Curriculum Guide
Curriculum Guide
Curriculum Guide
V. Matching Activities
VII. Resources
The goal of this curriculum is to evaluate and strengthen students knowledge of North
Atlantic right whales through a series of hands-on activities, teacher demonstrations,
and a power point presentation. While some of the activities are independent of the
power point, the majority are designed to coincide with and augment the presentation.
Section VII contains a list of resources for both students and teachers to further their
knowledge on the subject.
Section III contains activities that are designed to introduce the topics and terms used
throughout the curriculum. The first suggested activity is the pre- and post-evaluation.
Students will be asked to draw an image of a right whale in its habitat. This will give
insight as to the students prior knowledge and understanding of the North Atlantic right
whale. In addition, it will provide a benchmark for information retention throughout
the curriculum. They should be evaluated prior to receiving any information. Once the
pre-evaluation is completed, it is recommended that the students follow up with the
word search (to become familiar with the terms) and the online scavenger hunt (to
become familiar with the topics).
The power point, aided by the list of resources, is designed to be self-sufficient. The
slides that have correlating activities have an asterisk with the activity number in the
lower right corner. To accurately prepare for the correlating activity, the entire slide
should be discussed prior to the activity. This will ensure that students have all the
information they need to understand and complete each activity.
It is important to look in the notes section for each slide; in most cases there are
talking points pertaining to those slides. While the information can be overwhelming to
someone unfamiliar with the topic, the talking points are meant to guide you towards
the main idea of each individual slide, and consequently, the overarching goal of the
power point: to motivate students to care about the plight of the species, get involved
in protecting them, and educate their family and friends.
Move air into and out of their lungs by swimming to the surface of the ocean
Blubber layer to keep them warm
Young are born live, typically tail first
Mothers provide milk for their young
Horizontal tails that are moved vertically in the water column by a very muscular spine
Front flippers for steering
Do not chew their food
Fully aquatic, always living in the water
Fusiform bodies, that is, they are shaped similarly to a torpedo
The Society for Marine Mammalogy currently recognizes 87 living species of cetaceans.
Fourteen are known as mysticetes, or baleen whales. The remainder are considered
odontocetes, or toothed whales. Mysticetes filter their prey from the water using flexible strips
of fingernail like material, called baleen, that hang down from the roof of the mouth. The inside
edges of baleen are hairy or bristly and trap small marine animals while allowing water to pass
through, back into the ocean. Odontocetes are able to locate their prey using echolocation and
typically swallow their prey whole.
Minke whale, a species of baleen whale. Sperm whale, the largest species of toothed whale.
Cutaway and minke whale diagrams by Jon Baldur Hlidberg. Sperm whale diagram by Uko Gorter. Used with permission.
Objective: To obtain a grasp of how much information the students retain after the lesson.
Background: To really understand right whales, their habitat has to be considered. Usually they
can only be seen at the surface of the water, but there are a lot of things underwater with
whales. Right whales also have some distinctive body features that are different from other
whales. Refer to the power point for the activities in this lesson.
Activity: Prior to the lesson, have students draw a picture of a right whale in its environment as
a means of a pre-evaluation. Their drawing should include anything and everything they
perceive about a whale and its surroundings, whether it be at the surface or below, in a group
or solo, with fish or other animals present, etc. Make sure they write their name and the date
on the drawing.
At the conclusion of the lesson, have the students complete the exact same activity. Did their
drawings change?
Evaluation: This pre- and post-evaluation will allow us to compare images and get ideas of what
the students have learned throughout the lesson. An accurate retention should show things
like fishing line, copepods, vessels, etc. in the environment. The whale itself should lack a
dorsal fin and have blowholes, callosities on its rostrum, tail flukes and pectoral flippers. To
verify that students have a good idea of an image of a right whale, display actual photos of
whales in their environment and ask the students to compare them to their own depictions.
For your own reference, make sure that you collect the drawings for comparison between the
pre- and post-evaluations.
With adult permission, venture online to find the answers to the questions.
Find a story about a right whale that was freed from entanglement
and write a brief summary.
How far do North Atlantic right whales migrate? Why do the migrate?
Find and download a picture of a North Atlantic right whale eating. Does it skim feed,
gulp feed or bottom feed?
List three things you can do to help the North Atlantic right whale.
The chart below is a list of easy, everyday objects educators can use in the classroom to
represent the various aspects and features of whales.
