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Today’s newsletter is made possible by:
https://www.surfnetkids.com/dolphins.htm One of the reasons we find dolphins (and their cousins the whales and porpoises) so delightful is their playful behavior at the ocean’s surface. Breaching, spyhopping, and spouting are just three of the many dolphin antics that scientists have named. More dolphin fun and learning can be found at these five sites. Aqua Facts: Dolphins and Porpoiseshttp://oceanlink.island.net/aquafacts/dolphin.html
Organized as a set of ten questions (“What’s the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise?”) David’s Whale and Dolphin Watchhttp://neptune.atlantis-intl.com/dolphins/
David Hoffman of Germany “just loves dolphins and whales and loves to take photos.” And his passion clearly shows in his online photo gallery (“one of the largest collection of dolphin and whale pictures on the Web!”) The exhibition is organized by species into eight galleries. Need a picture for a school report? You may use any of these photos for your printed school report, but you may not post them on a Web page nor use them commercially. Another fun click is David’s collection of dolphin and whale vocalizations in MP3 format. Scholastic: Dolphinshttp://teacher.scholastic.com/dolphin/
This fabulous site from Scholastic is my pick of the day because it looks great and has something for everyone, whether you are a teacher or a student in grades 1 through 8. Begin with All About Dolphins, where your host, research biologist Dan Odell, introduces the topic by answering some basic dolphin questions. Next try your hand at the Cetacean Relations Game. Cetaceans are the order of marine mammals that includes all whales, dolphins and porpoises. With all this under your belt, now you are ready to join the virtual field trip (Dolphin Watch) to study bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon in Florida. Don’t forget to pack a virtual field notebook to record your sightings. Whales and Dolphinshttp://www.natureexplorer.com/WD/WD1.html
This extensive whale and dolphin site from Nature Explorer is just one of ten volumes on animal topics that include Birds, Butterflies, Prehistoric Animals and the Natural History of Yellowstone. To navigate through the site, use the chapter listing (light green) in the upper left hand corner. A complete site index (light yellow) is directly below it. Highlights of the site are the clickable side bars (on the right) filled with interesting factoids, charts and maps. Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoiseshttp://nmml01.afsc.noaa.gov/education/cetaceans/cetacea.htm
From the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle, WA comes another great site for elementary and middle school reports. Start with an explanation of taxonomy, the scientific classification system started 1757 by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeaus and the pages devoted to cetaceans. My favorite page is the grammar tips for writing reports about marine mammals (“You should not capitalize, italicize or underline common names. Example: blue whale.”) You’ll find this link near the bottom of the About Marine Mammals page.
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