PACIFIC LIFE WHALE EDUCATION KIT

Introduction/The movie, Whales.

Goals/Objectives:

Students will:

• Develop an aesthetic appreciation for whales in their element
• Develop an interest in the study of whales
• Be able to correctly list three reasons why studying whales has important benefits

Teacher Overview:

As an introduction to the whale unit, students will hear whale songs and see the movie, Whales. Following the movie, students will engage in a review activity.

Time: 45-50 minutes
Setting: Indoors
Subjects: Science, Language Arts, Visual arts
Key Words: Cetacean, Indicator Species, Rorqual, Krill

Background Information:

This first lesson in the WHALE Education Program is designed to give students a sense of enthusiasm about whales. They will hear whale song recordings, watch a movie about whales around the world and play a game to get them thinking about the lessons to come.

Students will watch the nature documentary, Whales, which was filmed in the IMAX/Omnimax format. The Whales film was chosen as the theme for this curriculum because it inspires the sense of wonder that fuels a thirst for more information about the incredible lives of whales. Whales not only teaches its audience about these animals, but introduces the roles whales play in our fragile ecosystem. Since whales or cetaceans (mammals including whales, dolphins and porpoises) seem to spark emotions and curiosity in humans, they are a perfect catalyst to promote higher learning and action.

During the film, students will see enormous blue whales, the largest creatures ever to have lived on earth; swim with curious, 55-foot, 60-ton right whales in Argentina; fly over mountains in Hawaii to meet the mother/calf humpback whale pair Misty and Echo and follow Misty and Echo on a long, dangerous journey to their feeding grounds in Alaska. The students will learn strategies that whales have developed to locate and capture their prey. More importantly, Whales engages students in a rare combination of art and science. It introduces students to several whale species from around the world and to some of the people who have dedicated their lives to studying and protecting them. These studies help humans to better understand whales and protect them from ever increasing threats.

Scientists believe it is important to study these magnificent creatures for many reasons. One reason is that whales possess many traits unique in nature, including vast size, very complex echolocation and communication systems and a tremendous ability to hold their breath and dive to great depths. If animal species had a book of world records, whales would steal the show!

Another very important reason to study whales is that their home, the ocean, covers two-thirds of the earth's surface. Whales are huge consumers of a broad range of oceanic organisms from plankton, to fish, all the way up to birds and other marine mammals. They are an indicator species (animals whose health individually and/or as a population is an indicator of the general health of the ecosystem in which they live). In the same way that the number of bald eagles can alert us to measure the health of a salmon run or the amounts of pollution in local waters, the health of whale populations can alert us to other more obscure man-made problems in the oceans.

Whales must breathe on the surface, therefore they are more visibly accessible to scientists than many other marine organisms, making them excellent subjects for study. Their size and strength fill us with awe. They behave in ways that baffle members of our species from scientists to poets. They have brains of amazing complexity. We feel compelled to continue trying to unlock the secrets of their mysteriously intelligent lives.

Once you have started this process, you can find answers to some very basic questions:

• Why are baleen whales so large?
• Why are whales heads so enormous in relation to their bodies?
• Why do some whales have pleated throats?
• Why is it that rorquals (the pleat-throated whales like the fin and blue) have voices which carry across oceans?

The key to answering all of these questions is probably to understand krill, the principal food of baleen whales. (Krill refers to a group of species of ten-legged crustaceans, tiny shrimp, the largest of which is only about 3/4 of an inch long. They are perhaps the most abundant source of renewable protein on earth. In the Antarctic Ocean (the prime feeding grounds for rorquals anywhere on earth) krill are the prime prey of all the rorquals, plus several species of seal, fish, and bird and recently, humans as well.)

The baleen whales with pleated throats have developed a series of adaptations to overcome the strategies for predator avoidance that krill use. The life histories and behaviors of krill, a seemingly insignificant organism, have shaped whales adaptations. This means that they have actually caused whales to look and behave the way they do.

Materials:

• Whale poster
• Whales film
• TV & VCR
• CD Player
• 'Songs of the Humpback Whale' CD

Before Class:

• Have CD and player set to play 'Songs of the Humpback Whale.'
• Set up the Whales film at the beginning (43 minutes).
• Tape whale poster up in the front of the class.

During Class:

• As students enter the room have 'Songs of the Humpback Whale' CD playing. Ask the students to write down what they think the sounds might be and have students name what they think may have produced these sounds.
• Explain that in 1971, a scientist named Roger Payne and his partner Scott McVay discovered these sounds coming from the ocean. They identified the makers as humpback whales and drew one of the most important comparisons between animals and humans. These sounds were long, repeating patterns very similar to human music that could be called songs. The oceans cover over 2/3 of the earth's surface and represents 95% of the living space on our planet. They drive weather cycles and the process of recycling fresh water worldwide. The scope of life in the sea is astounding. This week, the class will be learning about one of the most mysterious and amazing animals to live in earth's oceans, whales.

  Explain to the class that the activities during the WHALE program will focus on learning about whales and will include a movie, in-class labs and activities and a take-home assignment at the end of the unit. The movie incorporates many of the concepts students will be learning during the week.

• Before viewing the film, ask students to look for three things:
  • What type of whales are in the movie?
  • Where do the film crews and researchers travel to work with them?
  • Why do you think it might be interesting or important to study whales?

  Students should write the questions and their answers down on a piece of paper to discuss after the film.

• View the film, Whales.
• Tape up the whale poster in front of the class. Note the different species of whales and how big they are in relation to humans.

Teacher Wrap-up:

This week we will not only be learning about whales, but trying to answer the important question of, "What can we learn that's important and interesting by studying whales?" By the end of the WHALE program, you should have many answers to this question.