Objectives:
Background Information:
Whales are warm-blooded mammals that can survive in water temperatures as frigid as the
low-40s F. How do they manage to stay warm, even in the ice-cold waters of the Atlantic? By
wearing a thick layer of fat, called blubber just beneath the skin.
How does the whale acquire this fat layer? Being mammals, whales suckle their young. A baby
right whale, for example, may drink up to 58 gallons of its mother's milk which has the
consistency of soft margarine every day! An adult right whale, on the other hand, may eat
2,000 lbs of food each day. All of this intake is necessary to not only provide the whale with the
energy it needs to swim great distances and dive to incredible depths, but to help maintain an
essential layer of fatty insulation.
Materials:
Evaluation:
Collect results of the two tests (uninsulated and insulated) and compare.
Students should draw conclusions regarding the effectiveness of fat (shortening) as an
insulator. Have them consider how effective a thick layer of blubber must be in order to keep a
whale warm while submerged in cold water throughout its life.
Discuss the applications of insulation for cold protection in humans. Point out that long-
distance swimmers, such as those who cross the English Channel, typically coat their bodies in
shortening or other fatty compounds. Consider the fact that native peoples inhabiting arctic
regions rely upon blubber and other fatty foods they harvest from marine mammals to help
build and maintain a fat layer of their own. Discuss the effectiveness of a diver's wetsuit in
providing the same sort of thermal protection for a submerged human. (Remember that a
wetsuit is a snugly fitting suit of spongy rubber called neoprene that traps a layer of water
between itself and the diver's skin. As the diver's body temperature raises the temperature
level of the water, the water retains this heat and maintains the diver's body temperature at a
comfortable level.) If available, try neoprene gloves in the above experiment.
Background Information: Whales feed using different methods. A baleen whales skull shape,
jaw size, and baleen plates determine the type of prey it catches and how it feeds. For instance,
right whales have long and fine baleen which allows them to feed on small zooplankton called
copepods. In comparison, gray whales have short coarse baleen which allows them to feed on
small marine animals hidden in the oceans muddy bottom. Humpback whales, on the other
hand, use a gulp feeding method. Their baleen acts like a fishing net catching small fish and
krill. The activity below will investigate right whales feeding behavior, called skim feeding.
Materials:
Activity:
Right whales are skim feeders. They move through the water with their mouths open allowing
food and water to pass through their baleen as they move. To demonstrate this, fill a plastic
container with water (this represents the ocean), drop in rosemary (this represents copepods-
right whales primary food source). Tell students they will need to use their imaginations. The
glass will represent a whales open mouth and the comb represents the baleen. Hold the comb
at the top of the opening of the glass so that the teeth of the comb hang down towards the
opening of the glass. Move the jar though the water so that the rosemary sticks to the teeth of
the comb as you move it. This represents skim feeding.
Evaluation:
Discuss with students how feeding like this fills the whales mouth with food and also water.
Where does the water go? How does the whale get rid of the water and not the food? Do any
of these feeding methods pose a risk to the whales? Why or why not?
The baleen in right whales mouths acts as a sieve or colander. It allows the water to pass
through the baleen while their food, tiny marine plankton (copepods), gets trapped in the
fringe of the whales baleen. This method is so effective right whales can eat over a ton (2,000
lbs) of copepods a day-an amazing fact considering each copepod is no bigger than a grain of
rice!
Background: Once whales had been captured and killed, their blubber, bone, baleen and organs were
turned into a variety of products. Refer to the slides on whaling in the power point for details on how
whalers converted carcasses into products.
Activity: Circle the products that were once made from whales. Some were made during the time of
whaling from sailing vessels. Others were made during the years of industrial, mechanized whaling.
Background: Once whales had been captured and killed, their blubber, bone, baleen and organs were
turned into a variety of products.
Activity: Circle the products that were once made from whales. Some were made during the time of
whaling from sailing vessels. Others were made during the years of industrial, mechanized whaling.
Objective: To view your surroundings from the perspective of a whale and understand
the difficulty of finding things around you.
Background: Your eyes are in front of your head. So you see what is in front of you and
some of what is on either side. With both your eyes you see one view. This is called
binocular vision. But whales eyes are on the sides of their heads. Each eye sees a
separate view. This type of vision is called monocular vision. In this experiment, youll
find out what its like to have monocular vision. You will need an adult helper for this
project,
Materials: scissors, a paper towel tube, tape and two small mirrors that fit in paper
towel tube (can be found in a craft store).
