Animal friends

This lesson helps students explore personal beliefs and feelings toward others. Students will examine stereotypes and how they influence interactions. The lesson emphasizes peer relationships, awareness of feelings, understanding/accepting differences and self-knowledge.

A lesson plan for grades K–5 Guidance

By Beth Lindsey

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Related topics

• Learn more about appropriate behavior, character education, cooperative learning, guidance, and stereotypes.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• understand stereotypes and how they influence interactions with others.
• better understand their feelings about themselves and others and how these feelings affect interactions within a group.
• explore the basic need to belong.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

45 minutes

Materials/resources

• White index cards (one per student prepared before class)
• markers
• safety pins
• flip-chart (blackboard or large dry-erase board)

Pre-activities

Print different animal names on the white index cards (one name per card). I suggest using animals that typically conflict; i.e., dog, cat, bird, mouse, elephant, etc. The size of the group will determine how many different animal names you use. Make four to six cards of the same animal. (4 cats, 4 dogs, 4 mice, 4 elephants etc.)

Activities

1. As students enter the room, randomly pin one “animal card” to the front of each student (face in), allowing only that student to see the name on their card. Explain to the students they are not to reveal their animal. Ask students to find a seat quickly and quietly and to think about how their animal acts and sounds.
2. Once all students are “pinned” and seated quietly, explain that they will be involved in an activity designed to divide the class into small groups. Tell students that when they are told to begin, their assignment is to act and sound like the animal on their card and find others acting and sounding like them. They are to keep acting and making sounds like their animal until all have found a group.
3. Have students sit together with the group they found. Discuss how they found each other, and how they knew how to act or sound. Use flip-chart or board to record comments.
4. Direct students to move around the room reacting to the other animal groups as they might react in nature (e.g., cats may run from a dog, or an elephant may be frightened by a mouse). Allow students to take on group characteristics and react to each other for about 5 minutes. It’s a good idea to have established a signal (lights turned off, bell or hand signal) to bring the class back to attention.
5. Have students return to seats and discuss how groups were formed, feelings associated with being in a group, and labels attached to being in a group. Explore labels attached to different animal groups (dogs chase cats) and if these labels are always correct (my dog sleeps next to my cat). Record comments on flip-chart or board.
6. Connect activity to student groups and labels. Discuss stereotypes. Give definition and examples of stereotypes and discuss implications. Record students’ reactions to stereotypes and develop into class vision.

Assessment

• Can students identify how groups are formed?
• Are students aware of stereotypes and do they understand their implications?
• Are students aware of the need to belong and how this affects choices and decisions?

Supplemental information

The Animal Friends activity was adapted from E. S. Foster’s Energizers and Icebreakers for all ages.