• Basic needs: food, water, shelter, companionship, health - nutrition, vaccinations, medical treatment for illnesses & injuries, spay/neutering
  
  
• Basic life cycle & development: pregnancy, birth, aging, death
  
  
• Characteristics of species - interesting facts for children
  
  

• Use of posters: Example - Poster starting with 2 cats at top, next level - 4 kittens, next level each kitten has 4 kittens, each of those kittens has 4 kittens, and so on, and so on. Perhaps each generation can be color-coded until at the bottom of the poster the page is swarming with cats.
  
  
• Older children (late Middle School and High School ages) can learn about animals who are killed due to overpopulation.
  
  
• Let children know that they CAN make a difference.

• Both younger and older children can visit an animal shelter. Older children can assist with caring for the animals.
  
  

• For younger children: scripted towards understanding basic health needs and importance of spay/neuter.
• Older children could perhaps follow the treatment and recovery of injured animals (preferably animals with visible injuries and good prognosis for recovery).

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• Never refer to an animal as "it." Always use "she" or "he." It is important to emphasize that animals are sentient beings, not "things."
  
  
• Teach children that all animals have feelings just as people do. There are a variety of good books and movies for every age level that underscore this point. Do not view movies that exploit live animals. Get children thinking about how animals might feel in different situations.
  
  
• Ask them to tell stories about animals they've encountered and afterwards ask the class what the animal was probably feeling at different points of the story.
  
  
• Have younger children draw pictures and older children write stories about animals they have known. Have them answer "How is (the animal) feeling when (event/circumstance) happened?" Encourage them to connect animals' feelings to events that occur and circumstances that they are in, underscoring the relationships between events and feelings. Ask them, "How would you feel if this happened to you?"
  
  
• Encourage children to act with kindness toward animals. Ask them to tell/write stories about times they have helped an animal (i.e., dog was lonely and child played with him; cat had no food or water and child gave them a can of food and bowl of water). Make sure to focus on how each child made a difference for the animal, how their individual actions can have a positive impact.
  
  
• Continue these discussions and writing themes throughout the year. Integrate the theme of animals' feelings into other subjects, such as Reading, Writing, Spelling, and Social Studies. Keep asking children to think about what various animals are feeling in different situations that come up.

• The goal is to teach children that all animals communicate even though we can't understand them. Children often can't relate to animals because they don't understand their behavior; the more different an animal (or person) seems, the more difficult it is to have empathy (think about human prejudices/racism/sexism -- the underlying themes are "they're different from us").
  
  
• Use example of bilingual students - learn two different ways of saying key phrases such as hello, leave me alone, I'm scared, I'm hurt.
  
  
• Extend this metaphor to the animal world - teach them to become observers - "detectives" who have to figure out what various animals are saying with their body language and verbalizations, use photos.
  
  
• Have black & white outline drawings of different animals feeling different ways - let children pick and color masks to wear. The teacher can first hold up each mask and have children guess what the animal is feeling. Afterwards have them color/decorate the masks, put them on and act out short stories/plays directed by the teacher with additional input from the children.
  
  
• After children learn some of the basics of animal communication/expression, have them participate in a charades-type game. Print out "Actor" cards which, for example, show a picture of a cat hissing, backing up, ears flattened and have the actor child act that out for the other kids and have them guess what the animal is "saying."

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• Have younger children tell about or draw a picture about a time they saw a child/adult "being mean or hurting an animal." Focus on what the animal was probably feeling before/during/after being mistreated.
  
  
• Animal Helpers - instruct children to be "animal-helpers" and report animal abuse to adults, especially teachers. Make this a ceremony with a short pledge and an award certificate they can take home. Use a brief phrase, preferably rhyming, so children will remember.
  