Activity:
Evaluation:
Point your monoculars towards different points in the room. Place objects in different
locations and take turns trying to walk over to them. Pose the following questions:
Are you able to see whats in front of you?
Can you simultaneously focus on everything you are seeing?
Of all your senses, would you rely most on your sight if this is how well you were
able to see?
How is this helpful or harmful to whales? For instance, whales are often unable
to see rope from fishing gear that is in front of them and may become entangled.
However, having eyes on the side of the head enables whales to have a wider
range of vision.
Background: Approximately 75% of North Atlantic right whales exhibit scars from
entanglements in fishing gear. Entanglements as well as ship strikes are the leading causes of
North Atlantic right whale mortality. This problem is not limited to right whales. All Marine life
can become entangled in marine debris. This can lead to suffocation, starvation, drowning,
increased vulnerability to predators, or other injury. Volunteers participating in the 2008
International Coastal Cleanup event discovered 443 animals and birds entangled or trapped by
marine debris (2008 ICC Report, Ocean Conservancy).
Materials:
Rubber bands
Fishing Rope*
*Recycled fishing rope can be purchased through Custom Cordage- http://www.maineropemats.com/ 151
One Pie Road, PO Box 1387, Waldoboro, ME 04572, (207)-832-0569. If you live in a coastal community you
may also be able to obtain used rope through your local fishermens association.
Activity: Students perform an experiment in which they wrap a rubber band around their
fingers and try to disentangle themselves. Distribute rubber bands to students and have them
follow the procedure below.
Hold your hands up in front of your face, with the back of your hands towards your face.
Hold the rubber band in your right hand and hook one end of it over the little finger of
your left hand.
Hook the other end of the rubber band over the left-hand thumb. The rubber band
should be taught and resting across the bottom knuckles on the back of your left hand.
Place your right hand on the bottom of your left elbow, and keep it there. You can also
ask students to sit on their right hand if they are tempted to use it.
Try to free your hand of the rubber band without using your right hand, teeth, face, or
other body parts.
Evaluation: While students are struggling, ask the class to imagine that they are North Atlantic
right whales that have gotten pieces of fishing line, abandoned net, or other debris wrapped
around their bodies. Ask them the following questions:
How would you feel after struggling like this all morning?
How would you feel after missing breakfast?
What would happen if you continued to miss meals and spend all of your strength
fighting to get free?
Would you be able to care for your young or even surface for air?
Encourage students to share their thoughts and feelings about being entangled. Remind them
that their experience is similar to marine animals that become entangled in debris.
Background Information: Historical whaling is the main reason why right whales are
endangered today. Even though they are currently protected under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, they still face a number of threats each and
every day. The question remains whether or not there is sufficient protection for the whales
from these threats, and if the designated protected areas cover enough area to be effective.
Materials: Printed copies of the map and questions below for each student and a marker.
Activity: This activity will help the students see a whales year-round journey by filling in areas
on a map that have a significance in the survival of the right whale population. Students will
refer to the power point presentation to answer the questions below the map and follow the
instructions given to populate the map with features that impact right whales.
Evaluation: Have the students discuss whether or not it looks easy to find food, travel, and
mate off the east coast of the United States. Discussion topics can include the threats,
protection measures, and migration path.
5. Do you think there is enough protection for right whales? Why or why not?
Background: Each year new photos are taken and matched to a catalog maintained by the New
England Aquarium. Each whale is given a number and sometimes a name. By matching photos
scientists can learn more about individual whales and gain a better knowledge about the North
Atlantic Right Whale population.
Right whales are matched by their callosity patterns on their heads as well as scars and other
distinguishing features. What are callosities??? Callosities are raised patches of tissue on a right
whales body. These patches appear white but the actual callosities themselves are dark in
color. The presence of light-colored cyamids, or whale lice gives the callosities a white
appearance. The callosities of a right whale are completely unique; no two whales have the
same pattern. Callosities begin to develop soon after birth, but do not mature until the whale is
7 to 10 months old.
Encourage students to visit the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium Website at
www.narwc.org to view the actual North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog maintained by the New
England Aquarium.
