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Communication & Reading Activities
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In association with a presentation, have students read a
book about whales or tide pools (contact us for resources) and
discuss it or write about it.
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Have students pick a whale or other marine animal, write a summary
of its natural history or a story about it, and draw or create a
model of their species.
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Assign a book reading about whales. Contact us for examples.
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Have students select a whale species or marine conservation issue
and write a report or give a PowerPoint presentation about it.
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Explore ocean careers. Have students email us questions about what
it’s like to be a marine biologist. Explore the connections between
subjects like chemistry, physics and biology to ocean careers.
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Have students design a class newsletter about the marine
environment, and interview scientists to assist them in writing
articles.
Scientific Research & Analysis, Mathematics Activities
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Take a whale watch excursion with your
students. There’s
no better way to learn about these animals than to experience them
in the wild! We work with reputable companies that have years of
experience working with student groups. On board the boat, your
students can sharpen their observation skills, assist in our
research by filling out data sheets and participate in onboard
measuring activities. Contact us for sample data sheets you can
copy!
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Book a tide pool excursion with us and have students research their
own tide pool! Students also report their results to their
classmates during this program, helping them learn about
communication.
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Participate in a beach cleanup,
where we collect real scientific data on marine pollution! Or, use
our beach cleanup data online to investigate pollution in NH. What
items are most prevalent? What beaches seem to be the most polluted?
Is there a difference in types of trash between different beaches?
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Visit WhaleNet at
whale.wheelock.edu to access whale watch data your class can
study.
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Have students draw or create a model of a whale and identify major
body parts.
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Have students create an ocean food web for the Gulf of
Maine.
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Have students outline common migration areas for Gulf of Maine
whales on a map. Humpback whales and right whales are good species
to use as they have definite migration destinations and routes!
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During a tide pool excursion or our
tide pools program, have students take measurements: measure
different organisms using different units, test water salinity,
measure water temperature. Ask us if you would like these activities
available during your program!
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Discuss different whale species and compare sizes and weights using
inches, feet, meters, pounds and kilograms. Have students guess the
weight of the largest and smallest whale. Which whale is the
biggest? Which is the smallest? Who has the thickest blubber layer?
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Google “whale sounds” on the Internet and play them in your
classroom. How do different species sound different? Many of our
programs also feature whale sounds.
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Pick several whale species and investigate local and worldwide
populations. Have students create a bar graph charting the species.
Which ones are lowest in number? Are any endangered? Discuss what
threats there might be to the endangered species and what students
and/or the government might be able to do to help them.
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Print out photos of humpback
whale flukes and have students discuss how researchers might
tell them apart. Have them design their own “whale catalog”,
ordering the whales in a logical manner.
Conservation, Government, History & Citizen Action
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Adopt a creature: Adopt a humpback whale, fin whale, basking
shark or ocean sunfish for your class to learn about throughout the
year!
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Design a button, bumper sticker, poster, etc. to influence peers
regarding a marine conservation issue (e.g. design a button or
slogan encouraging people not to litter
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Conduct a
beach cleanup. Contact us for information on our free beach
excursion!
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Research current events and threats to the oceans and have students
write a letter to their government representatives. Sample topics:
sonar testing and whales, protecting right whales, balloon releases,
litter laws…
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Have a recycled materials costume show.
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Lead a discussion on how to reuse different trash items to keep them
out of the landfills.
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Million Year Old Lunch: Set
up a table with items to pack a lunch. Half of the items should be
reusable like a cloth bag, cloth napkin, thermos, Tupperware
container and the other half should be things that will become trash
like paper napkin, plastic or paper bag, individually wrapped food
rather than food from a bulk container, etc. Ask the students to
pack a lunch that is good for the environment and generates zero
trash.
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Take
an Isles of Shoals trip which features educational stations on
marine ecology (featuring live tide pool animals and plants);
history, seamanship and culture. Visit
www.islesofshoals.com for details. |