  
• Have a speaker from a local animal rescue visit the classroom regularly throughout the year. Children need to see that there is an authority who can deal with their concerns about animal neglect and mistreatment. The speaker will explain anonymity of complaints, as well as the steps the rescue will take, such as investigating, educating pet caretakers on how to provide for the needs of animals, teaching caretakers non-violent ways of training animals, re-visits to assess how the caretaker/animal are doing, and situations in which an animal must be removed from a home. When children tell about incidents they've witnessed of animal neglect/mistreatment, teachers should explore with them what they can do to help the animal. In some situations, children may be able to take direct action (i.e., telling children who are hurting animals to stop, or asking their parents to provide food, water, shelter to a neglected animal), but most often their way of helping the animal will be to report the abuse/neglect to the HS worker. Teachers should encourage children to tell the rescue worker during his/her next visit to the classroom. If a situation sounds very serious, the teacher can help the child write a short letter or send an e-mail to the rescue worker with their concerns.
  
  
• Younger Grades: Books & activities that portray animals, especially animals who are used for food, as sentient beings and not objects.
  
  Older Grades:
  
  1) Begin to review the the environmental, human and animal impacts of modern farming and consuming animal products. Display photos of animals in their "natural state" compared to photos of animals living on a "factory farm." Discuss how animals are used for food and clothing; give students alternatives for animal products.
  
  2) Introduce students to animal testing/experimentation. A photographic display of animals in labs, along with a listing of companies that test on animals and companies that do not. Discuss modern alternatives available that can be used instead of animal research/experimentation, for example: in-vitro analysis, epidemiology, computer and mathematical modeling, genetics, clinical research, autopsy/biopsy studies, and sophisticated diagnostic imaging.
  
  3) Discuss animals used for entertainment (circus, rodeo, racing, zoos, etc. -- removal from natural habitat, training techniques, fate when animals are no longer "useful") and discuss alternative entertainment available. Take a trip to see a circus that uses only human participants.
  
  

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F. CLASSROOM ANIMALS

There are a number of ways teachers could encourage students to learn about animals without actually incorporating them into the classroom:

• Spend some time observing wild animals in the schoolyard. Research the animals you see.
  
  
• Build a bird feeder and place outside the classroom window. Students can take responsibility for providing food for the birds.
  
  
• Integrate a specific type of animal into lessons for a week or month. Plan research projects around that animal.
  
  
• Use videos, films and books to learn about animals.
  
  
• Plan a visit to an outdoor animal sanctuary/rescue (not a zoo) in your area. Many lessons and activities they provide will include animals.
  
  
• The class could "adopt" a wild animal such as a whale or wolf. There are many programs with the purpose of helping to save endangered species. Typically, the costs are nominal and the project can provide a year long "classroom pet" experience that is both educational and humane in nature.
  
  
• If there are homeless cats in the area, older students can help adults trap, spay/neuter, and feed the cats.
  
  
• Use activities and humane education materials developed and available through local humane societies. There are many positive learning activities that can be integrated as part of the curriculum.
  
  

G. Suggested Activities

Poster Contest: Have students design a poster with an animal-related theme. For example, "Be Kind To Animals," "Save Endangered Species," "Stop Animal Abuse," "Spay/Neuter Your Companion Animals," etc. Find a local mall, library, bank that would be willing to display the posters. This would help to educate the community, as well as the students, because people would see the animal-related artwork and themes. The posters can also be displayed in the school building. Give prizes for first, second, and third place of each grade level or age group. You can also award only a first place winner for each grade level or age group, and give each participant an Honorable Mention certificate.

Alternatives Challenge:

1) Ask students to keep a list for one week recording each time they consume or wear an "animal product." For example: 1. Ate bacon for breakfast. 2. Wore shoes made from leather. Then ask the students to make a list of alternatives for the animal products they used.

2) Provide students with a listing of companies that test products on animals and companies that do not. Ask the students to look through their cabinets at home and make a list of products manufactured by companies on the list. Have the students review products used within the school and present the school board with a listing of alternative products available.

• Share the World is a free educational program designed to help your students better understand and appreciate the animals with whom we share our world.
  
  
• Animal Abuse & Youth Violence
  
  
• Students' Rights & Conscientious Objection To Harming Animals
  
  
• Dissection Alternatives
  
  
• Alternatives To School Hatching Projects
  
  
• Learning Without Killing Resources