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ORCA’s Whale Education Month

Lesson Pack 2: Dolphins

Dolphins are beautiful, intelligent creatures.

Learn more about these incredible animals with

ORCA’s Whale Education Month materials, games

and activities.

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Registered Charity Number: 1141728

ORCA’s Whale Education Month

Welcome!

This teacher’s pack aims to educate and inspire students (aged 7-11) around the UK about the wonderful world of

whales, dolphins and porpoises. Included in this pack are all the resources needed to deliver a fun, scientific class

about these animals, with the hope of raising awareness of the importance of their conservation. ORCA’s Whale

Education Month is running from the 1st – 31st October 2017, to coincide with World Animal Day on the 4th October.

About ORCA:

ORCA are a UK based whale and dolphin conservation charity, dedicated to the protection of whales, dolphins and

porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans) and their habitats in UK & European waters. We and our volunteers help

protect these inspirational animals in a number of ways; by educating the general public through our Your Seas

programmes onshore and our Wildlife Officer programmes offshore, through our Marine Mammal Surveyor Training

Courses across the country, and, once trained, through our volunteer surveyors working on ferry and cruise ship

routes monitoring vulnerable whale and dolphin populations. We freely share our data with governments and other

research institutions. Our work is all about creating safer places for whales and dolphins, ultimately promoting the

health of the wider marine ecosystem.

ORCA provides whale and dolphin workshops for schools, as part of the ‘Your Seas’ educational programme. Being

based in Portsmouth, there is never enough time to visit as many schools as we’d like. This teacher’s pack will

provide the same engaging presentation and educational activities to students, whilst allowing teachers to be

trained and able to deliver the content themselves.

For more information, please visit our website www.orcaweb.org.uk

There are three lesson packs;

1. Whales

2. Dolphins

3. Porpoises

The below information is for the Dolphins Pack.

Keep in touch!

We hope you enjoy taking part in ORCA’s Whale Education Month, and if you have any questions, please do not

hesitate to contact us;

info@orcaweb.org.uk

02392 832565

ORCA, Brittany Centre, Wharf Road, Portsmouth, PO2 8RU

If you or your school uses social media, the hashtag is #WhaleEducationMonth

and our Twitter handle is @ORCA_web

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ORCA’s Whale Education Month There are a wide range of different materials, activities and games provided for ORCA’s Whale Education Month.

These resources link in with the National Curriculum;

Science

Years 2 – 6: Living things and their habitats

Years 2 – 4: Animals, including humans

Maths

Years 1 – 3: Number – number and place value

Years 1 – 3: Number – multiplication and division

Years 1 – 3: – Measurement

English

Years 1 – 6: Spoken Language

Years 1 – 6: Reading - comprehension

Geography

KS1 – Locational knowledge

How does the pack work?

We have provided a PowerPoint presentation about dolphins for you to deliver to your class. Notes for the

presentation are below. Integrated into the presentation are slides with suggested activities.

The individual activities are in this document. We have also provided you with separate documents with the activity

sheets on (for ease of printing). It is up to you as to how many activities to integrate into the lesson.

Once you have delivered the presentation and activities, you can print off the certificate to proudly display in your

classroom!

Contents:

Activity Page Number Teacher’s notes for the PowerPoint Presentation: Dolphins 4 Activity Sheet 1: Dolphin Descriptions 9 Activity: Measuring Giants 10 Activity Sheet 2: Compare and Contrast 11 Activity: Echolocation Game 12 Activity: Blubber Glove 13 Activity Sheet 3: Make One Small Change 14 Activity Sheet 4: Dolphin Research 15 Activity Sheet 5: Dolphins Around the World 16

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Teacher’s Notes: Presentation 2 – Dolphins

1 Introduction: Today, we will be learning about some of the most intelligent animals on our planet – dolphins! This presentation has been provided by ORCA, who are a UK-based whale and dolphin conservation charity. The charity’s aim is to have oceans alive with whales and dolphins!

2 First of all, let’s start off with a quiz to see if you know any names of the dolphins that live in our oceans. Ask the class: Does anyone know the name of this dolphin? [click to reveal answer] Bottlenose dolphin!

3 Ask the class: Does anyone know the name of this strange looking dolphin? [click to reveal answer] Amazon river dolphin!

4 Ask the class: Does anyone know the name of this dolphin? [click to reveal answer] Orca/killer whale! The orca is not a whale at all – in fact, it’s the largest species of dolphin. It’s called a killer whale because it will kill and eat whales – orcas are known to eat baby humpback whales and even baby blue whales.

