Lower elementary students have a hard time understanding the enormous size of baleen whales and how they feed. Students will have fun when they form a life size model of a baleen whale and simulate its feeding pattern. Filter Feeding Right Whales and Gulp Feeding Humpback Whales. Students will also assimilate the different feeding methods of baleen filter feeding and gulp feeding whales. Baleen is made of a material similar to the protein found in human hair and fingernails.
Numerous plates extend from the upper jaw-like teeth.
But all baleen whales need large heads to make room for the baleen and huge quantities of plankton and water. Right whales have close to 250 baleen plates that extend 6 to 9 feet down from the upper jaw. They feed as they swim by filtering water through the 3-foot gap in between its plates. The baleen whale allows water to exit, but plankton are trapped. Whales periodically sweep their tongue along the backs of the baleen swallowing the plankton.