Grade: NYS 4th grade ESL (ELA)
Time Frame: 3 days
Core curriculum
4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says
explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
4.4
Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases
in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
4.7
Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in
charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on
Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of
the text in which it appears.
4.9
Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or
speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Overview:
The shocking number of animal cruelty cases reported daily in the media is only the tip of the iceberg. Most cases are never reported, and most animal suffering goes unrecognized. Although there is no national reporting system for animal abuse, media reports suggest that it is common in rural and urban areas. Cruelty and neglect can also cross socio-economic boundaries. It is time for us to look into this problem and think about the ways which can help these poor animals.
The shocking number of animal cruelty cases reported daily in the media is only the tip of the iceberg. Most cases are never reported, and most animal suffering goes unrecognized. Although there is no national reporting system for animal abuse, media reports suggest that it is common in rural and urban areas. Cruelty and neglect can also cross socio-economic boundaries. It is time for us to look into this problem and think about the ways which can help these poor animals.
Objective:
AWBAT evaluate the impact towards animal cruelty and think critically about how it can be stopped.
AWBAT evaluate the impact towards animal cruelty and think critically about how it can be stopped.
Materials needed: chart papers, worksheets,
printed materials, access to internet
Essential Questions:
·
Why do some people abuse animals?
·
How are the animals being abused?
·
What are the solutions to stop
animal cruelty?
Do now:
Brainstorm the reasons why the
animals are being abused after looking at a series of photos.
Discuss the answer with a partner
and write the reason on the chart paper.
Share with the whole class.
Activity 1
Students will
be separated into 4 groups to do a jig-saw activity. Each group will have 4 students. Group 1 and 2
are intermediate level, group 3 and 4 are advanced level.
Each group will
read an article about animal cruelty or ways to protect animals against being
abused.
Before they
read their article, they will highlight the words they don’t know and discuss
with their group members. Teacher will review the vocab and the article with
them in each group.
Group 3:
Name of the article: “Pit bull puppy name Blue, beaten and shot with pellet gun, needs a home”
Name of the article: “Pit bull puppy name Blue, beaten and shot with pellet gun, needs a home”
Group 4:
Name of the article: “Groups united to fight abuse of animals by setting up a network of protection”
Name of the article: “Groups united to fight abuse of animals by setting up a network of protection”
After they read the article, they will discuss in groups about the questions on the worksheets related to the article about animal cruelty or solutions to this issue. They need to find evidence from the text to support their answer.
Activity 2:
Each group will get 2 worksheets. One is about animal cruelty and the other one is about solutions to help the animals being abused. Two students from each group (Expert group) will go to the other 3 groups to ask questions about the article they read. Their task is to finish the two worksheets. The other two students have to stay at their group (Home group) to tell the expert group information about the article and the video clip of their group. After they finish asking questions and fill out the worksheet, they will go back to their home group to share the information with their group.
Each group will get 2 worksheets. One is about animal cruelty and the other one is about solutions to help the animals being abused. Two students from each group (Expert group) will go to the other 3 groups to ask questions about the article they read. Their task is to finish the two worksheets. The other two students have to stay at their group (Home group) to tell the expert group information about the article and the video clip of their group. After they finish asking questions and fill out the worksheet, they will go back to their home group to share the information with their group.
Day 2:
Activity 3
Teacher will review the articles they read.
Teacher will review the articles they read.
Student will
put into 4 groups again. Each group will watch a video clip about animal
cruelty or ways to protect animals against being abused
Group 3:
Name of the video clip: : Undercover Activist Details Secret Filming of Animal Abuse & why “Ag-Gag” Law may force him to stop.
Name of the video clip: : Undercover Activist Details Secret Filming of Animal Abuse & why “Ag-Gag” Law may force him to stop.
After they watch the video, they
will discuss in groups about some questions on the worksheets related to the content of the
video.
Activity 4:
Each group will
get 2 worksheets. One is about animal cruelty and the other one is about
solutions to help the abused animals.
Two students from each group (Expert group) will go to the other 3
groups to ask questions about the video clip they watched. Their task is to
finish the two worksheets. The other two students have to stay at their group
(Home group) to tell the expert group information about the article and the
video clip. After they finish asking
questions and fill out the worksheet, they will go back to their home group to
share the information with their group.
Day 3
Closing:
Teacher will
close the lesson by asking students to review how people abuse different
animals and the solutions to stop animal cruelty. The students will answer the
following review questions.
·
What are the messages that were
being told in the articles and the video clips?
·
What is your next action to help
prevent animal cruelty?
Activity 5
Students work
in pair to design a poster to propaganda the message to stop animal cruelty in
order to emphasize the seriousness of this issue.
Extended
activity
Students can
write an article about their view on animal cruelty to arouse public attention
on this issue as well as to suggest some ways for them to save those animals being abused.
Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________
Title of the article/ video clip:
_______________________________________
1. What animals
are being abused?
__________________________________________________________________
2. Why are they being abused?
__________________________________________________________________
3. How were the animals abused?
__________________________________________________________________
4. Who abused these animals?
__________________________________________________________________
5. Where did the incident happen?
__________________________________________________________________
6. When did the incident happen?
__________________________________________________________________
Name: _________________________ Date: ___________________
Title of the article/ video clip:
__________________________________________
1. Whose voice
drives the story?
__________________________________________________________________
2. How do you feel about the
animals being abused?
__________________________________________________________________
3. What are the solutions to stop
people abusing these animals?
__________________________________________________________________
4. Do you think these solutions are
effective? Why?
__________________________________________________________________
5. Can you suggest other
solutions?
