Grades
2–3
Unit 2
Communication
and Adaptation
A Singing Contest:
bit.ly/toptalentepi2
Which animal is Georgia Aquarium’s top talent? You
decide! The beluga whale takes on the penguin before
a panel of three penguin judges in this singing contest.
Does the beluga whale deserve the nickname “the canary
of the sea”? Or does the penguin singing for its chick
or mate sound more like music to your ears? Check out
these amazing songsters in the “Aquarium’s Top Talent”
video presented by Georgia-Pacific.
Next Generation Science Standard:
Social Interactions and Group Behavior, 3-LS2-1
Being part of a group helps animals obtain food, defend themselves and cope with changes.
Groups may serve different functions and vary dramatically in size. Belugas live in pods that
range in size from two to 25 belugas. The belugas in a pod hunt and migrate together; they may
playfully chase each other and rub against one another.
Penguins, the most social of all birds, swim and feed
in groups. During breeding season, they nest in
WORDS TO KNOW
huge colonies called rookeries. Some rookeries
communicate: to share information,
include hundreds of thousands of penguins!
thoughts or feelings
Penguins communicate through vocal and
displays: physical behaviors
visual displays to share information about
migrate: to pass from one region or climate
nesting, to defend themselves and for
to another for feeding or breeding
partner and chick recognition.
pod: a number of animals assembled together;
a social unit
rookery: a place where a group of social
animals breed, nest or raise their young
INTRODUCING THE LESSON:
1. Get students’ attention and, using only hand
motions, communicate a message such as “Please
take out a pencil and paper” or “Today, we’re going to talk about
two interesting animals.” Ask students to guess what your message was; then discuss the
meaning of communicate. Tell students that they’ll be looking at two very different animals and
how they communicate.
2. Divide the class into groups of three or four students. Have each group brainstorm both verbal
and nonverbal ways humans communicate with one another. Provide time for each group to
share while you list their ideas on the board.
3. Explain to students that communication is an adaptation that helps animals survive. It can
be auditory, visual, tactile or chemical. Invite them to give examples of times when they’ve
experienced a pet or other animal communicating in one of those ways. (Possible examples
include the following: visual, the color and shape of an animal or a display, such as when a
beaver slaps its tail on the water to warn other beavers of danger; auditory, a lion’s roar or
other ways animals “talk”; tactile, a cat rubbing against a leg or a dog placing its front paws
on a person as a welcome; and chemical, a skunk’s odor.)
©2014 Georgia-Pacific. Text and design by The Education Center, LLC
Grades
2–3
Communication
and Adaptation
Say What?
Next Generation Science Standard:
Social Interactions and Group Behavior, 3-LS2-1
Being part of a group helps animals obtain food, defend
themselves and cope with changes. Groups may serve different
functions and vary dramatically in size.
ESTIMATED LESSON TIME: 20–25 minutes
TEACHER PREPARATION:
Write these messages on the board.
• May I borrow a pencil please?
• I liked the comment you just made.
• You are a good friend.
• I don’t understand what you just said.
• What’s for lunch?
• Can you repeat that please?
MATERIALS:
sentence strip
white construction paper
crayons, markers or colored pencils
marker
scissors
tape or stapler
Background Information:
Beluga whales earned the nickname “canaries of the sea” for good reason. They’re known
to use 11 different sounds to communicate. They also use facial expressions; physical contact;
echolocation; and visual displays, such as breaches, to get their messages across.
Penguins also use a variety of different sounds to communicate. They may use a contact
call as a greeting, a display call for a mate or chicks and a
threat call as a warning. Using both vocalizations
and visual displays, penguins communicate
about nesting territories and mating.
WORDS TO KNOW
breach: a leap out of the water
echolocation: using sound waves to locate distant
or invisible objects
territory: an area occupied and defended by an
animal or group of animals
visual: received by sight
vocalization: the act or process of using a voice
©2014 Georgia-Pacific. Text and design by The Education Center, LLC
Grades
2–3
Communication
and Adaptation
Lesson:
1. Divide the class into groups of four. Have each group select two messages from the board
and develop a different action or sound to communicate each one.
2. Gather the class and invite each group to share its sounds or actions as the other students
try to guess which message is being communicated. Explain to students that beluga
whales and penguins both communicate in a variety of ways. Then have them complete the
nonfiction reading reproducible “Do Beluga Whales Talk? Do Penguins?”
3. To extend the lesson to build research skills, post a sentence strip labeled “Talking About
Animal Communication” on a bulletin board, classroom door or wall. Challenge pairs of
students to use online and print references to find information about how other animals
communicate. When a twosome finds an example, have the students write about it on the
construction paper, trim the paper to make a speech bubble and then tape or staple the
speech bubble by the sentence strip.
