LESSON 5:

A WHALE OF A MIGRATION

INTRODUCTION

Twice a year, humpback whales take an 

amazing 3000-mile journey. This seasonal 

migration takes them from cold waters 

where they spend summers feeding to 

warmer waters in the winter months to 

breed and raise young calves. How do the 

whales know where to go and how do they 

make sure they arrive? 

LESSON SUMMARY

In this lesson, students learn how scientists 

identify and track humpback whales. 

They explore data and a map about the 

long migration whales make seasonally. 

They use this information with readings to 

explain how whales know where to go on 

their journeys. 

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OBJECTIVES

• Students will explore how scientists 

identify and track humpback whales.

• Students will learn about the ways 

whales keep track of where they are and 

where they are going during migration.

ESTIMATED TIME

45 minutes. If you would like to teach 

this lesson over 2 class periods, consider 

pausing the learning between steps 5 and 

6. 

STANDARDS ADRESSED

Science (NGSS): 4-LS1-1. Construct an 

argument that plants and animals have 

internal and external structures that 

function to support survival, growth, 

behavior, and reproduction.
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4-LS1-2. Use a model to describe that 

animals receive different types of 

information through their senses, process 

the information in their brain, and respond 

to the information in different ways.

OCEAN LITERACY 

PRINCIPLES

5 The ocean supports a great diversity of 

life and ecosystems. 

Geography: Standard 8 The 

characteristics and spatial distribution of 

ecosystems and biomes on Earth’s surface.

Mathematics (CCSS): 4.MD.A.2 Use the 

4 operations to solve word problems 

involving distances, intervals of time, liquid 

volumes, masses of objects, and money, 

including problems involving simple 

fractions or decimals, and problems that 

require expressing measurements given 

in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. 

Represent measurement quantities using 

diagrams such as number line diagrams 

that feature a measurement scale.

English Language Arts (CCSS): RI.4.2 

Determine the main idea of a text and 

explain how it is supported by key details; 

summarize the text.

SL.4.1.A Come to discussions prepared, 

having read or studied required material; 

explicitly draw on that preparation and 

other information known about the topic to 

explore ideas under discussion.

FOCUS QUESTION

How do whales know where to go when 

they migrate?

MATERIALS

• Identifying Whales, display copy

• Whale Tracking Data, one per student

• How Do Whales Know Where to Go, one 

copy per group of 3 students, cut apart

• Compass or compass application on a 

smartphone

PREPARATION

• Make copies of all the handouts. For the 

handout How Do Whales Know Where 

to Go, cut the readings apart. Divide 

the readings so that each group of 3 

students will get 1 copy of each of the 3 

readings.
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FACILITATION

Step 1. Display the pictures of the 

humpback whale and the mother whale 

and her calf. Allow students a little time to 

observe the whales. Share that they can 

grow to be more than 50 feet long, which is 

about the length of 3-4 cars placed bumper 

to bumper. 

Step 2. Next, share the whale tails on the 

Identifying Whales master. Tell students 

that the pictures represent eight different 

humpback whales. Give them a minute to 

observe the pictures quietly. Ask students if 

they think they could tell the whales apart 

based on the pictures and describe which 

features contributed to whether they could 

identify individual whales or not. Students 

should say that the different whales have 

different patterns of white on their tails. 

They may also describe that the shape of 

some of the tails seems different. 

Step 3. Tell students that scientists can tell 

whales apart using their flukes, or the two 

lobes that make up their tails. Many whales 

have a pattern of white on their flukes that 

is unique to each whale. Scientists also look 

at the shape of the flukes; the trailing edge 

of the flukes, which is the end further from 

the body; and the notch, or V-shape where 

the two flukes come together in the center 

of the tail. By finding some unique features 

on each whale, scientists can identify 

individual whales in photographs. Ask 

students to choose one of the tails on the 

master and try to find 2-3 characteristics 

that are unique to that whale. 

Step 4. Share that being able to identify 

each whale allows scientists to track the 

whale’s movements through the water. 

