Learning About Pets

Mrs. Kiernan and I are excited to have our students read our blog this week. We hope that they will have  a chance to read it every week, as it contains the news about what we are doing in class and has photos of our classroom activities.

Starting last week we began learning about pets. We have been talking about which animals would make good pets and which ones would not be good pets. We have read and recited The Animal Store, by Rachel Field as well as graphed our favorite pets. Our visit to Animal House Pet Shop on Friday, was both fun and informative. We were shown a wide variety of pets, both common and exotic. A class favorite was the rabbits. We enjoyed watching them hop around in our circle, and we even got to pet them.
This Friday, each student will select a pet that they wish to study. The children will be in groups of between two and four students. The groups will read books, talk to friends and adults, and even use the internet to learn more about the pets they have chosen to study. We will want to find out about the physical characteristics of the pets, what they eat, what they need to live and be healthy, and why they could make a good pet. We will share our information with our classmates by making teaching posters using a variety of art materials.
The choices of pets available to be studied and researched are: dogs, cats, parrots, fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, and snakes. Students, be ready to tell me on Friday which pet you want to study.