Prepared by Suzanne Perkins
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Whales are the gentle giants of the sea. Whales and dolphins are a group of mammals called cetaceans. The activities in this thematic lesson will enable the students to identify and learn about two very different groups of cetaceans: Baleen whales and Toothed whales. Whales and dolphins are among the most intelligent and beautiful creatures on our earth.
Subject: Science
Topic: Whales
Grade Level: K-2, Special Day Class
Student Lesson name and URL:http://ctap295.ctaponline.org/~suzanne/student/
Standards
Addressed
K.1 Life Science: Students understand that different types of plants and animals inhabit the Earth.
K.1 Reading/Literature: The student listens to and experiences a wide range and variety of literature, from a diverse collection of text and other materials of the quality illustrated in the district's grade-level reading lists.
K.2 Math: Students demonstrate their knowledge of basic skills, conceptual undertanding and problem solving in geometry and measurement.
K.4 Social Science: Students compare and contrast the locations of people, places, and environments and describe their characteristics.
K.5 Writing/Communication: The student uses writing to communicate for a variety of purposes.
Instructional
Objectives
- As a basis for understanding that different types of animals inhabit the Earth, students will observe and describe similarities and differences in the appearance and behavior of whales.
- Students will listen to and experience texts representative of a wide range of self-selected and teacher-selected materials about whales, which include picture books, nursery rhymes, poems and legends.
- Students will determine the size and length of different whales, compare them and identify which is longer, shorter or the same.
- Students will distinguish between land and water using a globe and constructing a map.
- Students will use pictures, letters, temporary spelling and dictation to write about experiences and stories. Students will also read and explain their own writing and pictures.
Student
Activities
Insert brief summaries of your introductory, enabling, and culminating activities. Insert links to online resources in your text and insert links to activities on your student lesson web site.
Introductory Activity
- Listen to Sounds of the Humpback Whale for 1 minute then ask students what animal would make that sound. Listen to their answers and then tell them that the sound came from a whale (if they have difficulty coming up with ideas then show a variety of animal pictures, discuss their sounds and eliminate the ones they know until they come up with the correct answer). Share photos of different kinds of whales.
- Pre-test
Enabling
Activity(ies)
- Information Collection and Analysis: Survey schools on sightings of migratory whales.
Culminating
Activity
- Communication Exchange: Contact a scientist for Q & A on data analysis after students finish a major experiment.
- Problem Solving: Create a simple science scavenger hunt for the primary grades, such as how many different kinds of whales can you find on the Internet.
Assessment
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for the culminating activity or a link to your rubric or test document
file.
Results
After implementing your lesson
(sometime between January & March), insert a chart of your pre-test,
post-test, and culminating assessment data.
Web
Resources & Supplementary Materials
Introductory Activity
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for this activity here. Also link supplementary materials such as PDF files
and /or document files.
Enabling Activity
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for your learning activity(ies) here. Also link supplementary materials
such as PDF files and /or document files.
Culminating Activity
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for this activity here. Also link supplementary materials such as PDF files
and /or document files.
Etna
High School
Etna, CA 96027
Suzanne Perkins,
sperkins@sisnet.ssku.k12.ca.us
Last Revised:
6/14/2000