1st Grade School Project - Whales?

Squished · 03-11-2010, 05:57 PM

Since I'm the one who likes to fish in the family and extended, my sister threw this project at me for my niece. She's a 1st grader. She needs to pick a whale and make a diorama, mobile, or something as part of a research project. She needs to decide on the whale tonight, and then over the next month she'll be researching it. I've come up with a few suggestions so far:

1. Pilot Whale - have her do her research on the unnecessary slaughtering of these creatures in the Faroe Islands

2. Minke Whales - Get a little whale wars theme going with research on the slaughtering of these whales by the Japanese in protected waters

I really want her to pick something other than the standard Flipper(bottlenose) or Willy(orca) and learn something from it. That being said, any suggestions on whales or project ideas? I figured we could all have some fun with this one.

Might as well start them young on preserving the ocean!

chf1949 · 03-11-2010, 06:03 PM

Keep the information balanced in her report. One idea might be to include the following comparison:

Include data such as how many pounds or tons of fish whale 'x' of size 'y' eats in a day, and compare it to how many people that would feed in one day. Assuming it is a fish eating whale, not a plankton eater.

Squished · 03-11-2010, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chf1949

Keep the information balanced in her report. One idea might be to include the following comparison:

Include data such as how many pounds or tons of fish whale 'x' of size 'y' eats in a day, and compare it to how many people that would feed in one day.

That's true. I'm going to help her keep the gore part to a minimum because she is a 1st grader, but I really want something about conservation in there.

Kaley · 03-11-2010, 06:44 PM

I agree that "balance" probably isn't a developmentally appropriate goal. Six-year-olds haven't developed the ability to hold conflicting ideas in their head simultaneously. That generally comes around puberty.

It might be nice to pick an animal she is likely to encounter in nature. I remember being fascinated by porpoises at that age. I loved watching them hunt mullet by herding them against the seawall.

Squished · 03-11-2010, 06:50 PM

Well, we decided on Minke whales. When I told my sister the first thing she asked was "Do mink coats come from minke whales?"

Kaley · 03-11-2010, 06:51 PM

LOL. Might save some money if you tell her "yes."

Eastern Tackle · 03-11-2010, 08:01 PM

Even though its Orka, I have found the stories about them in gulf from the past few years pretty interesting. Don't really expect them there.

cvye · 03-12-2010, 08:09 AM

I'd go with Humpbacks. Their hunting strategies are amazing (bubble rings) as they eat fish and are the singing whales. Besides, we find tuna under them!

Squished · 03-12-2010, 08:10 AM

Thanks, we already sent in the paperwork on the Minke whale today.