Moby Dick Lesson Plan

Check Out The Big Brain On Moby Dick!

Kind of Activity:

Classwide Discussion

Objective:

Students will respond to an article about sperm whale brains.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.2

Structure:

In today's reading, Ishmael spends a fair bit of time attempting to elucidate his reasoning behind why the sperm whale is an intelligent creature. One may question how successful he is at doing so, given that he begins talking about its massive spinal cord as a trait that makes up for the whale's relatively small brain. But how large are sperm whale brains, in reality, and how intelligent are they?

Students will begin this activity by reading silently the...