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| The Humane Treatment of Animals: A Guide for Elementary Teachers. NY State Education Dept. Level 3 Grades 4, 5 & 6: |
Please note: all text in italics was taken directly from the out of print 1976 NY humane education curriculum guide Topic - Animals in Society: Understanding - Pet shops, zoos, and animal exhibitors should provide humane care for their animals. Activities - Have the children visit a number of pet shops, zoos, and/or animal exhibits and talk to the proprietors. After their visits, have them write a newspaper article or letter to the editor describing their impressions of the establishments. These may be illustrated and used for a bulletin board display.
Understanding - Some people do mistreat their animals. Activities - Share with the children a news item that reports the mistreatment of an animal. Lead the children into a discussion of what to do if they see an animal being mistreated. Role play the reporting of inhumane treatment. Help the children to establish a code for the humane treatment of animals. For background information read Explaining Cruelty and NY Agriculture and Markets law. Teaching Compassion A Guide for Humane Educators, Teachers, and Parents provides a section devoted to handling disclosures of child and animal abuse in addition to lesson plans and other useful information. Also recommended - Anicare Child.
Understanding - Most domesticated animals depend on people for survival. Activities - Take the class on a field trip to a farm. Ask the farmer to illustrate for the children various chores involved in providing for the animals. Have him/her point out the necessity for completing these chores regularly. Have various children research the history of domesticated animals such as horses, cows, sheep, and chickens. The information gathered may be shared through illustrated talks using photographs and drawings. Supplemental information - there have been instances of domesticated animals, such as the horse, reverting to the wild and surviving. In most cases, the animals have been bred to meet people's needs and their natural means of survival in the wild have been weakened. Other animals have learned to be dependent on people since they were young and do not know how to fend for themselves. Visit the Humane myth Web site, a site dedicated to working to create a just and nonviolent future while exposing the" humane myth" - the idea that it is possible to use and kill animals in a respectful or compassionate or humane manner.
Understanding - There are many organizations concerned with the humane treatment of animals. Activities - Have the children research the names and addresses of various societies formed to protect animals. Have each child choose a society and write to it requesting literature, aims of the society, history of the society, current campaigns, etc. Supplemental information - In addition to the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States, children may want to find out more about such organizations as: World Society for the Protection of Animals, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Fund for Animals, Friends of animals, World Wildlife Fund, Animal Protection Institute, Animal Welfare Institute, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation Understanding - Some shelters exist to care for abandoned animals. Activities - Invite an animal shelter worker to address the class, explaining the purposes of an animal shelter.
Understanding - Some animal performers are protected by a code. Activities - Initiate a discussion with the children about animals they have seen acting in movies, circuses, television shows, commercials, etc. Elicit from the children questions such as: How do they get an animal to run to food in a commercial? How do they get a horse to fall in a western? How do they train an elephant to do tricks? Supplemental information - The code for animal actors is self-enforcing, that is it applies only to those who wish to be covered. It is normally limited to films and television and does not apply to circuses, rodeos, and carnivals. For information about animals used in entertainment, visitThe Performing Animal Welfare Society and Animals Used for Entertainment FAQs . Activities - Have individual pupils write to sponsoring agents to get answers to their questions. Assign the group to watch a program which announces its compliance with the code for animal actors. Discuss the program with the children eliciting evidence of humane treatment. Supplemental information - The code (Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media) written by the American Humane Association's Film & Television Unit may be viewed online. American Humane was designated by the Screen Actors Guild as the only animal welfare organization with on-set jurisdiction. American Humane also provides ratings and reviews for movies and television shows. Understanding - Laws have been enacted to protect animals. Activities - Collect copies of bills such as the Federal Endangered Species Act, the Mason Act (NY), and the Humane Slaughter Act. Have the pupils peruse these. Discuss such questions as: Why the bill was passed; How it came to be important; and How are such bills enforced? Supplementary Information - copies of Federal bills can be obtained through Thomas and New York bills can be found on the New York State Assembly page. Abandoning an animal is illegal in NY and elsewhere.
Understanding - Animals are important to human life. Activities - Provide space for the children to set up a display showing how animals benefit people. This display might include: guide dogs, watch dogs, canine companions, etc.
Understanding - Animal experimentation is often used to test the purity of products unknown to the public. Activities - Discuss with the class when such experiments are not necessary (for cosmetics and toys) How and when such activity should be regulated? According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine"the replacement of animal methods with non-animal techniques often yields both ethical and technical advantages ...Ninety percent of all drugs tested on animals fail when tested on humans." Visit the PCRM web site to read further about animal experimentation issues . Supplemental information- Consult federal "Laboratory Animal Welfare Act and other relevant laws. To locate companies that do not test products on animals visit the following to view cruelty-free shopping guides: Compassionate Consumer, Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, In Defense of Animals and Caring Consumer Understanding - Cultural heritage influences attitude towards animals. Activities - Examine art and literature of different cultures to see how animals are represented. (Sacred cows, cave paintings, Native American totems). Creating Youth Advocacy Groups: Humane Society Youth Mission Humane and Jane Goodall Institute's Roots and Shoots programs provide the support necessary to start a youth advocacy group. Previous Topic - House Pets/Companion Animals Back to NY Humane Education Curriculum Main Page> The following topics from the guide will be added shortly: Animals in Their Natural Environment Classroom Pets See also Humane Education Resources page for teaching guides, lessons and additional materials including audio visual materials. ©2007-2009 Humane Education Teacher |
