| Program Description | Killer Whale Tales (KWT) Kids Making a Difference Now program uses an innovative curriculum to promote environmental science education and stewardship of the Puget Sound and Salish Sea with K-5th grade students (3-4th grade is our target audience). We use orcas to spark curiosity, highlight human impacts on the environment, and empower children to lead their households in reducing their environmental footprint.
Students are fascinated by orcas’ elaborate communication systems, human-like social behavior, and matriarchal pods. When schoolchildren learn about the species, they naturally begin to care about it and are eager to learn what they and their families can do to mitigate local marine pollution. By telling stories about these beautiful creatures, a gateway is opened for teaching about environmental field science, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Design, and Math), and the importance of environmental conservation.
Our program begins with participants attending a 60-minute interactive storytelling session. They follow a young boy as he dreams of being a Southern Resident killer whale. Through this story the students are introduced to the behavioral and conservation biology of these animals and how humans play a part in this drama. Following the story, students then participate in STEAM / EALR (Essential Academic Learning Requirements) / Washington State Science and Learning Standards (previously known as the Next Generation Science Standards - NGSS) supported experiential science and role playing activities based on actual Puget Sound orca field studies.
Finally, students become advocates for the Puget Sound and the orcas by taking home KWT’s “Kids Making a Difference—Now!” and/or "Storm Water Busters" conservation worksheets. They use these worksheets to chart their families’ environmental footprint and implement plans to diminish their impact.
Our program collects the completed worksheets from teachers and compiles the data into conservation "report cards" that we distribute back to the teachers to share with their students. These report cards show the immense power that a group of individuals can have when they work together for a collective cause. We have over 10 years of measurable results demonstrating our program’s ability to empower students as they lead their families in energy and water conservation as well as pollution reduction. Last year's results and a copy of the overall report card can be found on our website: https://killerwhaletales.org/kmad/
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