We were excited to join Whales Tales because our four first grade classes studied sea mammals this winter and one of the mammals studied was the whale. For our project, we decided to write whale folk tales. In the computer lab we visited the Whales Tales sites several times. We enjoyed some of the online activities and loved seeing what other projects were done by other classrooms. We especially enjoyed visiting schools in cities we had visited with our families.

First our librarian, Mrs. O’Neill, read a variety of folk tales to the first grade classes in library so we understood what made up a folk tale. In the computer lab Mrs. Soto and Mrs. Luongo helped us do some online reserach at the Yahooligans site and looked at some whale pictures. Then we planned our folk tales using Kidspiration. Here are some of our plans: Next, we wrote stories in our classrooms and edited them with our teachers. Then we keyboarded them in the computer lab and painted illustrations of the stories in AppleWorks. Finally we posted some of our stories online at the Whales Tales site to share with you.

Why Does The Humpback Whale Jump So High

There was a whale named Flipper and he had a friend friend Dorie. One day Flipper would not jump so Dorie scared Flipper and he got scared so he jumped! That is why the humpback whales jump so high.

by Charlotte

How the Blue Whale Got His Name

The whale lived in the Pacific Ocean One day the diver went to the Pacific Ocean and he found a whale that didn’t know his name. The whale asked the diver to give him a name. The diver’s favorite color was blue and the whale’s skin color was blue, so the diver called him, Blue Whale.

by Senen

Why do Killer Whales Have Sharp Teeth

John was a shark and Hartwell was a whale. Jan and Hartwell lived in the ocean. One time whales didn’t have sharp teeth so they couldn’t eat fish deep in the ocean. John, the shark, gave Hartwell, the whale, some of his teeth. That’s how whales got their teeth.

by Hartwell

Why Do Pilot Whales Slap Their Tails

Once upon time there was a whale namd Fred and a sea turtle named Harry. They were best friends. One day they were playing ball when Fred hurt his tail, but Harry knew how to fix it. So he said slap your tail five times! He did and in a snap it was better. That is why whales slap their tail.

by Ryan

Joe, the Orca Whale and Bob, the Shark

Once when Joe, the Orca whale, was eating an electric eel. The eel swam down into his throat! Bob, the shark, saw this happen and he quickly swam over to help. He dived down Joe’s throat and ate the eel! Since that time whales and sharks have been friends.

by Sam

How the Sperm Whale Jumps

Sperme, the whale, and Danny, the dolphin, lived in the Atlantic Ocean. Sperme could not jump. He watched his friend Danny until own day, Danny jumped at Sperme. And then Sperme jumped!

by Mary

How the Whale Turned Blue

Once upon a time there was a whale named Catie. She was painting her boat blue. All of a sudden, Harry the diver bumped the can of paint. “ Oh No!” said Catie. “I’m blue!” Harry said, “Oops, sorry!” But Catie said, “It is all right.” Ever since that time all whales have been blue.

by Catie

Why Do the Whales Jump in the Air

Once there was a whale. His name was Mike. He could jump so high that his body would be out of the water whenever he jumped. One day he forgot how to jump. He met a sea anemanea who tickled him and made him jump again. Ever since then whales jump in the air.

by Mike

How the Killer Whale Got Its Spots

John wanted to know how Willy got his spots. When Willy was growing up his color was changing, but he was black. One day he swam up to a boat. Two people were painting a boat. He got sprayed with white paint and that’s how he got his spots

by Philip

How Whales Learned to Hunt

Once upon a time there was a young whale named Brad. He didn’t know how to hunt. There was a scuba diver who’s name was David. He helped mammals. He loved the under water kingdom, and he was very fond or whales. One day, he went under water and saw a whale.He said, “What’s your name?” “My name is David. Its hard to talk under-water.” Brad had a problem. Brad said, “I have a problem.” I can’t hunt. I”ll help you, but it is going to be hard. First you have to go under water and find krill. So Brad tried to do it. Brad did it wrong. David taught him how to do it. Brad tried it every day. He got better and better every day until he met David again. David saw that Brad could hunt and was so happy he had helped Brad. Brad’s parents were delighted and threw a surprise party for David for all his help. Everyone went to the party to thank David.

by John

How the Blue Whale Got His Name

The whale and the diver met at the Pacific Ocean. They were friends. The whale got squirted by octopus ink and he became blue.That’s why he is called the blue whale.

by Jack

Why Do Blue Whales Spout Water

Once upon a time there was a fish named Tia and a whale named Frank. Frank ate a huge krill and it blocked Frank`s blow hole. So Tia went inside Frank`s stomach and took the huge krill off Frank`s blow hole and came out with it and threw it on the ground. It was dead. And Frank thanked Tia and Frank started spouting water again.

by Marshall

Why Do Orcas Hunt Together

Will, the Eel, met Fred, the Orca, in the Pacific Ocean. One day Will and his friends scared Fred the whale. Fred, the orca, decided to always hunt with his friends. because he didn’t want to get scard any more.

by Jack K.

How the Humpback Whale Got His Hump

One time humpback whales did not have humps. One day David, the humpback whale, was swimming along and he saw Jack, the shark. Jack, the shark, was a friendly shark. But he did not have any food, so David helped Jack. They did not find a bit of food. Jack could not help it so he bit David’s back and it stretched it. So, that is how the humpback got its hump.

by Coley

Why the Whale Jumps

Jason, the fish, and Jack, the whale, lived in the Pacific Ocean. Jack doesn’t know how to jump. But Jason showed him how to jump. He also showed him how much fun it could be. Then they always jumped together.

by Jack-Henry

Why Whales are Black

Once upon a time deep down in the ocean there were thousands of whales. They were all red. One of them was funny. She was a very curious whale. One day she went up to the surface and she saw a little girl and she was holding something. She stayed and all of a sudden the little girl poured the strange thing on her. It was black paint. And that’s why whales are black.

by Eliza

How Do the Humpback Whales Jump So High

Sally, the dolphin, and Lucy, the whale,were best friends and they lived in the Atlantic Ocean. Lucy wanted to jump really high. One day when Sally was coming she scared Lucy and that is how the humpback whale jumps so high.

by Haley

Why Whales Breathe Out Blow Holes

Once upon a time whales had noses. One whale got his nose stuck in a rock and he pulled and he pulled and he pulled and he couldn’t get free. He was afraid he would die if he couldn’t get a breath. He prayed to God. He said, “God, I need to get free. Help me, breathe!” So God made a hole on the top of the whale’s head so he could breathe. Then the whale got out and was free. From then on whales breathe through their blow holes.

by Hadley

Austin and Eel

Eel could not find Austin. Austin blew his blowhole, so Eel could find Austin in the Atlantic Ocean. He found Austin. He was really happy. He said I will never leave you again.

by Austin