Page 2 - Kind News Teacher Guide March/April 2022

COMMON CORE, NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS (NGSS), AND CASEL-ALIGNED ACTIVITIES

Third grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.3.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1.D Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion. CASEL
Core Competency: Social Awareness, Social Awareness To go with Amazing World, “Save The Snakes”:
Ask students to complete Kind Question #1 and discuss their answer with a partner. Ask those who
would like to share their previous perceptions about snakes and whether or not they changed based
on the article. Then ask students to write down on a paper or virtual sticky note an animal that they
have a negative association with. Look at the answers together. Does anyone see an animal that they
have a different perception of? What experiences do they think contributed to this perception? Then
ask students to choose one animal they want to learn more about and find out five interesting facts
about that animal. For fun, students could give their classmates a True or False quiz to see what
common perceptions the group members have about the animal. To extend the activity, post images with
facts about the misunderstood animals around the classroom or on a virtual whiteboard and have students
come up with ideas for how they could raise public awareness about them.
The first 20 students who send a letter or a poem telling us what they think about snakes will get a sticker from Save The
Snakes! Letters or poems — with students’ name, age, and address — should be sent to to KindNews@RedRover.org. Visit
savethesnakes.org to learn more and purchase stickers.
Fourth grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different
aspects of a topic. CASEL Core Competency: Social Awareness
To go with Animal Career Quiz: Ask students to take the quiz if they have not yet done so. After getting their results, ask them to
choose which animal career they would like to learn more about. If their quiz results had many different letters they can choose a
career they are most interested in. Ask them to research that animal career and answer the following questions and/or come up with
their own. See list below for possible ideas for career research.
• What does a [insert career name] do? Career idea list:
• What might a typical day be like for this person? Humane educator Dog trainer
• What are some kinds of animals they get to help? Animal control officer Veterinarian
• What kind of training and experience is needed to have this career? Biologist Animal photographer
• What is one interesting fact you learned about this career that surprised you?
Fifth grade: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. CASEL Core Competency: Social Awareness
To go with all content: After they have finished reading the issue, ask students to star or highlight the titles of two
articles they enjoyed the most. Then ask students to take the perspective of one animal mentioned in their chosen
articles (such as a snake, a dog, or a parrot) and write a story from that animal’s perspective that describes their life.
What do they see and hear? Who do they meet? What is their environment like? What do they eat? To extend the
activity, ask students to read their stories aloud to a partner without revealing what animal they are writing about,
and see if their partner can use clues within the piece to guess the animal.
Sixth grade: NGSS MS-LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how
environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms. CASEL Core Competency:
Responsible Decision-Making, Social Awareness
To go with To the Rescue, “Animal Ambassadors”: After reading the article, ask students what they already
know about the illegal pet trade. Ask students to research one animal that is illegally taken from
the wild and sold for profit and find out:
• Where does the animal live naturally and what does • What happens to the animal during the

a healthy habitat look like for the animal? transport process?
• What are some ways we can inform others about this • Which basic needs does the animal lack
issue, and what actions can people take to make sure when the animal is taken from the wild?
they are not supporting the illegal pet trade?

To extend the activity, students can create PSA videos or write letters to their
local media to help raise awareness in their community about the issue.
Sample list of animals:
Parrots
Snakes Where’s Raja?
Tortoises RAJA IS HIDING ON PAGE 7!
Fennec fox