Whale Tales 6-pack Author: Kim Westerskov ISBN: 9780478122688 Copyright Date: 1999 Lesson Plan Blackline Master Grade Level: 5 Reading Level: T Strategy/Skill: Author's purpose, Fact and opinion, Information skills, Main ideas, Prior knowledge Genre: Recount, Report Theme/Topic: Careers, Habitats, Life Science Classification: Nonfiction

Book Summary

Naturalist and photographer Kim Westerskov is passionate about whales. In this personal account, he shares his thoughts and feelings as he describes some very special encounters with these animals.

Features of the Book

• The play on words in the title – tales/tails
• Captions that give extra information
• First person point of view
• The photographic sequence
• Fact summary on the last page
• The special note on page 32
• The combination of fact, feelings, and explanations
• Specialized vocabulary – spy hopping, bowriding
• The use of simile – like I was being hit by a small truck; like a cat plays with a mouse

Purpose

Whale Tales can be used to introduce and reinforce the following skills:

• drawing on students’ prior knowledge
• discussing the use of captions
• identifying the author’s feelings
• distinguishing between fact and opinion
• using electronic media to research a topic
• locating and recording key ideas
• recording events in sequence

For more information please see our Lesson Plan