Language 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 yourlessons.

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!

Your classroom pet can aid you in teaching a variety of subjects, and science is definitely an appropriate subject to incorporate your pet into!  Pets in the Classroom has a few suggestions on how to incorporate your pet into your science lessons.

Animals are an integral part of science, and your pet can easily be included in lesson plans.  You can use a photo of your pet to label anatomy, study its habitat, and learn about its needs.  Whether you teach kindergarten or the 6^th grade, your students can benefit from the learning opportunity that classroom pets bring.  Here are a few ideas:

• Use a photo or draw a picture of your classroom pet and have your students label the anatomy.
• Study the meaning of “habitat.”  List different categories of habitats (ocean, forest, jungle, desert, etc) and find which category your pet would fit into.
• Discuss the native habitat of your pet if it was not domesticated and its classroom habitat.  Compare and contrast.
• Separate animals into groups (using your pet as one of the animals) based on their physical characteristics.
• Study what your pet needs to survive – diet, exercise requirements, environment, and climate.
• Make a scientific study of your pet.  Observe its habits and behavior patterns.

There are just a few suggestions on how to incorporate a classroom pet into your science lesson.  For more lesson plan ideas as well as printable worksheets, visit http://www.classpetcentral.com/teachers/lesson_plans.

There are so many fabulous facts about animals, their roles in history, and their current roles in society.  Chances are your classroom pet has an interesting heritage that your students can learn from.  Here are a couple of suggestions from Pets in the Classroom on how to build some lessons on history around your pet.

Have your students do a little research on the background of your classroom pet.  How far can you trace back its specific species?  When was it discovered? How were they viewed by people at different times in history?  What roles have they played in history? These are just a few of the questions that can bring some fun facts into your classroom.   For example, did you know that canaries and mice were used during World War II to detect bad air and poisonous gas in tunnels that were being dug behind enemy lines?    Or that Queen Elizabeth I of England was among the first European guinea pig owners? Or that George Washington had a pet parrot in the White House? Take some time to uncover the hidden history of your classroom pet.

Another way to learn more about pets and history is by having your students interview a parent, grandparent, relative, or another acquaintance on the different pets they have come in contact with in their lives.  Your students will find out more about pets and animal care, as well as more about that person’s history and life.

We hope these curriculum suggestions from Pets in the Classroom are useful and give you some ideas on how you can incorporate your
classroom pet into your lesson plans.

Art class can be so fun and a great outlet for kids to express their creativity.  Incorporating your classroom pet into your art lessons can be an additional way to grow the bonds your students have with your pet while also encouraging creative thought and developing other skills.

Have your students sketch your pet over a period of time using different methods – colors, pencil, markers, paint.  By experimenting with a variety of materials with the same subject, your students will become more familiar with art and the details of your pet.

Another option is to have your students focus on drawing the pet but assigning different details for them to focus on.  One time, have them draw the pet in different positions in its environment.  The next time, have them draw the pet a different facial expression.  Then have then draw the pet with a background that expresses what the student thinks would fit the pet’s personality.  This exercise will help the students to use their creativity while learning more about the pet and its environment and personality.

Collages are a great project that can be appropriate for a variety of grade levels.  Have your students make collages using pictures that tell about your classroom pet.  Set parameters for the assignment according to your students’ skill level and let the fun begin!

How do you incorporate your classroom pet into your art classes?  Let us know by commenting on our Facebook page:  www.Facebook.com/petsintheclassroom.  And if you don’t have a classroom pet, now is the time to get one!  Visit the Pets in the Classroom website to apply for your no-hassle grant today!

There are many fun ways to use your classroom pets in your school curriculum.    From reading to math, science to art, your classroom pet can make any subject more exciting!  We are going to be starting a series of blogs focusing on different ways you can incorporate your pets into different subjects.  As always, we appreciate your feedback, so please feel free to comment on the ideas or add to our ideas by visiting our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/petsintheclassroom.

Using your pet food for math problems can be a great way to make learning interactive and more exciting.  Are you teaching about fractions?  How about measurements?  You can use the pet food as a tool to demonstrate how fractions and measurements work.

If you are teaching time, use your pet’s schedule to help aid your lesson.  What time do you feed the pet?  What time do the students get to interact with the pet? You could even have the students create a schedule for your pet and assign different times to different activities.

Another way to incorporate you pet into the math curriculum is to have students calculate the cost of keeping a pet for a certain period of time (week, month, school year, year).  Given the cost of food, grooming, vet care, supplies, toys, etc., the students can calculate how much the pet costs in that time period.

How do you incorporate your pet into math lessons? Let us know on Pet in the Classroom’s Facebook page!