INTRODUCTION The movie Dolphin Tale 2 tells not only an inspiring story but also provides an excellent opportunity for families to learn about some of the fascinating aspects of dolphins and the oceans in which they live. This curriculum offers parents and students the tools to turn their movie experience into an enjoyable learning expedition, involving fun and interesting lessons, activities, and experiments. ocean and how this information relates to the movie. All of the lessons contain instructions and activities for elementary to high school-aged students, along with age-appropriate explanations and vocabulary. Each

The dolphin

denotes activities and experiments geared toward elementary-aged students, the

sea turtle for middle school and high school-aged students. The text is written in an engaging way so parents can read aloud to younger students, and older students can read the material independently. Students will be encouraged to keep a notebook in order to record their work. This will become a wonderful way to review the material before and after the movie experience. When combined with additional reading, these activities provide a unique unit study for summer enrichment or school-year science work. The notebooks can consist of a three-ring binder with printed pages from the e-book, or students can construct lap books using colorful construction paper and photographs of their work. All of the lessons desired.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sherri Seligson has homeschooled her four children for 21 years and is the author of Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Marine Biology high school curriculum, Interning for High School Credit, and the curriculum Dolphin Tale and War Horse.

LESSON 1: GET TO KNOW DOLPHINS ANATOMY AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE DOLPHIN ANATOMY

Dolphins are mammals. That means that, like humans, they are warm-blooded (endothermic), have hair or fur, have a backbone (vertebrates), and produce milk to feed their young. Yet dolphins live in water, so their body shape is better designed for life in that environment. Using the information given below, try to label this diagram.

for propulsion, steering, and stopping. The

help a dolphin to push through the water. When they provides helps to provide steering

also provide balance and steering. Dolphins do not breathe through their mouths. Instead they use their heads for gas exchange.

, located on the top of their

A dolphin uses its to help it communicate. Dolphins send out sounds focused through the fatty tissue of the melon on their forehead. This enables them to use echolocation to identify what is around them. The sounds bounce off of objects and return to the dolphin’s lower jaw. The vibrations then move to its inner ear their pods, and detect predators. Dolphins do not have a nose like people do. In fact, they cannot smell at all. But they use their on the front of their body to touch things. The rostrum is a very sensitive part of their body, enabling them to feel their food and manipulate it into their mouths or touch other dolphins.

HOW DOLPHINS MOVE

the water.

EXPLORE HOW THEY MOVE

Take a sheet of paper and fold it in along its long side about ¾ of an inch in. Continue to fold it again but in the opposite direction. Keep folding the paper in opposite directions until it forms a zigzag shape.

Now fold the whole thing in half like this.

Spread out the fan shape and hold it at the fold.

DOLPHIN VOCABULARY Dorsoventral Endothermic Laterally Prosthetic Peduncle Rostrum Vertebrate

A device that substitutes for a missing or defective part of the body An animal with a backbone Flattened or extended from the back to the belly The muscular stalk of a dolphin’s tail A dolphin’s snout, consisting of its lower and upper jaw Flattened or extended from side to side An organism that generates heat to maintain its body temperature

DOLPHIN FACTS

Dolphins are amazing animals. They are perfectly designed to live in an ocean environment. Their streamlined shape helps them to move effortlessly through the water, reaching up to 25 miles per hour in speed and diving to a hundred feet or more in depth. Read the information below about dolphins. For each body part or subject, write or illustrate one interesting fact you learned on the following blank page.

– Notice how dolphins have one eye on each side of their head. That gives them a good range of sight. In fact, they can even adjust their lenses so that they can see in the water and out of it, processing the head, and one behind them. – Dolphins have exceptional hearing. They can hear sounds through tiny ear openings on each side lower jaw bone that extends up into their inner ear. Dolphins can hear a broader range of sound frequencies than humans, being over seven times more sensitive than our ears.

shut down part of their brain and enter a sleepy state. – Dolphins live on average about 20 years, but some have been known to live up to 40 or 50

FINS

EYES

EARS

TEETH

SLEEP

LIFE SPAN