Country
Spain

Tale typology
Intercultural traditions

Age Suitability
This video is suitable for 5 years old children

Tale summary
A bird and the whale loved one each other and after spending many months keeping one each other company, the bird invite the whale to join her in the sky, but the attempt to fly wasn’t successful. To spend more time together, the whale invited the bird to dive with her in the ocean, but the bird tries to follow the whale with no success. Since they understand that they are different a bird can’t become a whale and a whale can’t become a bird, they said goodbye.

Educational potential / Learning Outcomes
The children learn about the power of friendship and sacrifice
Introduce to the pupils the concept of diversity
They learn that people are also different, and they have different needs, aspirations.

Full Plot
Once there was a bird who fell in love with a whale. And a whale who fell in love with a bird.
The bird loved the whale's beautiful smile. He loved the way she swam through the water so gracefully. The whale loved the bird's handsome white feathers. She loved to watch him soar through the sky. And they both loved to eat lots of tiny fish.

All summer, the bird and the whale met in the bay. They talked and talked. They talked about the moon, and the tides, and the ships in the ocean. The bird told jokes and made the whale laugh. The whale sang beautiful songs that made the bird cry (even though he didn't know why). "One day, you could meet my family in the ocean," said the whale. "And you could meet my friends on the land," said the bird. Everything was perfect.

But the world does not stop turning just because a bird and whale fall in love. Summer turned into autumn, and autumn turned into winter. The ocean turned cold, and all the other whales left for warmer waters. "Come with me to warmer waters," said the whale. "It’s a wonderful place. It's always warm, and there are so many fish to eat." "I love to eat fish," said the bird. "And I love you. I will follow you anywhere. But first, teach me to be a whale?"
"Like this!" said the whale, "follow me!", and she dived deep into the water.
"OK!" said the bird, and he also dived deep into the water.
Deeper and deeper he went. "I'm swimming!" he laughed. "I'm a whale!" But soon he couldn't breathe. He returned to the surface, gasping.
He tried and tried and tried again, but he ran out of breath every time.
"I don't think a bird can become a whale," said the bird. "Come with me instead. I live up on the cliffs. It is a wonderful place. It's warm and cosy, and every morning you can watch the sun rise." "I love to watch the sun rise," said the whale. "And I love you. I will follow you anywhere. But first, teach me to be a bird?" "Like this!" said the bird. "Follow me!", and he flapped his wings and soared into the sky.
"OK!" said the whale. She squeezed her eyes shut and flapped her fins, just like the bird. She flapped and flapped, up and down. Water splashed everywhere. "I'm flying!" she laughed. "I'm a bird!"
But when she opened her eyes, she wasn't soaring in the sky. She was still in the water.
She tried and tried and tried again, but she could not fly.
"I don't think a whale can become a bird," said the whale.
"But if you can't fly, and I can't swim, where can we live together?" said the bird.
"We will stay here — in the waves!" said the whale.
But the bird shook his head sadly.
"You love to swim deep in the ocean," he said. That is your favourite thing to do. You would never be happy here."
The whale sighed.
"And you love to fly and soar into the sky," she said. "That is your favourite thing to do. You would never be happy here either."
And so, because the bird and whale loved each other so much, they said goodbye.
But they never forgot each other. Every time the whale saw a bird flying high in the sky, she thought of her bird. She hoped he was enjoying the skies — just like that.
And every time the bird saw a whale diving deep in the ocean, he thought of his whale. He hoped she was enjoying the ocean — just like that.

One Lesson Plan
PROCEDURAL INSTRUCTIONS
Introduction Activity: The lesson starts with the audio story “The bird and the whale.”
How the bird is different from the whale? What bring them together? What things did they enjoy doing together? How did they learn to celebrate their differences or uniqueness?
Main Activity: Diversity activities teach young children to respect and celebrate the differences in all people. Learning about different cultural aspects offers new experiences for children. “You don’t have to be like me to be my friend.”
Introduce a listening game called Step Right Up. Explain that this game is a fun way for children to learn more about their classmates – the ways in which they are the same and the ways in which they are different.
Gather children together to stand side-by-side or, space permitting, in a large circle. Explain that they will need to listen carefully and respond to sentences that describe them – their individual traits, experiences, likes and dislikes – by stepping forward.
Begin with a simple directive, such as: Step right up if you are wearing sneakers. (Hint: adopting a carnival barker voice and attitude helps keep everyone’s attention and makes this activity fun!) Allow time for students to respond; instruct children to look at the two groups that are created – the group of students with sneakers and the group of students with other footwear. Ask children to return to their original spots.
Continue calling out different categories, beginning with external characteristics (physical descriptions and experiences) and progressing to internal characteristics (preferences and abilities). Children should step back after each instruction, so that the individuals who have stepped forward always represent a different group. Encourage children to look at each new group formed. Make sure that all children are represented in a number of statements. Include several statements that include the entire group to highlight both similarities and differences.
To close the activity, give an instruction that includes everyone (e.g., Step forward if you are an awesome pupil in Mrs. (name of the teacher)’s class!) and children to give themselves and their classmates a hand.
Debriefing: Seat children for a whole-group discussion following the experiential activity. children to share their observations, prompting with questions such as: Did you learn anything new about your classmates? What’s a good way to find out if you share the same interests? How much can you tell about people just by looking at them? Which similarities and differences can you see and which ones can’t you see? Were the groups that stepped forward always made up of the same kids? Some groups were small and some groups were large – which did you like being in? What kinds of things do all your classmates have in common?
Tell children that even though they are all alike in many ways, no one is exactly the same as anyone else. Our differences make each of us unique.