Geography: The story’s location is not revealed. I would place on Whidbey Island, Washington, in honor of a friend who lives there who can sit on her deck and watch the whales go by. You may wish to choose Alaska or even just one of the oceans. Make a story disk (an orca whale and a boy with a red shirt and sky blue shorts?), find the location you are using on a map/globe, and place the disk. If desired, have the student color a map/flag for your location.   You could also allow this story to be a springboard for studying the four different oceans (Indian, Artic, Atlantic, Pacific).   Learn about different whales and which ocean(s) they are found.

Relationships – Father and Son: Perhaps the father and son in this story are having a special Father/Son day out. Do you remember a time when you spent a special day with just one of your parents and with no siblings? What made it special? Did you bring home a souvenir to remember the day? (See next section.)

Souvenirs: When people go someplace special, like a vacation, it is tradition to take home a souvenir. Something that will remind the person of where they were. In this case the boy choose a seashell that would allow him to hear the sound of the ocean....hearing that sound will remind him of seeing the whales.

Cut-away View: Notice on the "surface, spout, and dive" pages that the view is half in and half out of the water...as a glass wall where in front of you and you were standing a little below the surface of the water. Compare with the "car-ee, car-ee" page...notice you cannot see the bodies of the orcas below the water’s surface.

Zooming In: Look at the title page of the book. Notice how it looks like you’re looking down on the scene from a low-flying airplane? Turn the page and it’s like you’re standing behind the father and son. Turn the page and it’s as if you are right beside them. Illustrator Lambert Davis drew very similar scenes three times....each time zooming in closer and closer to the father and son in the scene. (Praise your student if he/she recognizes that the artist does the reverse at the end of the story: the last two illustrations zoom out from the whales as they leave.)

Count by Fives: On the pages where you can see all five of the whales, count by fives. I came up with 55 (including title page, but not including the cover pages since it is one of the pictures in the story).  If you would like, use 11 nickels as a visual aid when you count to demonstrate the value of 5 (11 times). 

Observation: The boy and the father in this story are observing (looking at and studying closely) the whales, and the whales are observing the boy and his father. By being patient and continually observing things (people, animals, etc.), you will learn more. Observation skills are needed in all aspects of life.