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 meters 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 –
1 – When was the last time you heard or read news about a whale? What was the story about?
2 – What do you think about whales? What words describe them?
3 – Have you ever seen a whale? Where did you see it?
4 – How many species of whales can you name? Which is the biggest?
5 – What do you think whales talk about when they communicate with each other?
6 – If you could speak to a whale, what would you ask it?
7 – What is your opinion of whaling? Would you ever eat whale meat?
8 – How are whales hunted and killed? Where does it happen most?
9 – How many blue whales do you think are alive today? What do they eat?
10 – How much do you think a blue whale weighs? How long are they?
11 – What do you think is the second biggest kind of whale in the ocean?
12 – Would you like to swim with a whale? Why or why not?
13 – Besides hunting, what other things pose a threat to whales?
14 – What do killer whales eat? Where in the world do they usually live?
15 – What do you think about killer whales being kept in amusement parks?
16 – How do whales breathe? How long do you think they can stay underwater?
17 – Which do you think is more intelligent, a whale or a monkey?
18 – If you were in a small boat, how close would you dare to get to a whale?
19 – What things can be done to protect whales?
20 – How do whales see where they are swimming?
21 – Why do some whales migrate at different times of the year?
22 – Sometimes pods of whales get beached, why does this happen?
23 – Would you like to go on a whale watching cruise? Where would you like to do it?
24 – Can you think of 3 things that whales and humans have in common?
25 – 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.
