Name Date

People and Whales: Research Topics

Use the provided Internet and library resources to research your assigned topic. Write your research
notes on a separate sheet of paper.

Topic 1: Whales Over Time

Create a timeline that shows how people and whales have interacted over the past several hundred
years. Be sure to point out highlights from history, economics, politics, art, and literature.

Topic 2: All About Whales

Find out which species of whales were hunted and describe each species. Provide information
about the whales’ size, diet, and where they are found. How did whaling affect each species? What
is the status of the different whales today? Include any interesting facts you find.

Topic 3: Whale Trackers

Whales migrate great distances. Why do they swim so far? Find and plot the migration routes of
some of the whales that were hunted. Also show the route whaling vessels could take. How do the
two compare?

Topic 4: What Good is a Whale?

At the height of the whaling industry, these mammals were used for several products. Describe how
whales have been used and the products that came from their bodies. How have whales affected
the economies of people and places? How are whales helping people earn a living today?

Topic 5: Whales in Art

Whales appear in paintings, poems, stories, and on scrimshaw—the carvings whalers made on

© 2012 National Geographic Society

whale teeth. Show examples of whales in various art forms and explain why the examples are
valued or important.

Topic 6: Whale Studies

How are scientists studying whales today and what are they learning? What are ways of tracking
and observing whales? Why is it important to learn about whales?

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