Distribute copies of the handout, Whale 

Tracking Data. Ask students to examine the 

data in the table and the map to learn more 

about the migration routes that whales 

take. Depending on your students, you may 

wish to have them read the introduction 

to the data as a class, then have them 

examine the data in the table, followed by 

the map. 

Step 5. Lead a class discussion about the 

information on whale migration based 

on the whale tracking data. Ask students 

questions such as:

• Where did the whales begin and end 

their migration? These whales migrated 

from Alaska to Hawaii. Share with 

students that not all humpback whales 

follow this route but that they are an 

example to think about how whales 

migrate. Share that humpback whales 

generally spend the warm summer 

months feeding in cooler waters and 

in the winter they migrate to warmer 

waters to breed and raise young whale 

calves. For the whales observed in 

2014 and 2015, the migration pattern 

is usually to travel south to Hawaii in 

November and December. These whales 

generally travel back to Alaska in April 

and May. 
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• How far did the whales travel overall? 

How far can they travel in a day? The 

whales traveled between 4,300 and 

4,800 kilometers or between 2,600 

and 3,000 miles. Three of the whales 

traveled around 130 to 140 kilometers 

or 80 to 90 miles a day. The other whale 

traveled around 90 kilometers or 60 

miles a day. To reinforce math skills, you 

can have students do these calculations 

by determining the distance traveled 

per day for one or more of the whales. 

• Did the whales seem to follow a 

particular route or did they seem to 

wander around? Students should see 

that whales did not necessarily take 

the exact same route, but that they did 

not swim off course, in circles, or back 

and forth. Their paths from Alaska to 

Hawaii were fairly straight routes. Guide 

students to an understanding that the 

whales must have a way to navigate and 

know where they are along the route. 

Step 6. In groups of 3, have students 

discuss how humans might know what 

route to take to get from New York City to 

Los Angeles, a distance about the same 

length as the route the whales migrate. 

Students are likely to say that they would 

use a GPS application or a map. Discuss 

their ideas, probing them with questions 

such as, how many times do you think you 

would need to go back and forth before you 

did not need a map? Would your answer 

change if you knew you only went back and 

forth once a year compared to more or less 

often? 

Step 7. Follow up on the previous step by 

having small groups discuss: 

• whether whales can use the same 

methods humans do to know where 

they are going, 

• how they think migrating back and 

forth only one time per year affects the 

whales’ abilities to navigate, and 

• how they think whales know where to 

go.

Step 8. Have students share their ideas to 

answer the question: how do humpback 

whales know where to go when they 

migrate? You may wish to give them 

some quiet time to individually write their 

ideas down before sharing with the class. 

Make a list of their ideas to display in the 

classroom. 

Step 9. Tell students that they are going to 

have an opportunity to learn more about 

how whales know the route when they 

migrate. You will use a jigsaw strategy to 

support students in their learning. Give 

each group a set of readings from the 

handout How Do Whales Know Where 

to Go? Have each small group divide the 

readings so that each student reads one of 

the sections. This will be their home group 

for the jigsaw. 
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Step 10. Once students have had a 

chance to read, form small expert groups 

of students who read the same section. 

This should represent one student from 

each home group. Keep the groups to 

no more than 3 or 4 students to allow all 

students to participate and share. In a 

class of 30 students, this will mean that 

there are multiple expert groups for the 

same reading. Give the expert groups a few 

minutes to discuss what they read, focusing 

on making sure they know the important 

points to share with their home groups. 

Step 11. Have students rejoin their home 

groups from step 9. Each home group will 

have at least one expert on each of the 

three readings. Allow time so that students 

can share about the sections they read. 

Remind them to share the important points 

they discussed in their expert groups. Tell 

students that they should listen carefully 

and be prepared to describe all the 

ways that whales might understand the 

migration routes. 

Step 12. Briefly discuss each of the three 

sections of reading. 

• When the class discusses the 

“communication” reading, consider 

sharing some recordings of humpback 

whales from Eavesdropping on Whales

(https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/

feb21/eavesdropping-on-whales.

html). Under the “Make Some Noise” 

subheading, there are three short 

recordings of humpback whales 

communicating. 

• As the class discusses the “magnetic 

field” reading, show a compass or 

compass application on a smartphone 

so that students can see how it changes 

as a person faces different directions. 

