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Skeleton of a Whale

Rationale By
Kelly E. Tumy
Link/Citation

Skeleton of a Whale. Alaska United States, ca. 1900. [Between and Ca. 1930] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/99614675/.

Source Type:
Photographs and Prints
Suggested Grade Level and Audience: Grade 5
Instructional value of primary source for the curriculum and/or classroom

This type of photograph would be a valuable tool for the classroom not only because it shows an outdated part of our economy, but also because it could help foster important discussions about the rights of Native Americans and how Indian Nation rights can supersede national rights. A photo like this could be used to explore the history of an industry, and students could trace this history to newer, more accepted industries.

Summary/Description

This is a photo of a whale skeleton in Alaska when whale hunting was a legal part of the economy.

Context for the Primary Source

Whaling was an integral industry in the US. In the 1900s, this was still a legal profession, as large-scale commercial fishing had not yet emerged at this time in history. As the nation became more industrialized, over-fishing became a problem, and whaling had to be outlawed in the US in 1971.

Focus Question(s)
  • What stands out in this photo?
  • Why do you think the photo was taken?
  • What time period in American history does this belong to?
  • Who would have hunted whales?
  • Was whale hunting ever legal? Is it legal now?
Standards Connections

Texas ELAR TEKS and Texas Social Studies TEKS

ELA Standards

Social studies standards

5.6E: make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society.

  • Connecting to a read-aloud like Whale Fall allows students to make text to text connections.

5.12C: compose argumentative texts, including opinion essays, using genre characteristics and craft.

  • Let students do their own research and write about this topic or another topic in natural conservation.

5.4A: describe the causes and effects of the War of 1812, such as impressment of sailors, territorial conflicts with Great Britain, and the increase in US manufacturing.

  • The US was once a prolific whale-hunting country. Let students discern how this came about after the War of 1812.

5.12A: compare how people in different regions of the United States earn a living, past and present.

  • This comparison could be done with the Atlantic Coast and the Pacific Coast and could include discussion of how the economies were both similar and different.
Suggested Teaching Approaches
  • This is a photo that could be interpreted with an exercise called What Do You Know?/How Do You Know It? It can be a two-column journal completed in small groups. The left side is fact-based. Tell me something without an opinion based on the photo. Then use your powers of deduction to tell me how you know it. Make sure students connect what is on the left column (What do you know?) to the right side (How do you know it?).
  • Once they understand that whaling used to be an accepted part of the economy, have students examine this history of whaling in the US with the PBS site, under Additional resources. This resource offers a bi-coastal accounting of whaling, both on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the country. Have students create a list of their own questions as they read across the timeline and any additional sources you provide.
  • Following the work on the primary source, connect this photo to the whaling industry that exploded after the War of 1812 and examine the economic impact of the US economy.
  • This map of Alaska also shows the region where this skeleton was located and which region of the world was more concentrated on whaling.
  • Connecting this primary source to the book Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem by Melissa Stewart (author) and Rob Dunlavey (illustrator) crosses into a science lesson on ecosystems and our connections to different elements in nature.
  • Allow students to do their own research and write an argumentative essay about the whaling industry and why or why it should not be a part of a country’s economy.
Potential for Challenge

Some people may be opposed to the graphic nature of the skeleton, but in terms of images that apply to the whaling industry, this was one of the more reserved photos available. Many of the photos are graphic in nature and feature whales being gutted for their valuable meat, blubber, and skin.

Alternative or Complementary Primary Sources
  1. Whale head - This is another photograph of just a whale skull surrounded by people.
  2. Blue Whale harvesting - This is a photo depicting how whaling was an accepted part of the economy in the early 1900s.
Additional References
  1. PBS-The American Experience has an excellent site with timelines for the whaling industry in the US. It has an excellent collection of both primary and secondary sources that outline the peaks and pitfalls of this industry on both coasts at different time periods.
  2. The Digital Public Library of America has a collection of items on the whaling industry in America. They have curated primary sources alongside a teaching guide.
  3. National Geographic could be an enrichment site for students working above grade level and who would like to have a more detailed explanation of how and why this was a strong industry and how it has become an outlawed one
Subject:
Journalism/News , Photography , Social Studies/Social Sciences/History/Geography
Topics:
History , Photographs, Prints, and Posters
Year/Date of Creation or Publication
1900