classroom pet curriculumLanguage Arts can be a grueling subject for some students, and an exciting subject for others.  Either way, it is an important subject that is vital to a student’s education.  If you are looking for some creative ways to make studying Language Arts more fun for your class, try one of these suggestions from Pets in the Classroom on how to incorporate your classroom pet into your lessons.

Have the students come up with different words that describe your pet (fish, mammal, black, brown, scaly, furry, energetic, calm, etc.).  Use these words in your grammar lessons to teach about nouns, adjectives, adverbs, subjects, direct objects, verbs, etc.   You can also use these words to create word games and spelling games.

Use your classroom pet as a source of inspiration for creative writing.  Have your students write a letter to their parents from your pet’s point-of-view on what is happening at school to teach about different perspectives.  Send the letters home with the students to give to the parents to also engage the parents in their student’s education.

You could also have your students write a story using your pet as the main character of the story.  Your students can create different adventures involving the pet using what they know about it’s personality, needs, and habitat.

Daily or weekly journal writing is a fantastic way to have students work on their writing skills and grammar.  Have your students write about different pet-related topics…whether they have pets at home or not, what they would do if they took the classroom pet home, what your pet would have observed in the classroom, etc.

While many students may not enjoy writing assignments, basing the assignments on your classroom pet can help improve their attitudes as well as their ability.   Take the opportunity to use your classroom pet as a teaching aid in all of your subjects to make your lessons more relatable and exciting.

Do you incorporate your classroom pet into your lessons?  Tell us how!  Visit the Pets in the Classroom Facebook page and post your ideas on our wall! If you don’t have a classroom pet and are considering getting one, be sure to visit PetsintheClassroom.org for more information on how you can get a grant to help pay for it!

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