Using migration as a springboard, students can begin to understand patterns of survival and interdependence that exist within nature, as well as humankind’s role in modifying these patterns. This mini-unit involves a series of integrated activities designed to take middle school students (fifth through eighth grades) on a journey of the eastern Pacific gray whale’s migration. Through the different learning experiences about whale migration, students are provided with a big picture of scientific ideas, use scientific reasoning and critical-thinking (NRC 1996), and subsequently make connections to scientific ideas in other subjects (e.g., language arts, mathematics, and social studies).