Help your EcoKids experience some of the feelings that whales and the protectors of whales might have about hunting by playing the following dodge ball game.
Safety precautions:
- this game is not suitable for very young children,
- only an adult supervisor should throw the ball.
You need at least 10 children to play this game.
Instructions
- Choose several of the children to be whales, the rest
will be whale protectors. Have the “protectors”
form a circle, then have the “whales” form another
circle around them.
- Have the whales pretend to swim, by having them walk quickly around their circle to avoid the ball.
- The whale protectors’ job is to try to protect the whales from harm. They do this by trying to block the ball before it hits a whale.
- To play the game, the adult stands in the middle of the circles and attempts to toss balls at the whales “swimming” around in the outer circle. The whale protectors try to stop the balls from hitting the whales. When a “whale” is hit, s/he should leave the circle. The object of the game isn’t to see how many whales can be hit but to have the protectors work together to help the whales.
- Let the children exchange places so they can experience both points of view—the whales and the protectors. After everyone has had a chance to play both roles sit down and discuss feelings about whale hunting.
Suggestions for discussion questions:
How did it feel to be a whale? A whale protector?
As a whale, what went through your mind when a ball was coming toward you? How did you feel about the protectors?
As a protector, what went through your mind when a ball was thrown?
Do you think that anyone should be allowed to hunt whales? Why or why not? Share your views about whale hunting.
What are some ways that people and the government are helping to protect whales?
Have you ever seen a whale swimming in the ocean? Share your experience by telling everyone what it was like to see a whale in the wild.
(This game has been adapted from Earth Child by K. Sheehan and M. Waidner, 1991.)
