How to Learn About Blue Whales for Kids

A blue whale's tail is the width of a small airplane.

Blue whale lesson plans provide an opportunity to teach children about the environment and the largest mammal to ever live on earth. An engaging lesson plan requires you to relay facts that are both interesting and that foster a relationship between the child and the natural world. Learn about the extreme size and other characteristics of the blue whale to illustrate its place in relation to the rest of the world. Learn about the whale's importance to the environment and what each person can do to protect this majestic creature.

Instructions

1. Write down several facts about the blue whale's size for memorization. The blue whale is famous for its immense size, so information about its size is both integral to a complete lesson plan and some of the most interesting material to relay to your children. For example, Discovery Education states that blue whales weigh up to 150 tons and grow upward of 100 feet long.

2. Research the blue whale's feeding habits. This information provides insight into the whale's lifestyle and illustrates how the whale is connected to the rest of the world. The huge amount of food consumed by the blue whale also helps to illustrate how large this animal really is.

3. Compare the differences between the blue whale, a mammal, and cold-blooded fish in the sea. Understanding the key differences between mammals and cold-blooded animals gives you the opportunity to teach about these two key categories in the animal world. Blue whales, unlike fish, have lungs and give birth to live young.

4. Learn about the blue whale's migration habits. According to Lesson Stream, blue whales bear young in the Arctic and move south to warmer waters to feed. This information is easy to understand and creates a layer of depth to the blue whale that makes the lesson plan more interesting for children.

5. Research the interactions between humans and blue whales. Specifically, see how children can reduce harmful marine pollution that adversely affects the blue whale population. Teaching about water conservation, recycling and other environmentally responsible habits creates a connection between the child and the blue whale. Demonstrating a child's direct connection with blue whales should increase interest and information retention.

References

• Lesson Strem: The Blue Whale
• Discovery Education: Planet Ocean - Learning Adventures
• Tefl Clips: The Blue Whale Lesson Plan

Resources

• Chewonki: Clean Water - Water Pollution