Keller Laros is a professional scuba instructor who lives in Hawaii. The shores of Kailua-Kona, on The Big Island of Hawaii, host some of the world’s most diverse and interesting aquatic life.
Laros estimates he has made more than 10,000 dives in his career. On Jan. 11, he led a group of videographers and divers on a “Manta Ray Night Dive.” However, the tour would be unlike any other trip he had ever been on before.
At one point during the dive, a dolphin approached Laros.
Dolphins can be dangerous and aggressive towards people. They don’t often seek out human interaction.
Laros later explained, “All of a sudden I heard a loud squeak and I turned around, and the dolphin was literally three feet behind me. He swam right up to me.”
Laros soon discovered the dolphin was in distress. He called to the dolphin to “come closer.” As the dolphin came toward Laros, he was able to see that a fishing hook had caught the dolphin’s fin and that a fishing line had become entangled in the dolphin’s mouth.
Using underwater tools, Laros spent the next eight minutes removing the hook and line. At one point, the dolphin swam up for air before returning again for more help.
Fortunately for the dolphin, Laros was able to remove both the fishing hook and the line.
Fortunately for us, the entire incident was caught on video.
Here is the video (YouTube, 3:14).
Here is a BBC news clip about the event (YouTube, 3:15).
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Communication between humans and other species relies on ‘body language’ (gestures, manners). What ‘body language’ do you think the dolphin showed Laros in order to communicate that it was in trouble?
Reading Prompt: Text Features
Today’s article contains links to to videos. Watch both videos. How do the two videos and the article each contribute to your understanding of the story? Which helps you understand today’s story best?
Primary
Explain, initially with some support and direction, how their skills in listening, speaking, writing, viewing, and repre- senting help them make sense of what they read (OME, Reading: 4.2).
Junior & Intermediate
Explain, in conversation with the teacher and/or peers or in a reader’s notebook, how their skills in listening, speaking, writing, viewing, and representing help them make sense of what they read (OME, Reading: 4.2).
Grammar Feature: Using Quotes
Quotation marks are punctuation marks that go on either side of a speaker’s words ( ” ). It is a good idea to include quotes in stories that recount an event because they help the reader learn more about what happened and what perople saw. But one mistake students often make when using quotes is not leading into them or out of them. For example, the quote in today’s article has a short and simple lead-in:
Laros later explained, “All of a sudden I heard a loud squeak, and I turned around, and the dolphin was literally three feet behind me. He swam right up to me.”
This quote would also work if the lead in were switched to the end…
“All of a sudden I heard a loud squeak, and I turned around, and the dolphin was literally three feet behind me. He swam right up to me,” Laros later explained.
Remember, every quote must either have an intro or an outro.
Write a lead in or a lead out for each of the quotes below.
1. ______________________________ “I think I just saw Bigfoot!”
2. “This is your cupcake,” __________________________.
3. “We have to try harder if we’re going to win, _______________________.
4. ________________________________ “is it possible?”