5 This picture here shows the 90 species of whale, dolphin and porpoise in the world. The collective term for all of these animals is cetaceans [pronounced sih-tay-shuns] As you can see, they come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, colours and even patterns. The number 90 species does go up and down. More species of whales and dolphins are still being discovered today, and also unfortunately some species become extinct. The Yangtze River Dolphin became extinct in 2007. Whales and dolphins live in oceans all around the world, and some species of dolphin even live in the world’s largest rivers. Ask the class: Which whales and dolphins do you recognise?

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6 Ask the class: How many different types of dolphin do you think there are in the world? In 30 seconds, see how many different names of dolphins the class can think of! [click to reveal] Answer; there is an incredible 40 different types of dolphin around the world!!

7 Activity Sheet 1: Dolphin Descriptions [takes approximately 15 minutes]

8 This slide follows on from activity 1. [Click to reveal first word] – Ask students to either describe where the dolphin body part is, or they could come up to the front of the class and point to where it is. There are 7 body parts to label on the white-beaked dolphin. Beak – The dolphin’s mouth Dorsal fin – The fin on the dolphin’s back. On whales this is located two thirds of the way along the body. On dolphins, the dorsal fin is right in the middle of the animal’s back. Blowhole – A dolphin’s nostrils, located on top of the animals head. Dolphins have one blowhole, but most whales have 2 blowholes. Ask the class: Why is their nose on the top of their head? Answer: To make it nice and easy for the dolphin to breathe as it comes up to the surface of the water to breathe. Eye – Dolphins have very good eyesight Pectoral fin –Dolphins have 2 pectoral fins, located on the side of their body. They use these mainly for steering. Tail fluke – A dolphin’s tail is called a fluke, and it moves its tail fluke up and down to propel the animal through the water Blubber – A thick layer of fat around a dolphin which helps to keep it warm in the cold water. It’s its own personal insulation.

9 Ask the class: Which dolphin is the largest? You can either reveal the answer or carry on to the activity (Measuring Giants) to find out! Answer; the blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived on our planet. It is longer and heavier than any of the sharks and dinosaurs! But the largest dolphin is the orca/killer whale.

10 Activity: Measuring giants

11 The orca/killer whale is the largest species of dolphin. A male orca’s dorsal fin is the same size as a man (up to 2m high!) [click] An orca can grow up to 10m long, that’s the same size as a bus [click]

12 Activity Sheet 2: Compare & Contrast [takes approximately 15 minutes] The main aim of this activity is for children to learn that although dolphins and fish both live in the sea, dolphins are mammals and not fish!

13 Ask the class: But what do you think dolphins eat? [click 5 times for different options] Answer [click]; dolphins mainly eat larger fish such as cod and salmon, but also [click] squid and octopus. Dolphins have about 80 – 100 sharp teeth in their mouths, which

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are cone shaped. Dolphins do not chew their food – their teeth are used for catching prey but they then swallow their food whole!

14 Now let’s look at some dolphin food chains. Here are four different options: Ask the class: Can you put these in the order of the food chain.

15 [This slide needs a lot of clicking to reveal the food chain] Advanced activity: Can the children label the producer, primary, secondary and tertiary consumers?

16 This is a more complex dolphin food chain. Here are six different options: Ask the class: Can you put these in the order of the food chain. Advanced activity: Can the children label the producer, primary, secondary and tertiary consumers? Advanced activity: Can the children create a food web, including other organisms such as seals, seabirds, sharks and a dead whale on the seabed?

17 [This slide needs a lot of clicking to reveal the food chain] Orcas will eat dolphins, whales, penguins, sharks and seals. They really are top of the food chain! [click] here is a model of an orca tooth. It needs to be very sharp to be able to catch and tear apart its prey.

18 Ask the class: Do you know how dolphins communicate? It’s very dark and murky in the oceans, so although dolphins have very good eyesight, they can’t really use it as they can’t see! So instead, dolphins use sound as their primary sense. They use echolocation. Ask the class: Can anyone describe echolocation? [click next to view slide of echolocation]

19 This is how echolocation works. Dolphins produce clicks and squeaks just below their blowhole. The sounds pass out into the sea. When these clicks hit an object, such as a small fish, the echo bounces back to the lower jaw & to the inner ear. From this the animal is able to determine the size, shape, speed, & density of the prey item, making it a very effective hunting strategy. Some species can produce over 80 clicks per second, allowing them to build up an accurate picture of their surroundings.

