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Whales & Dolphins Are Mammals

Know that whales and dolphins are mammals, not fish — they breathe air, are warm-blooded, and feed their babies milk — even though they live in the ocean

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What a learner can do afterwards

  • State that whales and dolphins are mammals, not fish
  • Give at least two reasons why: they breathe air and feed babies milk
  • Explain that living in water does not make an animal a fish

The lesson

Whales and dolphins live in the ocean. But they are not fish. They are mammals, just like you and me.

Mammals breathe air, just like you do. Whales and dolphins come up to breathe. Mammal babies drink milk from their mothers. Whale and dolphin babies do this too.

Tap each heart and count out loud.
Two things make a mammal: breathing air and feeding milk to babies. Tap to count them.
Try it together

A baby dolphin swims next to its mom. It drinks her milk to grow big and strong. Every few minutes, it swims up for air.

Good to know

Living in water does not make an animal a fish. Ask if it breathes air and drinks milk. That tells you it is a mammal.

Whales and dolphins breathe air and feed their babies milk. That makes them mammals, not fish.

Watch it

Where it sits

Where this leads

Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.

Then practise

8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.

Whales & Dolphins Are Mammals · Science, ages 5 to 7 · LightMySky