__________________________________________________________________
Articles for activity 1
Daily News - “Pit bull puppy named Blue,
beaten and shot with pellet gun, needs a home”
Blue was beaten
with a belt and shot with a pellet gun. His right front paw is injured. The
County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control is looking for
someone who can adopt Blue. By City News
Service
Posted:
10/08/13, 12:23 PM PDT | Updated: 3 weeks, 5 days ago
Abused pit bull
mix Blue has been surrendered by his owner and is looking for a new home.
LOS ANGELES — A
pit bull puppy beaten and shot with a pellet gun needs a home, according to the
county Department of Animal Care and Control.
The 8-month-old
puppy, named “Blue,” was rescued over the weekend by Animal Care and Control
officers acting on a complaint that the dog had been repeatedly beaten with a
belt.
“DACC’s medical
team was shocked to discover several pellets imbedded in his body and an
injured front paw,” said Director Marcia Mayeda.
But
veterinarians say the puppy will recover and make a good companion.
Blue has a
“gentle and trusting demeanor despite what he has endured,” said DACC Deputy
Director Aaron Reyes.
Anyone
interested in providing a permanent home for Blue, whose owner signed over
custody to the DACC, was asked to call Lt. Maria Rosales at the Downey Animal
Care Center at (562) 658-2009.
“Together we
can help to erase the numerous negative experiences of his young life,” Mayeda
said.
Groups unite to
fight abuse of animals by setting up a network of protection
Fourteen groups join forces to create network
of protection across the city
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 16 June, 2013, 12:00am
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 June, 2013, 6:42am
UPDATED : Sunday, 16 June, 2013, 6:42am
Civic Party lawmakers Kwok Ka-ki and Claudia Mo Man-ching
(left, right) join commissioners David Wong Kai-yan and Mark Mak Chi-ho. Photo:
May Tse
Fourteen groups have joined together to
create a network of "animal protection commissioners" to report on
animal abuse.
About 20 volunteers from the Alliance for
Hong Kong Animal Police - formed by Animal Earth, the Animal-Friendly Alliance
and the Non-Profit Making Veterinary Service among others - will pursue abuse
cases spotted by the public or by fellow volunteers across the city.
Each district will have a commissioner, with
more than one volunteer monitoring districts with a high record of incidents,
such as Yau Tsim Mong. Although they have no legal power to prosecute abusers,
the activists will try to help the animals by reporting the cases to the media,
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or the police.
"We want to bring more cases to the
public's attention," alliance member Kevin Cheuk Chi-chiu said. "The
SPCA and the police have a vague definition of animal abuse. Sometimes
residents have found animals are victims of mistreatment, but their requests to
file cases of cruelty were rejected by the police."
Several weeks ago, residents of a Lok Fu
estate sought police help after noticing strong smells from an apartment where
barking was heard. The police did not find any animals were being abused. When
volunteers alerted the media, however, firefighters broke into the flat and
rescued a dog, Cheuk said.
Anyone who witnesses an incident of animal
cruelty can alert the alliance by sending messages to its Facebook group, which
only has a Chinese-language version at the moment. People can also contact
individual animal groups in the alliance.
Volunteers responsible for a particular
district will then approach the complainants, visit the location and make
reports. Case particulars would be recorded on a form.
"The forms would allow us to have a
bigger picture of animal abuse, such as which district sees the most number of
cases. We also want to track how the police and SPCA handle each case,"
Cheuk said.
People interested in becoming involved should
get alliance training on what constitutes abuse and how to contact the media.
The alliance eventually aims to have 100 commissioners.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post
print edition as Animal groups unite to fight abuse
Stop animal cruelty - December 16, 2011
Two recent reports of severe animal cruelty
in Chicago illustrate the need to more comprehensively prosecute abusers
("Family abandons dog, strangers abuse it," Dec. 11, and "Cops:
Man throws boiling water on urinating dog," Dec. 14).
As a psychologist who studies animal abuse
cases, I am sadly familiar with the disturbing lack of empathy shown by some
people toward animals in their care. But to go so far as to abandon, beat or
burn a defenseless dog indicates a level of behavior that needs to be assessed
as well as punished.
For this reason, courts nationwide are
incorporating a program called AniCare into judicial penalties for animal
cruelty. This treatment model was specifically designed to get to the root of
such violence before it repeats or escalates (including harm to human beings).
Given what we now know about the
implications of violence toward animals, it is in the best interest of every
community to take all such incidents very seriously.
-- Kenneth Shapiro, Executive Director,
Animals and Society Institute
(opinion from Chicago Tribune)
Los Angeles Times - Law school
students sentenced in Las Vegas bird beheading
Two UC Berkeley law school graduates accused of beheading
a large exotic bird in Las Vegas entered their pleas in court this week.
Three men -- the two graduates and a third-year law
student -- were accused of chasing a 14-year-old helmeted guinea fowl around
the Flamingo Hotel’s Wildlife Habitat on Oct. 12, cornering the bird and
severing its head.
When officers arrived, witnesses told them they saw the
men “throwing the dead bird, discussing
the killing of the bird and laughing about it,” the Las
Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said last fall.
Hazhir Kargaran, 26, a
recent law school graduate, pleaded no contest this week to misdemeanor charges
of instigating an act of animal cruelty, malicious destruction of property and
trespassing, the San
Francisco Chronicle reported. Kargaran was sentenced to two days in jail and 48 hours of
community service.
Justin Teixeira, 24,
also a recent graduate, accused of actually beheading the bird with his hands,
pleaded not guilty and will go to trial, according to the Associated Press. His
trial is scheduled to begin this year.
Eric Cuellar, 24,
pleaded guilty earlier this year and was fined $200 and sentenced to 48 hours
of community service for instigating animal cruelty, according
to the San Francisco Chronicle.