Materials:
Print out of Right Whales Images 1-6
Right Whale Matching book
Pencils
Activity:
Print out and hang right whale images 1-6 around the room. Ask students to move around the
room and look closely at each image. They should observe the features of each whale and what
makes them unique.
Next give each student or team of students a copy of the Right Whale Matching Book. Ask
students to match the whales in the book to the whale images around the room. Write the
whales name above its picture.
Evaluation: Ask students what were the key features they noticed about the whales? Was it
easy or difficult to match the whales in the book to their images? Would this be harder to do at
sea? Why?
The name of this whale is another word for Last seen in 2010, this whale has a large
violin. It has white spots and scars on its white scar that was not discovered until
back and enjoys searching for food in the 1991. This whale is the offspring of a right
Bay of Fundy and Cape Cod Bay, but also whale named Bolo.
likes the Gulf of Maine.
Rope Activity
Objective: To help students visualize the size of right whales, including the size of calves,
baleen, and flippers. Students will measure and mark different lengths on a rope for
visualization.
Background: Whales are the largest animals to have existed on Earth. Unlike large land animals
that can be seen at a zoo, whales cannot be seen easily by an average person. Visualizing the
size of a whale and comparing it to human size will help students better understand the
difference.
Materials:
*Recycled fishing rope can be purchased through Custom Cordage- http://www.maineropemats.com/ 151
One Pie Road, PO Box 1387, Waldoboro, ME 04572, (207)-832-0569. If you live in a coastal community you
may also be able to obtain used rope through your local fishermens association.
Activity: Follow these steps to represent the actual sizes of right whale anatomy:
1. 50 feet is the average length of a right whale. Have 2 students hold out the length of the
rope to see how long it actually is.
2. Take the measuring tape and measure 15 feet down the rope from one end. This is the
length of a newborn calf. Mark the rope with the marker/electrical tape.
3. Take the measuring tape and measure 8 feet down the rope. This is the average length
of their baleen. Mark the rope with the marker/electrical tape.
4. Take the measuring tape and measure 6 feet down the rope. This is the height of a
typical human male. Mark the rope with the marker/electrical tape.
5. Take the measuring tape and measure 5 feet down the rope. This is the length of a right
whale flipper. Mark the rope with the marker/electrical tape.
Evaluation: Can the students figure out how many of them it would take to make up the length
of an adult right whale? Have the students think about the size of other animals they are
familiar with to help them put into perspective the size comparison.
Objective: Students will learn some basic biological facts about right whales by comparing and
contrasting them with other familiar organisms.
Background: Right whales are enormous animals. Their dimensions and nutritional needs may
be difficult to understand, especially for those who have never seen one up close. We provide
comparisons to animals that are more familiar to students.
Activity: Compare North Atlantic right whales to other animals using the suggestions below.
5. A white-footed mouse weighs .81 ounces (23 g). This = 0.05 lbs.
One right whale weighs as much as how many white-footed mice?
1. How many pepperoni pizzas would a right whale eat if one pizza contains 1500 calories?
2. How many Big Macs would a right whale eat if one Big Mac contains 704 calories?
3. How many Milky Way bars would a right whale eat if one bar contains 130 calories?
4. How many apples would a right whale eat if each apple contains 44 calories?
All cetacean (whales, dolphins and porpoises) dive for their food. We have included some
dive times from North Atlantic right whales. Calculate the average dive time for this species.
You may want to convert the times to seconds to do the addition and division and then convert
them back to minutes and seconds when youre finished.
Objective: Students will learn some basic biological facts about right whales by comparing and
contrasting them with other familiar organisms.
Background: Right whales are enormous animals. Their dimensions and nutritional needs may
be difficult to understand, especially for those who have never seen one up close. We provide
comparisons to animals that are more familiar to students.
Activity: Compare North Atlantic right whales to other animals using the suggestions below.
5. A white-footed mouse weighs .81 ounces (23 g). This = 0.05 lbs.
One right whale weighs as much as how many white-footed mice? 1 RW = 2,000,000 white-
footed mice.
1. How many pepperoni pizzas would a right whale eat if one pizza contains 1500 calories?
263 pepperoni pizzas
2. How many Big Macs would a right whale eat if one Big Mac contains 704 calories?
561 Big Macs
3. How many Milky Way bars would a right whale eat if one bar contains 130 calories?
3,038 bars
4. How many apples would a right whale eat if each apple contains 44 calories? 8,977
apples
All cetacean (whales, dolphins and porpoises) dive for their food. We have included some
dive times from North Atlantic right whales. Calculate the average dive time for this species.