20 Activity: Echolocation game [takes approximately 5 minutes – 30 minutes depending on how many children want to have a go!]

21 We recommend viewing these videos in class, to show how dolphins feed and some of their other clever feeding strategies. (Please note that these videos are not affiliated with ORCA)

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22 Ask the class: Although dolphins are mammals, just like humans, they live in the sea! Think about how dolphins are adapted to live in the sea.

23 If students are struggling with the above, think about these bullet points and how dolphins are adapted to each one.

24 - The cold water – Blubber! All whales and dolphins have a thick layer of fat around their body. Remember, they are warm-blooded so they have to keep their body warm. This blubber acts as insulation. [use following blubber glove activity to show how this works]

- Breathing – Nostrils on top of head This means that the dolphin only needs to just break the surface of the water in order to breathe. If their nostrils were on the end of their face (like ours!), they would have to stick their whole head out of the water to breathe. When the dolphin is trying to catch fish or trying to swim away from predators, it’s important that it can breathe quickly and easily

- Communication – Echolocation To communicate underwater, they use sound, which travels 5 times faster in water than it does in the air.

- Body shape - Streamlined All dolphins are very streamlines (shaped like a jet or a fast car) so that they can move very quickly and easily through the water with no drag.

- Sleeping – only half of its brain is asleep at a time Dolphins have the amazing

ability to sleep with half of their brain at a time. Dolphins have to think about every time they take a breath, as they have to come up to the surface. But they still need to rest. So dolphins allow one half of their brain to rest and sleep, keeping the other half of their brain to stay awake and alert – so they remember to breathe and to be alert for oncoming predators. Once that half of their brain is rested, they will switch it around so that the other half of the brain can rest. Very clever!

25 Activity: Blubber glove!

26 Despite dolphins being beautiful, intelligent and fascinating, there are lots of threats facing whales, dolphins and porpoises in our oceans. Unfortunately, many of these are due to humans Ask the class: What threats can you think of?

27 Ask the class: What in this picture do no whales and dolphins eat? [click] Answer: Seaweed. All whales and dolphins are carnivores - which means they eat other animals. Everything else on this slide is eaten by a species of whale or dolphin except seaweed because it isn’t an animal. Game: I am going to swap one of these pictures over, close your eyes and see if you can spot the difference. Okay eyes closed [click] Now open them. What has changed? Answer: Jellyfish, click to show image of plastic bags in their place. Whales and dolphins accidently eat plastic thinking they are jellyfish/squid. 100,000 marine mammals die every year from marine litter!

28 Ask the class: Where do you think this rubbish was found?

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All activity sheets are below, but they are also provided as separate documents for ease of printing.

All of this plastic was found in an orca/killer whale’s stomach. Many whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, turtles, sharks and fish eat plastic thinking it’s food. Plastic is a man made materials, which means it never biodegrades (like an apple core would, for example). So when an animal swallows it, it stays in its stomach. Over time, the animal eats more and more plastic, which fills up its stomach. Now the animal feels like it’s full up, so it stops feeding. As you can see, this orca has eaten a yoghurt pot, shoe, crisp wrappers and sweet wrappers. Ask the class: Where do you think this came from? Answer; Humans 80% of rubbish in the sea comes from land – humans dropping rubbish on the floor (even if you’re not by the seaside, the wind can blow it into streams and river and the rain washes all rubbish into streams and rivers, too, which end up in the sea), landfills eroding into the sea, rubbish washing into the sea by the tide. 20% of marine litter comes from the sea – people throwing rubbish off ships, fishermen accidentally losing their nets out at sea.

29 Activity Sheet 3: Make one small change [takes approximately 1 – 2 hours] – this could be incorporated into homework.

30 Thank you for taking part! We hope that you now know lots about whales and dolphins and that students are encouraged to do their own research about these fascinating animals! Additional activities: Activity Sheet 4: Dolphin research [takes approximately 1 – 2 hours] – this could be incorporated into homework. Encourage the students to pick different species, and then they can present their findings to the class. Activity Sheet 5: Dolphins around the world – this could be incorporated into homework.

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Activity Sheet 1: Dolphin Descriptions Carefully cut out the green words and blue sentences. Then, match the green words below with the

descriptions (the blue sentences).

Students will learn a wide range of dolphin-themed words. Students can do this alone or in small groups.

