Monica Cook & Lea Hess

Math & Science Methods

Spring 1999

Lesson Title: The Wonderful World of Whales

Standards: Science: (Ocean life, Applying) Math: (Measurement, Problem solving)

Learning Style: Gardner: verbal-linguistic, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal, intrapersonal

Goal: Students will demonstrate the measurement of a blue whale and determine what enables whales to float.

Grade level: 3rd Grade

Time: 1 day

Background Information:

Whales are unique among all mammals in that they carry out their complete life history, from birth to death, in the water. Many small whales are called toothed whales. Those more than 13 to 16 feet long are generally referred to as whales, whereas smaller species are known as dolphins or porpoises. The larger whales belong to the baleen whale suborder. When feeding, a baleen whale swims with its mouth open in order to engulf plankton and seawater by the ton. Probably the largest animal ever to have lived is a baleen whale, the blue whale, which has been measured up to 100 feet in length, with a weight of more than 200 metric tons.

A whale's body contains no bone, and owe their firm and yet flexible shape to underlying fibrous and elastic tissue. The body is enveloped in a thick layer of blubber that aids in buoyancy, helps to preserve body heat, and is a source of stored energy. A whale's skin is free of sweat glands, oil glands, or hair and feels much like smooth, wet rubber to the touch.

Whales, like other mammals, have lungs. They breathe air through a single nostril, or pair of nostrils, on the top of the head; but contrary to a popular image, they do not spout water when they exhale.

A baby whale is called a calf. It can swim from the instant it is born. For a small toothed whale, the life span is up to 30 years; for larger toothed whales it is up to 70 years; and baleen whales probably live for as long as 80 years.

Sound and hearing are to whales what vision and smell are to most land mammals. At least two kinds of sound are produced: echolocation clicks and vocalizations. Echolocation sounds function as a biological sonar, whereas vocalization sounds seem to function as a means of communication between members of the same species.

*úNote: The information on whales and their possible evolution are being omitted from this lesson.

Sources: "Whale." Microsoft Encarta. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corporation, 1994.

Gibbons, Gail. (1991). Whales. New York: Holiday House.

Prerequisite Information: Correct measurement skills

1. Exploration Phase
   1. Objectives: The students will demonstrate their understanding of whales due to knowledge gained from Whales by Gail Gibbons. All students must write at least one fact on their whale cutout.
   2. Materials: whale cutouts, Sticky-tack, black markers
   3. Introduction of lesson: We live in Kansas and may never see a whale unless we travel to do so. In this lesson, we are going to explore whales to aid in our understanding of ocean life.
   4. Procedure:
      • Discuss relevance to Kansas
      • Read book
      • Give instruction on bulletin board -- "A Whale of a Glossary"
      • Give each person 1 whale cutout and a black marker
      • Instruct students to write one fact about whales they learned from the book
      • Direct students to share their fact with the class
      • Hang whales on bulletin board
   5. Evaluation: Instruct students to read their whale fact to the class and hang the whale on the bulletin board.
2. Invention Phase
   Objectives: In groups, the students will correctly measure the length of a blue whale using a yardstick. Each student will demonstrate the proper use of a yardstick and will discover it takes approximately 33 yard stick lengths to measure a blue whale.
3. Materials: 4 yardsticks, 50' whale cutout, 3' person cutout
4. Procedure:
   • Discuss cutouts on the wall
   • Discuss the yard stick
   • Break students into groups of 3-4 to go into the hallway, assign roles
   • Measure proper length of a blue whale (100')

   d. Evaluation: Students will report to the whole class about their findings when measuring the actual length of a blue whale.

5. Expansion Phase
   1. Objectives: In groups, students will discover what helps keep whales afloat. All students must offer a hypothesis prior to the experiment. Students will demonstrate that objects of greater density float better in salt water than in fresh water.
   2. Materials: 6 cups of fresh water, 6 cups of salt water, 12 tsp. salt, paper towels, 1 crayon chunk, 1 paperclip, 1 egg, 4 charts (poster board), 1 large bowl.
6. Procedure:
   • In groups, students will hypothesize which objects will float or sink in each type of water.
   • Give instructions for poster board
   • Instruct each group to mark their hypothesis on the poster board
   • Conduct experiment
   • Share hypothesis and communicate results to class
   • Discuss relevance to how whales float
   1. Evaluation: Participation in class discussion, fully completed poster board chart