they ever knew anyone like Clark the Shark? Did they try to be friends with that person, and if so, what happened?
Is it hard to get along with some kids at school? If so, are you able to talk with your teacher and ask for help with that?

🌿 Virtue Connection: Patience means waiting without losing yourself.

About the Story.

This guide is part of the Values & Virtues library, a free collection of 400+ book guides and activities organized around 12 core virtues for children from pre-K to 6th grade. Each guide includes Guiding Questions designed to open a real conversation with your child in 10 minutes or less.