School Projects
Whole schools can get in on the fun of learning about and protecting animals. It seems a natural project since most schools have mascots and many of them are mammals. Does your school have a mascot? Why was it selected? Learn all about it. Is it endangered?
Adopt an Animal
Adopting an animal is a great way to show your school supports protecting wildlife. You can either set up the adoption through a local zoo, wildlife refuge or rehabilitation center, or a national nonprofit. If your school has a central display area, you can post pictures of your adopted animal along with information about it. Since adoptions aren't free, you can have a donation box or bucket where people can toss spare change to support the effort.
Host an Animal Fair
Maybe you've heard of or even held a science fair before, but have you ever held an animal fair? You can try to coordinate the curriculum with other teachers in order to have all sorts of animal projects to display, or you can make it an extra-credit effort. You can coordinate it as its own event or have it going on at the same time as parent-teacher conferences. Be flexible, be creative, and be sure to ask your students for their ideas. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Display animal arts and crafts made by students.
Have a reading area with students' research reports or stories about animals.
Invite your local pet shelter or humane society to come and set up a table with information.
Invite local nonprofit organizations that work on animal protection and conservation issues to organize a table with information and displays. It could be focused on local wildlife or global wildlife.
Invite local state park staff to come and have a table with information and interpretive resources about local wildlife.
Ask a local farmer to bring some farm animals for a petting zoo in your schoolyard.
Play endangered species chairs (like musical chairs). Place a picture of a different animal on each chair. Which animals will disappear first?
There are so many ways to adapt the animal fair; just have fun with it. Have students help plan it so they are more excited to participate.
