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Classroom Ideas
Kindergarten Through Fourth Grade
1. Introduction to Humpbacks Provide students with an introduction to whales in general and humpbacks in particular, using this World Wildlife Fund kids page: http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/species.cfm?sectionid=193&newspaperid=21. Point out the images depicting a whale’s relative size and speed (explain that the whale shown next to the elephant, giraffe, and person is a blue whale, the largest whale species). Link to the page on baleen whales and read the section on humpbacks. Next have students look at the pictures at the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Photo Gallery: http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/about/humpback.html. Ask them to think of and list on the board words to describe the whales, their activities, and their habitats. After the class has made its list, let them listen to one of the whale songs at Journey North: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/hwhale/SingingHumpback.html. Explain that scientists are studying the whale sounds because they want to find out why whales sing. Have students ever heard a similar sound? Why do they think the whales make these sounds? Ask students to use the words they’ve listed, plus any other information they’ve learned in this activity, to write a poem about the humpback. They can write this poem as a class or individually. They should illustrate the poem after writing it. If you feel that poetry is too ambitious for your students, ask them to draw pictures of humpbacks and, on the same page, write some words describing humpbacks. 2. The Humpback’s Two Homes Explain to the class that humpbacks have two homes: one for the winter and one for the summer. Most northern Pacific humpbacks, the whales discussed in the Radio Expeditions program, spend their winters in Hawaii and their summers in Alaska, swimming between their two homes in the spring and fall. Tell students that the term for this movement is “migration.” Show them the map of the humpback migration at National Wildlife Federation http://www.nwf.org/keepthewildalive/migration/whalemigration.html, or point out the route on a map. Explain that the humpbacks breed and give birth in Hawaii and feed in Alaska. If your students are familiar with measuring distance on maps, have them figure out the distance between Hawaii and southern Alaska. Do they think this seems like a long way for the whales to swim? How do they think the humpbacks know where to go? (Even scientists aren’t sure about this, but possible answers include using the stars to navigate, following sounds, following current and temperature patterns, or following the topography of the ocean floor). Have students visit the following Web sites to see what the humpbacks’ winter and summer habitats look like: Divide the class into pairs and ask each pair to draw one picture of the humpback in Hawaii and one of the humpback in Alaska, showing the scenery and demonstrating some of the specific behaviors for each location (Find information on breeding, calving, and feeding behaviors at Zoom Whales: All About Whales!: Humpback Whales: http://www.zoomdinosaurs.com/subjects/whales/species/Humpbackwhale.shtml). Display the pictures in two different parts of the classroom, one representing Hawaii and the other Alaska. Have select students clearly mark each state on a world map, and place each map in the appropriate location. Then have students write short reports describing the humpback’s experiences in both places. Older students should make sure their reports include some scientific information about the humpbacks, which can be found in the Radio Expeditions program and at the Zoom Whales site mentioned above. Students should also map the north Pacific humpback’s migration route. Instead of writing, younger students may discuss the humpback’s activities in each location.
1. The Fascination With Humpbacks Play the Radio Expeditions program to the class, and ask them to list what this researcher is studying. What does he find so fascinating about whale songs? Have students listen to some whale songs on the Internet at Journey North: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/hwhale/SingingHumpback.html. Can they think of any other animals that make such complex sounds? Have students look at some examples of humpback behavior at the following Web sites: Divide the class into groups and ask each group to prepare a poster that illustrates the following features of the humpback: behavior, songs, habitat/migration, and body characteristics. The posters should include information from the above Web sites, the Radio Expeditions program, and any other resources available. Ask groups to give their posters the title “What We Know About Humpbacks.” On the backs of the posters, have groups write the heading “What We’d Still Like to Know” and list at least five questions that they’d like to have answered about the humpback. Have groups present their posters and questions to the class and discuss the questions. How would researchers go about finding the answers? Choose the most frequently asked question and challenge students to conduct additional research to find out if it has already been answered. 2. Whale Intelligence Ask students to list animals that they believe to be intelligent. Then have them examine their lists and consider why they have listed some animals and not others. If they haven’t listed an animal such as a cockroach, why not? Are whales on the list? Why or why not? Explain to the class that many researchers believe whales are highly intelligent, and this is not simply because they have large brains. Humans have smaller brains than many animals that are not believed to be nearly as intelligent as humans. Have students listen to the Radio Expeditions program and visit the following Web sites to learn more about the humpback whale. Have them list anything that they feel indicates signs of high intelligence in humpbacks. Discuss students’ findings as a class. What distinguishes the humpback from other species that may not be as intelligent? Will we ever know how smart humpbacks really are? Why or why not? Ask students if the presumed intelligence of humpbacks and other whales is a reason why we should help to protect these species. What can we learn from humpbacks? Can they teach us anything about the ocean, music, brain development, or other subjects? Have students discuss and write paragraphs explaining what they think humpbacks can teach people.
1. Technology and Humpback Research Ask students to name some forms of modern technology with which they’re familiar. They may mention technology used in communications, entertainment, medicine, or other fields. Ask students whether they think any of these technologies can help in scientific research and, if so, how. Have students listen to the Radio Expeditions program and take notes on the types of technology the researcher is using to study whale songs. After they’ve listened to the program ask your students to write a brief explanation of the research described and to list at least four questions they would like to ask the researcher about humpback whales (this can be done individually or in small groups). Ask your students to discuss and explain in writing how technology allows us to learn more about the whales. Have students go to the following Web sites to find out more about humpback research. Ask them to find at least six humpback topics that are being researched, to describe each topic, and to state whether this research employs modern technology. Require students to find at least three topics that employ modern technology of some sort. Ask students to look back at the list of questions they posed to the researcher. In groups or individually, have them choose one of these questions and explain how they think the researcher would go about getting the information to answer it. What type of technology would he use? Does it exist yet? If not, how should it work? Do students think this study may be realistically conducted in the near future? 2. The Importance of Whale Research After playing the Radio Expeditions program ask students, “Is humpback whale research important? Why or why not?” Have them to list the reasons why researchers are studying whales, including humpbacks. Why is the researcher on Radio Expeditions conducting his studies? Explain that the humpback, like several other whale species, is an endangered species. Have students read “Embattled Behemoths” (http://www.nwf.org/internationalwildlife/whales.html) to learn more about threats to the humpback and other whales. Ask students to take notes on the threats discussed on this page. Then have them discuss ways in which whales can be protected. What types of research should be conducted to help convince the world to protect whales? How can the “average” person participate in this effort? Divide the class into small groups and ask each group to formulate a strategic plan for the humpback. Each plan should describe the research that should be conducted, the legislation or international treaties that should be signed, and ways in which the general public can help the humpback.
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