Teach Caring & Responsability with the Right In-Class Pet

Difficulty:
Moderate
Cost:
$51-$250
Average rating:

As a teacher, you are always looking for authentic ways to teach your students valuable life lessons. Caring and responsibility are two life skills that can be taught through the use of a classroom pet. Use these steps as a guideline for finding the right pet for your class.

Step 1:

Schedule a meeting with the administrator at your school in order to determine the district or school policy on having a pet in the classroom. You might find that the district or school has created a list of allowable pets.

Communicate your motives and intentions with regard to having a pet in the classroom.

Step 2:

Draft a letter to the parents of your students detailing the district's policy on pets in the classroom and detailing the benefits and rewards the students will reap from having a classroom pet.

Ask the parents to review the list of allowable pets and encourage them to get in touch with you immediately if they have an allergy or safety concern with any of the pets listed. (This would also be a good opportunity to solicit donations from parents for the purchase of the pet and the supplies.)

Step 3:

Once you received school and parental support of the classroom pet, allow your students to see the types of pets that you may choose for the class.

It's a good idea to check out library books about the pets and have websites bookmarked for the students to research the pets online.

Step 4:

Once the students have researched the pets, and the type of care each will require, allow your students the opportunity to vote on what type of class pet they'd enjoy having.

Step 5:

Now that you’ve reached a consensus on the type of pet that’s right for your classroom, you’ll need to find a reputable pet store from which to purchase the pet and the supplies.

You might have received donations from parents, you might be using funds from a school account, or you might even be making this purchase out of your own pocket.

You want to guarantee you are choosing a pet store that is selling you a healthy pet and is giving you valid information. Check out their return policy on the pet, just in case things don’t work out.

Step 6:

When introducing the pet to the students, have a plan that ensures neither the pet nor the students become overwhelmed.

Make sure that you have educated the students on the pet's needs, requirements, likes and dislikes beforehand.

A class pet is the perfect opportunity to model and teach responsibility to your students. Now that you have the pet, create a schedule that allows each student to be responsible for the feeding and cleaning of the pet and supplies. Regularly create lessons that involve the pet and nurture your students' love of animals.

About this Author:
This article was written by collin walker and provided by pet-super-store.com a website featuring orthopedic dog beds and dog training collars.
View more information and all guides by Collin Walker

Be the First to Comment on this Article