PACIFIC LIFE WHALE EDUCATION KIT - LESSON 6

Step Aboard!

Goals/Objectives:

Students will:

• Realize that they can play an active part in preserving marine environments.
• Identify specific tasks which they can do to help protect the ocean as well as their own environment.
• Feel empowered to act upon their new knowledge and teach others what they have learned.

Teacher Overview:

Teacher will discuss the work and share a letter from Dr. Roger Payne. The teacher will also discuss the threat to whales and the environment. The class will engage in a project to act upon their new knowledge using the "Step Aboard" Activity worksheet as a guide. Time permitting, the class will obtain another perspective on whales from watching the last segment of the film, Making of Whales, Behind the Scenes.

Time: 45-50 minutes
Setting: Indoor
Subjects: Summary
Key Words: Dr. Roger Payne, Ocean Alliance/Whale Conservation Institute, Conservation

Background Information:

Why study whales? Over the last five lessons we have discussed numerous reasons why we need to study and protect whales and their ocean environment. Whales, some of which are the largest creatures that have ever lived, are uniquely adapted to their environment. They breathe air, appear to be intelligent, are indicator species of the health of their environment and as seen in the film, seem just as interested in us as we are in them. Think of this as another way in which we are all interconnected even though we live in two different worlds and survive in different ways. As students learned in the "Web of Life" activity in Lesson Five, something that affects one member of the web sends out waves that all the other members feel.

Dr. Roger Payne has dedicated his life to studying and working to protect whales. He is a world-renowned whale scientist, best known for his co-discovery that humpback whales sing songs and for his theory that the sounds of fin and blue whales can be heard across oceans. He has studied the behavior of whales since 1967. Dr. Payne is the Founder and President of the Ocean Alliance.

In over one hundred expeditions to all oceans Dr. Payne has studied every species of large whale in the wild. He pioneered many of the benign or harmless research techniques now used throughout the world to study free-swimming whales and has trained many of the current leaders in whale research both in America and abroad. He directs long-term research projects on the songs of humpback whales and on the behavior of 1,300 individually known Argentine southern right whales, the longest such continuous study. Aboard the research vessel Odyssey, he oversees the whale studies and environmental programs that researches ocean contaminants. Dr. Payne is a writer and presenter of TV documentaries and talks about the importance of saving whales on the Discovery Channel and other educational networks.

For his work in conservation, Dr. Payne has received several honors and awards. His most recent book, Among Whales, was referenced for most of the background material written for the Whale Education Program Curriculum Guide.

An important point to remember is that you don't have to be Dr. Payne to help whales. He is merely an example of someone who has chosen to make a difference. By participating in the WHALE Program you have already begun to expand your perception of whales.

Now it is up to you and the class to keep learning and teaching others about these magnificent animals. The ocean environment is one that humans also depend upon for our lives. A healthy ocean is the basis for all life on earth. All of us can choose to make a difference both for whales and ourselves by working to protect it.

Materials:

• TV and VCR
• Whales film
• Letter from Roger Payne
• Worksheets

Before Class:

1. Position the Whales film to the final segment, "Behind the Scenes."
2. Make copies of worksheets.

During Class:

1. Watch Whales-Behind the Scenes segment.
2. Discuss the work of Dr. Roger Payne. Use this as an example of a person who tries to make a difference with his/her knowledge.
3. Ask students to name ways in which people become involved with whales. (Becoming scientists, filmmakers, photographers, research vessel crew, whale watching, volunteering time and teaching.)
4. Explain that Dr. Payne had a few ideas he wanted to share with the class and has done so in the form of a letter to students. Read the letter to the class.
5. Introduce and pass out the student activity worksheet, 'Step Aboard.' Read through with students and ask them to complete as many of these tasks during the next week as possible. These things can be done at school or anywhere else during this week. They are to make a check mark in the box next to each line they accomplish and write some details about what they did in the margin or on the back of the sheet. After one week, students are to bring these sheets back into the classroom. The teacher can give extra credit if desired for those who complete more than 10-15, or collect these and send them as a class to the Ocean Alliance/Whale Conservation Institute office to receive official thanks for their initial work in the environmental field.

Closing Thoughts:

"95% of living space on earth is in the world's oceans." (Dr. Sylvia Earle, Sea Change) Oceans drive the weather patterns we experience on land. We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about our oceans. Our health and the health of the oceans are inseparable. Are there things we might learn about whales or the ocean by studying them that may help humans in the long run? ("Save the Whales" vs. "Saved by the whales.")