The fins on the animal’s side, which it uses to

steer

The dolphin’s nostrils, which are on top of its

head

A thick layer of fat all around the body which helps to keep the whale

warm

The dolphin moves this up and down to help it move quickly through

the water

Another name for the Amazon River dolphin

The name for a baby dolphin

A group of dolphins is called a…

The fin on a dolphin’s back

Dolphins only eat other animals. What is the

name for this?

The rarest species of dolphin and the

smallest dolphin in the world is the…

A dolphin’s mouth The largest species of

dolphin is the…

When the dolphin jumps out of the water and

creates a huge splash!

A behaviour where the dolphin sticks its head

out of the water and has a look around

How dolphins communicate using

sound

Beak Pectoral fin Blubber Dorsal fin Boto Tail fluke

Maui’s dolphin Blowhole Orca Breaching Echolocation Calf Carnivore Spyhopping Pod

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Activity: Measuring Giants Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) come in a great range of different shapes and sizes, from the largest

animal on Planet Earth, the blue whale, to the smallest cetacean, the vaquita porpoise.

Learning outcomes: In this exercise, students will get a feel for how large dolphins and whales actually are.

What you will need: Either a measuring tape, rope and/or eager students! You will also need a large area, such as

the school hall or playground/field.

Instructions: If you are using a measuring tape, measure out the lengths of the different species below whilst

conducting the activity. If you are using a rope, you will need to measure out the lengths before delivering this

session to the class. If you do not have either a measuring tape or rope, you can use your students! Below we have

provided you with the length of each species, plus how many children this would measure out to (based on the

average height for students aged 7-8, 1.24m).

Teachers should measure out the lengths listed below and if conditions allow, ask students to lie down next to the

measuring tape, in order to compare cetacean and human body lengths. Students and teachers alike will be shocked

to see just how big whales and dolphins can grow.

Advanced activity: To make this a more complicated task, ask each student to measure their height. As a class, work

out which students need to lie head-to-toe together to make the exact lengths below (or the closest to it!).

Species:

Vaquita porpoise = 1.2m (the smallest of all cetaceans)

(Less than 1 student age 7-8)

Maui’s dolphin = 1.7m (the smallest of all dolphins)

(Approximately 1 ¼ students age 7-8)

Common dolphin = 2.5m

(Approximately 2 students age 7-8)

Bottlenose dolphin = 4m

(Approximately 3 students age 7-8)

Pilot whale = 6.5m

(Approximately 5 students age 7-8)

Orca (killer whale) = 9m (the largest species of dolphin)

(Approximately 7 students age 7-8)

Humpback whale = 17m

(Approximately 13 students age 7-8)

Blue whale = 33m (the largest animal that has ever lived on the planet!)

(Equivalent to 3 double-decker buses or approximately 26 students age 7-8)

Blue whale

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Activity Sheet 2: Compare and Contrast - Answers This activity will help you to understand how dolphins and fish are different.

Although both dolphins and fish live in the sea, there are many differences between them. Dolphins are

different than fish, but they do have some similar characteristics. Complete the chart below, known as a

Venn Diagram, to compare how dolphins are similar to fish and how they are different (you can either

write in the diagram below or carefully cut the words out and stick them into the diagram). An example is

written in to start you off. All of the answers are filled in below.

A fish Warm blooded Lives in the sea

Tail moves up and down Can swim A mammal

Lays eggs Tail moves side-to-side Has to come to the water’s

surface to breathe air

Gives birth to live young Cold blooded Has lungs

Has hair Has gills and breathes

underwater Has backbone

Has scales Can be found alone Can be found in groups

Fish Dolphin

Both fish

and

dolphins

Lives in the sea

Has gills and breathes

underwater

Can be found alone

Can be found in groups

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Activity: Echolocation Game Background – Dolphins use echolocation to find prey and navigate the ocean. Echolocation is a series of clicks and

squeaks, which are produced just below the dolphin’s blowhole. These sounds then pass out into the water and hit

objects (for example fish). This sound then echoes and reflects back to the dolphin’s head where it will send signals

to the brain about how far away the object is, its size, shape and density. This technique is especially effective in

low light conditions where it is impossible to see, such as the deep dark sea.

Aim – To teach students about how toothed whales (e.g. dolphins) use specialised hunting techniques, such as

echolocation, to find and catch their prey.

Equipment – A scarf

Instructions – Students make a large circle, and represent the sea wall. Two students stand in the middle of the

circle, one will be the ‘fish’ and the other will be the ‘dolphin’.

