Swallowed by the Whale

“Swallowed by the 

Whale”: 

By: By Doug Fraser

Lexile 790

A lobster diver was seriously injured on June 9 in a rare accident. He was caught in the mouth of a humpback whale. The whale was feeding near a beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Multiple Select

"A lobster diver had a rare accident, what are 2 synonyms for the word rare?

• uncommon

• frequent

• infrequent

• common

Multiple Choice

Which sentence best describes where the man got injured?

• A lobster diver was seriously injured on June 9 in a rare accident.

• He was caught in the mouth of a humpback whale.

• The whale was feeding near a beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

The diver was Michael Packard, who is 56 years old. He was taken to Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts. His sister, Cynthia Packard, said he has at least one broken leg.

"He was swallowed by the whale," Cynthia Packard said. "He was in his mouth for about 20 seconds."

Multiple Choice

According to the story, what part of Michael's body was injured?

• His back

• His leg

• His arm

• He head

Multiple Choice

How long was Michael in the whale?

• 20 hours

• 20 minutes

• 20 seconds

Cynthia Packard spoke with crewman Josiah Mayo, who told her what happened. Michael Packard had just dived down into the water in search of lobsters. Suddenly, Mayo said, a whale burst to the surface. A first he thought it might be a great white shark.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence best describes how Michael ended up in the whale?

• Michael Packard had just dived down into the water in search of lobsters.

• Mayo said, a whale burst to the surface.

• A first he thought it might be a great white shark.

"There was all this action at the top of the water," Mayo said. Then, fortunately, the whale released Packard from its mouth.

​Baleen

Open Ended

Why do you think whale spit him put

"I believe the whale was spit out because____________."

Tough Job

Lobster divers are tough. In Provincetown, they dive into cold waters to grab lobsters off a sandy underwater shelf. The lobsters are migrating to warmer waters. They emerge from a nearby deep channel and pause a while in order to get used to the warmth.

Multiple Choice

"The lobsters are migrating to warmer waters." What is the best definition for migrating

• Move closer to water and food whenever you are hungry

• Move from one house to the other 

• move from one region or habitat to another according to the seasons.

Multiple Choice

How do lobsters defend themselves

• claws

• teeth

• stingers

A crewman on board one of these lobster boats follows the bubbles of the diver below as he or she drifts with the strong current. The spot where the diving takes place can be dangerous. Many lobster divers have only narrowly escaped death and some have been seriously injured.

Open Ended

"A crewman on board one of these lobster boats follows the bubbles of the diver" Why do you think this is important"? 

Restate the question!!

Multiple Choice

Many lobster divers have only narrowly escaped death and some have been seriously injured. What is a synonym for narrowly?

• almost

• barely

• often

"Thank god it wasn't a white shark. He sees them all the time out there," Cynthia Packard said. "He must have thought he was done."

Multiple Select

"Thank god it wasn't a white shark." How are humpback whales different than white sharks? Choose 2 answers

• Humpback whales have a few teeth and sharks have many teeth

• Humpback whales come up the to breath and sharks breath underwater

• Humpback whales do not have teeth and sharks have teeth

Are Humpback Whales Aggressive?

Charles "Stormy" Mayo is a senior scientist and whale expert at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown. He said what happened to Packard is very rare. Humpbacks are not aggressive animals, he said. What happened was likely an accidental encounter while the whale was feeding on fish.

Multiple Choice

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• Whales are not violent animals

• Whales are huge animals and very dangerous 

• Whale are usually harmless 

Multiple Select

"Humpbacks are not aggressive animals" What are 2 synonyms for the word aggressive mean?

• peaceful 

• hostile 

• friendly

• violent 

Poll

Do you believe this really happened? 

• Yes

• No

​PLAY ON MUTE!!!

Multiple Choice

What is the authors purpose 

• To entertain the reader (make you laugh)

• To inform the reader (teach you something) 

• To persuade the reader (get the reader to believe the readers opinion)