Looking after pets

Introduction

This short lesson plan is intended to provide a supplementary activity for primary learners who have already studied some related language (brush, walk, feed, play, vets, etc.) and are familiar with should/shouldn't for advice or imperatives. Learners brainstorm ideas for what pets need, then look at the five types of need. Learners work collaboratively to  make a mind map and finally producing the poster which shows what a particular pet needs.

Learning outcomes

• Recycle or extend previous language work on the topic of looking after pets
• Practise speaking and writing
• Identify the five key welfare needs for pets
• Develop planning and teamworking skills

Age/ Level

Primary learners aged 9–12 (CEFR A2+)

Time

50 minutes + optional extension activities.

Materials

• Lesson plan
• Worksheet

In addition, you will need materials for the poster, such as paper, coloured pencils, glue, scissors, etc.

. Brainstorming (10 minutes)

• Ask your learners to think for a couple of minutes about what pets need, making a list of what they know and their ideas. 
• Put the learners into pairs and ask them to compare their lists.
• Ask some learners to share with the class any ideas they got from their partner which they hadn’t thought of.

Categorising (10 minutes)

• Explain that there are five types of needs that pets have. Give learners the worksheet and ask them to match the welfare needs and explanations.
• Learners now work in pairs and categorise their ideas on their original lists by saying which welfare need they meet. For example, if they had ‘dogs need to go for walks’, they would write ‘behaviour’ next to it. 
• Monitor to observe if any of the welfare needs require any further clarification.
• If learners didn’t have any ideas on their original lists for one or more of the needs, ask them to try to think of some ideas now.

Additional input (10 minutes)  - Optional

• If you think your learners need more input at this stage in terms of content or language, this video has relevant ideas and language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOLP8p0jSoA  
•  If you are unable to show online videos, this worksheet, especially exercise 3, could be used as the basis for a reading activity:
  https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/worksheets/looking-after-pets  

Planning (10 minutes)

• Tell learners they are going to work together to make an information poster showing what a particular pet needs, but first, they will plan the poster with a mind map.
• As an example, draw a mind map on the board (like the one on the worksheet), but write a specific pet, e.g. ‘cats’, on the line in the centre circle. Explain that this mind map is about the needs of cats and ask for a few ideas, e.g. behaviour – scratching.
• Put learners into pairs or small groups and decide which pet each pair or group will make a poster about. There are a number of ways you could do this:
  1.    Learners could choose which pet or you could assign one to get a variety of posters across the class, depending which pets your learners are familiar with. 
  2.    Learners could say which pet they want to do and you group them accordingly.
  3.    Learners could invent a pet to make a poster about – they would still be focusing on the five important welfare needs, even if it is not for a real animal. 
• Learners work together on their mind maps. Monitor and help with ideas and language where necessary.

Production (15–20 minutes)

• Now ask the learners to discuss with their partner or group what they want their poster to look like. They need to decide who is going to write which parts, what drawings they need to do and the general layout.
• When ready, supply learners with the paper etc., and they make their poster. 
• If possible, display the finished posters in the room. 

Extension ideas

•  The RSPCA website has additional information about pet care, which could be used in class to explore the topic further or set as a research project for homework:
• Alternatively, learners could find out about the needs of a farm/working animal or a wild animal in captivity, looking at the similarities and differences with pets. They could make another poster, write a simple report or give a presentation to the class.

Useful links and resources

• RSPCA website: https://tinyurl.com/4pe8tzpr 
• Video about choosing a pet: https://youtu.be/ETIWYbuNjjA?si=XRD4vAkDqGcu50M9
•  Learnenglish pet resources: https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/category/topics/pets