The ‘dolphin’ is blindfolded, and has to imagine it is swimming in the dark, murky sea. The ‘dolphin’ will attempt to

use echolocation to find the ‘fish’. During this exercise, claps will be used to mimic the dolphin’s clicks.

The ‘dolphin’ will clap (echolocate) and to represent the echo of the click bouncing back off the ‘fish’, the ‘fish’ must

clap back.

The ‘dolphin’ has to find the ‘fish’ by gently tagging it. To make the game easier, the ‘fish’ can stand still. To make

the game harder, the ‘fish’ can move around the circle.

One the ‘dolphin’ has tagged the ‘fish’, the game is won and another two students can play.

This activity can either be used as a demonstration technique to educate about dolphin hunting methods, using only

a few student volunteers, or as a fun game that the whole class can play.

It is important that the circle stays connected for health and safety reasons (as the dolphin in blindfolded and cannot

see). If the blindfolded dolphin walks to the edge of the circle, the students must gently push them back into the

centre of the circle.

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Activity: Blubber Glove Background – Cetaceans have a thick layer of fat around their bodies called blubber that they use as insulation from

the cold surrounding water. The thickness of the blubber varies between species, with the thickest blubber

belonging to Arctic species, as they live in the coldest water. Fun fact – the bowhead whale has blubber which is

70cm thick!

Aim – To teach students about how whales and dolphins keep warm in the cold oceans! This activity will show

students the difference between the effects of temperature on the body, with and without blubber. The blubber

insulates the whale, ensuring that they keep warm in colder waters.

Equipment – Zip lock plastic bags, lard, duct tape, bowl, ice, water

Instructions – The blubber glove is made by using two zip-lock plastic bags, lard and duct tape. Fill a zip-lock plastic

bag (big enough to fit a hand) with lard, and put another similarly sized zip-lock bag into the lard-filled bag. Spread

the lard around to cover the entire area within the bag, so that the hand is completely covered. Fold the inner bag

over the opening for the outer bag, and seal the two bags together with duct tape, so that the lard cannot leak out.

This is your blubber glove! It can be covered to make more decorative, but this is not essential for the activity.

Fill a bowl (washing up bowl or something similar) with cold water and ice. Students place one hand into the cold, icy

water, and the other into the blubber glove in the water. The students should feel the difference in temperature,

and the benefits of having a thick blubber layer in whales and dolphins should be clear.

We recommend trying this at testing the blubber glove before presenting to a class.

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Activity Sheet 3: Make one small change Do some research into one of these threats that whales, dolphins and porpoises face;

o Marine Litter

o Noise Pollution

o Chemical Pollution

o Overfishing

o Bycatch

Think about;

Why does this threat happen?

How is it harmful to marine animals?

Who is at risk? Which species does the threat affect the most?

Where in the world is this threat?

What can humans do to stop this threat happening in the future? Think about one

small thing that everyone could do in their everyday lives to help save our oceans.

Once you have completed your research, do one of the following;

o Make a poster to display at school, which raises awareness of the threats facing whales and your suggestions of how people can help stop this happening.

o Write a story about a whale in danger, and end it with a solution to the problem. A good example of this is ‘The Snail and the Whale’ book by Julia Donaldson.

o Write a poem about threats in our oceans and how we can help.

o Create an advert to be shown on a bus stop about how people can save the oceans.

o Create a T-Shirt to raise awareness of the threats in our oceans.

You can also make your pledge to help save whales and dolphins on the ORCA website:

http://www.orcaweb.org.uk/get-involved/make-a-small-change

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Activity Sheet 4: Dolphin Research Student Name_________________________________________________________________________________

Creature name_________________________________________________________________________________

What do they look like?

Size_____________

Colour___________

What do they feed on?

______________________

______________________

______________________

Fun Facts: Find out three fun facts about this species of dolphin.

Threats: What threats does this animal face?

Where do they live? Circle on the map and colour in where this animal can be found. This is called a species

distribution map.

Draw the dolphin here: Label the key body parts

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Activity Sheet 5: Dolphins around the world Do your own research to find species of dolphins that live in the oceans and rivers labelled below.

Atlantic Ocean

Antarctic Ocean

Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Arctic Ocean

North

Sea

Tasman

Sea

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Thank you for taking part in

ORCA’s Whale Education Month!

If your school would like to fundraise or donate to help us

continue our vital research and education work, please visit

our website www.orcaweb.org.uk

Thank you for your support.