May 4-10, 2008, is National Pet Week! Have you been feeling like the proverbial "old dog"?
Learn some new tricks with five lessons that bring the delightful topic of pets into the classroom. From feline to
fish to fowl, students enjoy learning about the animals that share our homes and our lives. Included:
Five lessons that reinforce language arts, math, and science skills and involve popular pets!
Pets enrich our lives in so many ways. They offer companionship, humor, and love all at the same time! In the United
States, millions of households include dogs, cats, and other pets. In fact, many owners are so attached to their pets
that they purchase gifts for their animal friends on holidays and birthdays!
Pet Politics
One activity not to be overlooked during a study of pets is the survey. Ask any pet owner and you are sure
to discover why his or her type of pet is the very best, but which pets are the most popular in your classroom?
Have your students create and administer a survey that identifies the different pets they have at home and
graph the results. To expand this math activity, give the survey to other classes within the school and
add their data to the mix. Has your school gone to the cats or to the dogs? Your class will find out!
FIVE LESSONS FOR TEACHING ABOUT PETS
Education World celebrates National Pet Week with a menagerie of great animal-related activities
in the classroom. Click on each of the five lesson headlines below for a complete teaching resource. (Appropriate
grade levels for each lesson appear in parentheses.)
Pet Pellets
Create and design advertising for a tempting new pet food! (Grades 3-12)
Pet Perspective
Explore the world from the point-of-view of a favorite pet. (Grades K-12)
"Pet" Project
Build a proposal that will persuade a classroom teacher or mom and dad that it is time to take on a pet! (Grades 3-8)
The Perfect Pet
Choose the right pet for customers of an imaginary pet shop. (Grades 3-8)
Pet Detective WebQuest
Take an online tour to learn about pets and their care. (Grades PreK-3)
Pet Week Lessons
for Every Grade