Whale conversation questions
A free printable discussion worksheet about whales. There are a few questions in this activity that ask the learners to guess some whale statistics. Here are the facts –
Estimates of the world blue whale population range between 10 to 30 000.
A blue whale can grow to 31 metres in length and weigh 160 tons.
The second-largest whale is the fin whale, it can grow to 20 metres and weigh up to 48 tons.
A blue whale can hold its breath and stay underwater for 90 minutes.
Difficult terms to teach before starting this activity include – species, communicate, and opinion. pod, amusement park, dare, migrate, beached, and cruise.
The whale conversation questions are –
What do you think about whales? What words describe them?
Have you ever seen a whale? Where did you see it?
How many species of whales can you name? Which is the biggest?
What do you think whales talk about when they communicate with each other?
If you could speak to a whale, what would you ask it?
What is your opinion of whaling? Would you ever eat whale meat?
How are whales hunted and killed? Where does it happen most?
How many blue whales do you think are alive today? What do they eat?
How much do you think a blue whale weighs? How long are they?
What do you think is the second biggest kind of whale in the ocean?
Would you like to swim with a whale? Why or why not?
Besides hunting, what other things pose a threat to whales?
What do killer whales eat? Where in the world do they usually live?
What do you think about killer whales being kept in amusement parks?
How do whales breathe? How long do you think they can stay underwater?
Which do you think is more intelligent, a whale or a monkey?
If you were in a small boat, how close would you dare to get to a whale?
What things can be done to protect whales?
How do whales see where they are swimming?
Why do some whales migrate at different times of the year?
Sometimes pods of whales get beached, why does this happen?
Would you like to go on a whale watching cruise? Where would you like to do it?
Can you think of 3 things that whales and humans have in common?
What do you think whales would like to say to us?
Whale idioms
Once you have completed the whale conversation questions, share these fun whale idioms with your students –
If you have a whale of a time, you have a lot of fun.
A whale can be used to refer to a fat person, a person who drinks too much, or a person who gambles a lot of money.
If you whale away or whale on something or someone, you beat them physically or criticize them harshly.
The expression “throw a tub to a whale” means to create a decoy or diversion in order to get away from a bad situation.
