A Dog's Life - Teacher Page

         Would you like to live a dog’s life?  Some might find this idea exciting while others might find it quite gruesome.  Actually, dogs and children share many experiences.

Do children eat, sleep, bathe and attend school?  Dogs are involved in those activities also.  There are many experiences that children and dog’s share during the course of life.  Could this fact possibly connect with the statement, “I’m living a dog’s life,” that teenagers sometimes exclaim.

        In this project, students will work in cooperative groups.  Each group will select a different  breed to study and explore from infancy to adult.  Students will create a visual to compare and contrast experiences and characteristics of dog’s life with people they know or have met in stories.

How does the birth and care of a dog compare to that of a human?

Do dogs attend school or receive training as do people?

How do the vocations of dogs compliment or interact with vocations or lifestyles of people?

Are dogs subject to rules and discipline similar to children?

Have you ever seen dogs that favor their owners?

Do dogs, as do humans, establish relationships among themselves and with humans ?

STATE GOAL 1:                 CAS: A          CSF: 1

STATE GOAL 5:                CAS:  A         CSF:  1, 2

Unit Prerequisites

• Students must read at a third grade level.

• Students must be able to work in cooperative groups.

• Students must have basic research skills.

• Students must be able to make comparisons.

Access:

• Read information about the life of several different kinds of dogs.

• Interview owners of the specific kind of dogs studied.

• Research the environment or habitat of the dogs.

• Examine the activities the dogs engage in during the three stages of life.

• Review the three stages of human life.

• Reflect on each stage of human life

• Gather facts relating to experiences shared by dogs and humans in each stage of life.

  Interpret:

• List a target group of experiences dogs share in each stage of life.

• List a target group of experiences humans experience during each stage of life.

• Compare and contrast the experiences between humans and dogs during each stage of life.

• Evaluate the significance of experiences in each stage of life as they relate to societal expectations.

Produce:

• Compose a narrative to accompany each slide.

• Generate music to accompany the presentation.

• Write the script to accompany the presentation.

• Design a storyline that depict characters of three humans going through life with their respective dogs.

Communicate:

• Discuss ideas, share information and plan the presentation among group members.

• Interact during group discussions in class and at other selected sites. 

• Publish flyers to announce the presentation.

Evaluate:

• Gauge the time required for the completion of the slide presentation.

• Evaluate the pertinence of the information selected for presentation.

• Assess the concomitant skills acquired during the project.

• Judge the enthusiasm, cooperation, and teamwork generated through the project.

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Teacher Resources

http://www.geocities.com/mrsevon/webquest.html

www.ajkids.com

http://www.kidsfarm.com/dogs.htm

http://teacher.scholastic.com/iditarod/mushmania/mush_dogs3.htm

http://teacher.scholastic.com/iditarod/mushmania/mush_dogs.htm