A Whale of a Tale

A WebQuest for 5/6 graders

Your Challenge:

A. Introduction:

You are an oceanographer. It is your mission to discover how many humpback whales travel through your region each year. You have two problems. The first is how do you know if the whales you see are humpbacks? The second problem is, you can not just go out and count them every day, because you might count the same one twice. How are you going to be able to tell if you are counting the same whale again or a new one?

B. The Challenge:

Visit the following websites and find out what a humpback looks like so you know you are counting the right kind of whale. Then see how you can tell one humpback whale is different from another.

Your Journey:

To get information, visit these sites.

http://www.state.ak.us/local/akpages/FISH.GAME/wildlife/geninfo/game/humpback.htm

http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/humpback.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/humpback/curious.html

http://whaleadoption.org/naming.htm

http://stellwagen.nos.noaa.gov/gallery/newwhales.html

http://www.neaq.org/visit/wwatch/whaleident.html

http://www.neaq.org/visit/wwatch/natlog.html

To get even more information; use these words in your favorite search engine.

Humpback whale

Whale flukes

Naming whales

Dorsal Fins

Answer the Following Questions In Your Science Journal:

1. What does a humpback whale look like? (color, size, fins, tail)

2. What are some common behaviors of a humpback whale?

3. How do scientists tell humpbacks apart?

4. How are humpbacks named?

After completing the questions, find a picture of a humpback whale that you like. Make sure it is a picture that clearly identifies the whale. Under the picture, answer the following questions.

1. What is the whale’s name?

2. When was the whale first sighted?

3. What are the names of some of the other whales that your whale is related to?