in the Classroom

The BC SPCA has classroom resources for grades K-7. The lessons integrate animal issues and information into existing provincial learning outcomes. Bite Free is on the recommended resource list for Health and Career Planning for grades K-5. 

Click on a lesson plan below to learn more.

Kindness Counts
(for K- Gr. 2)

Companions for Life
(Gr. 3-5)

You Can Make a Difference
(Gr. 5-7)

  Cluck - The life of an egg-laying hen (Gr. 4-6)

  Bite Free (K - Gr. 5)

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June 2012

 
Every year the BC SPCA gets thousands of calls about dogs left inside a car on a hot day. Many people don’t realize how physically stressful this can be on a dog and how quickly it can become a critical situation.

In just 10 minutes temperatures can rise over 10 degrees, even in the shade. Just try sitting in the car with a faux fur coat on with the windows only partially down. Soon you will either be shedding your coat or rolling down the windows. Dogs can’t do this and irreparable brain damage can occur with heatstroke.

The BC SPCA has created posters and flyers that you can download to share with your students. There is more information about this and other summer temperature hazards for your pets on our website.

Clean Bin Project – Video

Is it possible to live waste-free for one whole year? A Vancouver couple explore the answer to this question in their award-winning documentary entitled The Clean Bin Project. Their goal is to create “zero waste” through avoiding packaged goods, refusing to purchase material items, and reusing, recycling, or composting as much as possible. Throughout the film, we are offered insight into how much effort is involved in achieving a waste-free lifestyle.

The movie also presents clear evidence of the detrimental effect of plastic waste on albatross bird populations on Midway Atoll, a remote wildlife reserve in the North Pacific Ocean. The footage in the film is so unsettling that we cannot ignore the harm that we humans are causing to the Earth and its inhabitants. It conveys the message to everyone that animals rely on us to protect them and conserve their habitat as they do not have that power themselves.

The Clean Bin Project successfully raises awareness of environmental concerns in a way that an intermediate or a secondary student can understand. It reminds people that our consumption choices can negatively impact our world, and thus, encourages us to pause and think before making any purchases. The movie provides suggestions on how we can be active in the “green” movement.

Read more BC SPCA book and video recommendations online.

School is almost done but there is one last project school club members can do now and throughout the summer. Download our Hot Pets in Cars poster (pdf) and take these into the community and ask to post them in coffee shops, grocery stores and malls – wherever people may park and leave their pet inside their car. You may just save a life by reminding that guardian they better get back to their pet quickly.

If you do come across a pet left in a car on a hot day who is panting heavily, pacing back and forth or is nonresponsive, the best thing to do is take down the make, model and license plate of the vehicle. Call the SPCA and try to locate the guardians in nearby stores by asking the manager to make an announcement over their intercom system.

Also don’t forget to send us a list of the projects your club has been doing throughout the year. Send pictures whenever possible too so we can share them and inspire other clubs and kids.

The calendar on the wall says that we are almost in the season of summer but at the BC SPCA June is referred to as the season of kittens.

Every summer, BC SPCA shelters are inundated with kittens. Some are the result of an accidental litter, and are surrendered by people unable to look after them. Others are born to cats who have been abandoned, and are brought to us as strays.

If you are considering getting a pet for your family, come down to the nearest BC SPCA shelter and our volunteer adoption counsellors can help you find the right match. Your new feline friend is waiting!

Learn more about this news item and other BC SPCA news that you may want to include in class discussions.

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Please do not reply to this email, as it is for distribution purposes only. If you have comments or questions about this newsletter or related information, please email Paula Neuman, Humane Education Supervisor.

On behalf of all the animals we care for and protect, thank you for your support.

spca.bc.ca