DID YOU KNOW?
When hunting schools of fish, a group
of belugas communicate to work together
to herd the fish into shallow water before
attacking.
©2014 Georgia-Pacific. Text and design by The Education Center, LLC
Name
Date
Life Cycles (3-LS1-1)
Journey From an Egg to a Chick
Emperor penguins are the largest of all penguins. They
travel across Antarctic sea ice to nesting colonies. The
temperatures there may be colder than –20°F. Winds
may be stronger than 125 miles per hour. Once there, a
penguin couple lays and cares for its single egg.
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Directions:
1. Cut out the wheel patterns.
2. Place wheel 1 on top of wheel 2.
Then push a brad through the Xs and
secure the brad.
3. Turn the top wheel to read about the
journey Emperor penguins take for
an egg to become a chick.
wheel 2
Think About It!
Use the life cycle wheel to answer the following questions:
1. Why does a penguin mother leave after she lays an egg?___________________
________________________________________________________________
2. After the egg is laid, does the mother or father care for it until it hatches?
________________________________________________________________
3. How do penguin fathers stay warm in the Antarctic winter?__________________
________________________________________________________________
4. What happens to the chick when the mother returns?______________________
________________________________________________________________
5. How does the father find the mother and the baby chick when he returns from
feeding?_________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
©2014 Georgia-Pacific. Text and design by The Education Center, LLC
Note to the teacher: Each student needs a copy of the wheel patterns, a brad and scissors to complete this activity.
Life Cycle Wheel Patterns
Use with “Journey From an Egg to a Chick”.
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©2014 Georgia-Pacific. Text and design by The Education Center, LLC
COMMUNICATION AND ADAPTATION
Journey From an Egg to a Chick
ANSWER KEY
1. The mother penguin travels to the sea to feed
so she can care for her chick when it hatches.
2. the father
3. The fathers huddle together in a group and
take turns at the inside of the group where it is
warmer.
4. The mother moves the chick to her feet and
feeds it.
5. The father sings a display song to find the
mother and chick.
©2014 Georgia-Pacific. Text and design by The Education Center, LLC
Communication (3-LS2-1)
Answer the questions.
1. How many sounds do beluga
whales make? _____________
Underline the part of the text that
supports your answer.
2. Why do whales make sounds?
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
3. True or false? Whales have vocal cords.___________
4. Why do penguins use sounds to locate their mates
and chicks?__________________________________
____________________________________________
5. What are penguins’ body movements called?
____________________________________________
Penguins also communicate
through body movements called
displays. They wave their wings,
weave their heads back and forth
and point their open bills at each
other. When chicks want food, they
peep and wag their heads.
©2014 Georgia-Pacific. Text and design by The Education Center, LLC
How Penguins Talk
Penguins make sounds like growls and even gargling! Sounds
range from high to low. Baby chicks make a shrill peeping noise.
Penguins live in large colonies, and the penguins all look alike.
So they use sounds to locate their mates and their chicks. They
also use sounds to attract a mate, show annoyance, scare off
predators or warn of an attack.
How Beluga Whales Talk
Beluga whales make at least 11 different sounds. They whistle,
squeal, cluck, chirp and more. Some sounds are high, and some
are deep. Fishermen in boats can hear the sounds from miles
away. The whales are so vocal they have been nicknamed “sea
canaries.”
Whales like beluga whales make sounds to talk to each other.
For example, some sounds mean, “Hi, nice to see you!” Other
sounds mean, “Watch out, danger!”
Making sounds also helps whales find their way underwater,
where it is too dark to see. The sounds bounce off objects and
then echo back. This lets whales figure out the size, shape and
speed of an object. It also helps them hunt for food and find
breathing holes in the ice.
Whales do not have vocal cords like humans. They make
sounds by moving air between nasal sacs near the blowhole.
Besides sounds, whales also communicate through movements,
like slapping the water with a flipper or a tail fin. This may be a
way to get attention or scare off another animal.
All animals communicate with each other. Beluga
whales and penguins are two examples. They “talk” in
very different ways.
Do Beluga Whales Talk? Do Penguins?
NameDate
©2014 Georgia-Pacific. Text and design by The Education Center, LLC
1. at least 11
2. to talk to each other and to find their way underwater
3.false
4. Penguins in colonies all look alike.
5.displays
ANSWER KEY
COMMUNICATION AND ADAPTATION
Do Beluga Whales Talk? Do Penguins?