• During the discussion about whales 

using noises to sense structures on 

the ocean floor, be sure that students 

understand that we can never know 

exactly what a whale can or cannot see, 

but using technology scientists can 

guess what whale vision might be like.

Step 13. Write the question “how do 

whales know where to migrate?” on the 

board. Ask students to make a claim and 

offer evidence and reasoning to describe 

what they learned. Share that drawing a 

representation may help. If your students 

have experience with claim-evidencereasoning, be sure to use any graphic 

organizers or other sense-making that they 

understand. 
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EXTENSION

• If students have questions about the Earth’s magnetic field, the ESRI Story Map titled The 

Earth’s Magnetic Field: The Force That’s Always With You (https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/

apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=3b9045c4d1aa408694d3759d1aa5ede4) offers an 

explanation of why it is important for many of the phenomena we see in our lives. 

• Students may be interested in learning more about humpback whales using the 

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s website (https://

hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/). This site includes videos, history, activities, conservation 

actions, and other information to allow students to learn more about many different 

connections with humpback whales.

Lesson 5 NOAA References

• National Marine Sanctuaries, Eavesdropping on Whales (https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/

feb21/eavesdropping-on-whales.html)

• NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), The Earth’s Magnetic Field: 

The Force That’s Always With You (https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.

html?appid=3b9045c4d1aa408694d3759d1aa5ede4)

• Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (https://

hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/)
IDENTIFYING WHALES

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All images on page 54 and page 55 

belong to NOAA
IDENTIFYING WHALES

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WHALE TRACKING DATA

Scientists have tracked many whales over the years. In 2014 and 2015, scientists 

observed 20 whales that were in the ocean near Alaska in November. The 

scientists tracked where the whales swam in the next 1-2 months. The table and 

map show data for 4 of the whales. 

Whale 

Tag #

Date migration 

started

Date of last 

data collected

Total days 

tracked

Total distance 

migrated

843 November 25, 

2014

December 18, 

2014

31 4,372 km /

2,717 miles

845 December 2, 

2014

January 8, 

2015

37 4,744 km /

2,948 miles

5910 November 19, 

2014

December 13, 

2014

30 4,389 km /

2,727 miles

10833 November 28, 

2015

January 13, 

2016

46 4,303 km /

2,674 miles

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HOW DO WHALES KNOW WHERE TO GO?

Communication

Imagine walking with a group of 

people in the dark. The first person 

has a flashlight but the rest of you 

do not. The leader might call out 

when there is a curb or a rock so 

you are aware of it. 

Scientists think that humpback 

whales make sounds to 

communicate as they migrate. 

One idea is that the leaders in the 

front of the group call out to other 

whales. This helps them find their 

way. 

Scientists know that some of the 

sounds whales make can be heard 

for about 5 miles. Even if the whales 

are not traveling in a pod, these 

sounds might help them know the 

right way to go or if there are any 

dangers ahead. 

Magnetic Fields

A compass is a simple tool that can 

help people find their way. Compasses 

have a needle that always points north. 

People can use a compass and a map 

to help them navigate where they want 

to go. 

The needle in a compass points to the 

north because it is a small magnet. It 

points in the same direction because 

the Earth has a magnetic field that 

causes it to act as a magnet, too. 

Humpback whales have magnetic 

material in their brains. This may help 

them sense the Earth’s magnetic field 

and know where to migrate. Because 

the magnetic field has specific patterns 

around the planet, whales may be 

able to sense the different patterns 

and use that information to know their 

location. 

Mapping the Seafloor

Just like on dry land, the floor of the ocean has mountains, valleys, and other 

forms. These landmarks may help whales know which way to go. 

Compared to humans, whales have poor eyesight. They do not see color and their 

vision is probably between 10 and 100 times worse than what humans can see. 

But, humpback whales have another way to “see” structures in the ocean. They 

can use clicks and other sounds to help them detect objects in the water. It is 

likely that they can listen to echoes from the sounds they make to determine 

where landforms are in the ocean. In this way, they may be able to navigate based 

on landmarks they pass on their migrations. 

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