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 6th 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.
