National Pet Week Activities

Working Pets
Social Studies The month of May contains National Pet Week and National Police Week so why not combine them? Contact your local police department to inquire about police dogs, tracking dogs and seeing-eye dogs. Invite a local speaker to come in with his/her working pet and explain the training involved as well as the services provided. You may even have an organization in your area that trains seeing-eye dogs.

Pet Week Lessons For Every Grade
Have you been feeling like the proverbial "old dog"? Learn some new tricks with five lessons that bring the delightful topic of pets into the classroom. From feline to fish to fowl, students enjoy learning about the animals that share our homes and our lives. Included: Five lessons that reinforce language arts, math, and science skills and involve popular pets!

National Pet Week Lesson Plans/Activity Sheets
The American Veterinary Medical Association has developed twelve lessons and activity sheets grammar school teachers can download and use in their classrooms. Each activity is written for a specific grade level and meets national teaching standards in science and language arts.

Precious Pets
Writing Have students bring in a picture of a current or past pet. Give the prompt, "When I was little I had a pet..." Have students complete the writing, then ask them to write a how-to article that would teach another person how to care for this type of pet. Compare and contrast the two kinds of writing. Does anyone in the class want to have a different kind of pet after hearing about their friends' experiences?

Talking With the Animals
Using this lesson, students can imagine what animals might be thinking and would say if they could talk. Students can develop empathy for others' feelings and ideas. Finally, students will draw images of animals and write what the animals would say if they could talk.