Whose Point of View? The Journey of Three Generations
(Literature Link for the book Whale Journey)
In her 50 years, Old Gray has traveled a distance equal to traveling to
the moon and home again. What's in store for her baby, about to make his first migration?
Whale Journey by Vivian French (1998, Zero to Ten Limited) is
a fact-filled picture book and gripping tale about the life cycle of the gray
whale. You'll want
to "journey" through the book more than once as you join three generations
of whales on their migration. For Three Scars, it may be the last
of her journeys, bittersweet with memories and quite exhausting. For Old Gray,
it's a middle journey, one of many more to come. She's been there and done that many
times in her life. And for Baby Gray, this is a first. It's a time of wild excitement,
challenging thrills, and unknown dangers. It's the same
journey, yet different for each one making it.
The journey of three generations provides rich opportunities for personal connections,
science learning, and author's craft. Begin with the point-of-view writing activity
and expand with the extensions that follow. Whatever
the age of your students, you'll find something for everyone!
Try This! Writing Activity
After reading the story, ask students to choose one of the whales in the
story: Three Scars, Old Gray, or Baby Gray. Tell them they will write a journal entry
from that point of view. Students may use events from the book or events they imagine
will happen along the migratory journey. (Older students may wish to write a short
story, essay, or memoir from their chosen character's point of view.) Then follow
these steps in the writing process:
- Prewriting: For
students who would benefit, encourage brainstorming with other writers
who chose the same character. What is it like to be that whale? What
are their fears, concerns, joys, satisfactions? What have they
experienced to make them feel that way? What lies ahead for each? How
do they view this migration? What
memories do they have? Other students may prefer freewriting
or clustering to get their ideas and "experiences" flowing.
- Drafting: Encourage students to freely write first drafts, leaving blanks
to which they can return instead of spending time fleshing out details. Have them
review their drafts, then read them aloud to partners. A partner's questions and
comments can help writers decide what to change.
- Revising: Remind students that revising is the most important step, where
85 percent of a writer's time should be spent. This is the chance to make their writing
better, more exact, more descriptive--or even shorter!
- Editing: Have students check for errors, make corrections, and prepare
final copies. Students may wish to illustrate their stories using a favorite art
- Publishing and Sharing: Provide time for authors to share their works!
- Look at the author's craft. Take another journey through the book to collect
descriptive phrases that create mental pictures. Then take a journey to collect strong,
active verbs. Next, have students imagine they've been hired to create a travel brochure
that makes a whale want to come along and join the 5,000-mile journey. Display brochures
or share with other classes.
- Have students create a timeline or draw a map that shows the annual migratory
cycle of a gray whale.
students to come up with a list of whale biology or migration questions
for which they can research answers. Journey North's Archives
or Answers from Experts (See Site Map)
are great places to start.
- Encourage students
to make personal connections. Ask them to identify "big
journeys" they are making in their lives. Ask them to think about their life
journey until now, and to identify big landmarks. How would they answer the same
questions from a parent's or a grandparent's point of view? What advice would they
give about life's journeys or milestones to children they may have in the future?
What "words to live by" can they contribute?