You may want to convert the times to seconds to do the addition and division and then convert
them back to minutes and seconds when youre finished.
Clapham, Phil. Right Whales. World Life Library, Voyageur Press. 72 pages; 2004
Kraus, Scott and Kenney Mallory. Disappearing Giants: The North Atlantic Right Whale.
Bunker Hill Publishing in association with New England Aquarium. 2004
Kraus, Scott D. and Rosalind Rolland. The Urban Whale: North Atlantic Right Whales at
the Crossroads. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2007.
Leatherwood, Stephen and Randal Reeves. The Sierra Club Whales and Dolphins. Sierra
Club Books. 1983
*2
1
Skim Feeding Hunting Right Whales
Baleen plates can be up to 9 feet long Vikings and Basques (from coastal Spain) were the first to hunt right whales, along the
shore. Basques later sailed after their prey.
Skim feed along the surface Dutch, French and British whalers hunted them in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.
Prey source is copepods- microscopic plankton Commercial hunt for the North Atlantic right whale (NARW) effectively ended around
1750. Very few log books in the New Bedford Whaling Museum (NBWM) collection
During feeding season right whales will eat between mention NARWs.
Efforts were then put into hunting Southern and Pacific right whales.
2,000-3,000lbs of copepods each day, which is about the
weight of a VW Beetle
A depiction of the
process of making
Frames of parasols were
products from baleen.
made with baleen.
Advertisement
for corsets made
Corset busk made from baleen
from baleen
Whale oil was used to light lamps
2
That Was Then, This Is Now Habitat Invasion
Noise pollution threatens the survival of the species.
The sounds of a ship can mute whale calls for miles.
*The figures presented in this panel are estimates based on the best scientific data available at the time of publication. It is *10
not possible to account for every whale hunted, nor is it possible to count every living whale.
3
Entanglements Long Term Impact
Credit: Florida
Some whales can be seen trailing fishing gear for days, weeks, Fish and Wildlife
Conservation
months, or even years. Commission
*13
4
Ship Strike Modern Threats - Urban Life
NARW is called the
Urban Whale because
The right whale skeletons in the New Bedford Whaling its migration between
Museum are from a 15-year old female named Reyna and calving and feeding
grounds, and its other
her fetus that were accidentally killed by a ships propeller activities, take place
in November 2004, in the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. within 50 miles of the
coast
Whales swim through
high densities of fishing
and shipping activity
Colored lines on the
graph indicate
shipping traffic
Bay of Fundy, Scotian
Shelf, Cape Cod Bay,
Great South Channel:
North Atlantic feeding
grounds
Florida and Georgia
coasts: only known
calving grounds
*19
5
How to Solve the Problem? Benefits of Reducing Speed
Ship Strike Rule (2009): Requires large ships to reduce speeds to 10 knots in areas
where the whales feed and reproduce, as well as along migratory routes. This was a
5 year rule.
Combining reduced speeds with recommended routes reduces the probability of right Shenzhen, China is the source
whale mortality from ships by 71.9%.
of many electronics we have in
Compliance rates jumped when rule was made mandatory. the U.S.
According to an economic analysis report done by the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, the cost of the ship strike rule would equate to only $1/cruise ship
If a container ship traveled at
passenger. 10 knots while shipping a
The Ship Strike Rule was made permanent in December of 2013. product from Shenzhen to
Boston, it would add 3 weeks
to the travel time
Would use less fuel and create
less noise
Reduce the chance of striking
a whale
1.Lagueux KM, Zani MA, Knowlton AR, Kraus SD (2011) Response by vessel operators to protection measures for right
whales Eubalaena glacialis in the southeast US calving ground. Endang Species Res 14:69-77
2. Kite-Powell, H. (2005) Economic Implications of Possible Reductions in Boston Port Calls due to Ship Strike Management Measures.
1-18
20 days, 47 days,
12 hours 4 hours
10 knots
6
Buy Whale Friendly Products
What Can You Do?
Buy a door mat
Keep trash off the streets and out of the ocean. -Formerly used floating rope is
recycled and turned into
colorful door mats and dog
leashes by a company called
Custom Cordage.
7
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Face-ing Extinction: The North Atlantic Right Whale