Our class spent a large amount of time studying whales. We did this through a variety of ways. We examined a number of different websites dedicated to whales. This gave us the opportunity to read about them, play games involving them, watch videos of them and even listen to them sing!

One type of whale that we read about were right whales. We learned that right whales got their name because they were the “right” type of whales for whalers to hunt in the 1800’s. They were slow swimmers, easy to catch, loaded with blubber, and floated when they were killed. Due to the whaling in the 1800’s we learned that these whales are endangered today. In addition to whaling we learned other dangers that face the right whales today. Our class illustrated these dangers by creating pictures of how humans share the ocean with right whales. Students mixed watercolor paints, crayons, colored pencils, and different objects from around the room to illustrate these pictures. Among the dangers to right whales illustrated in these projects were fishing nets, large ships, and pollution. Pictures of the projects can be viewed below.