Page 3 - Kind News Teacher Guide, September/October 2023

CONTENT-ALIGNED ACTIVIES, CONTINUED

Sixth grade: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.1: Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio
relationship between two quantities.
To go with Amazing World, “Cats, Colors, and Chromosomes:” After reading the article, discuss the reason cats are different
colors, and what role genes and chromosomes play in this. Were students surprised to learn that four out of five orange cats
are male, and that 999 out of 1,000 calico cats are female? Try this math activity:
Compare the ratio of male orange cats to the ratio of female calico cats mentioned in the article. Which one is higher? Try
converting them to percentages. Do students think the percentages make these statistics more meaningful? Why or why not?
• Tally the number of calico cats up for adoption, then male and female calico cats. Then write out the ratio of female calico
cats to total calico cats. Does this statistic match up with the figure in the article? If the total number of posted cats is
small, you may want to discuss why a small sample size/group often won’t match up with global or national statistics.
• If very few calico cats of these colors are available, students could choose another cat color, such as black, and
calculate the ratio and percentage of black cats versus total adoptable cats. Fact: black cats and dogs typically don’t
get adopted as often. Why do they think this is?

ANSWER KEY

Critter Clues FROM PAGE 7

Our mystery critter is the porcupine. There are about 25 species around
the world, each with a protective coat of quills. The North American Porcupine lives in
forested and scrubby, rural areas. These slow-moving, gentle herbivores like leaves,
twigs, and plants.
Porcupines are rarely aggressive and don’t shoot their quills, but the spikey, modified
hairs detach easily when touched as a defense mechanism against would-be predators.
When threatened, porcupines may stomp, hiss, or swing their quill-covered tails. You can
keep pets safe from a “quilling” by not letting them roam at dusk or after dark. While they VISIT
sometimes forage during daylight, they are mostly nocturnal. Keep pets from exploring caves, KINDNEWS.ORG
hollow trees, and logs which are popular denning sites for porcupines during bad weather. If your dog activities!
for online
gets “quilled,” keep him as still as possible to keep the quills from moving deeper into the skin, and get
to a veterinarian right away! The tiny barbs on quills make quill removal a painful procedure that
requires anesthesia.
Porcupine quills served as the earliest material for Native American embroidery. Women of the Great Plains, for example, used
quills to decorate shirts, moccasins, and other materials. Quills continue to be used in basketry by various tribes to this day.

BOOK NOOK

Lily Unleashed
Written by J.D. Kloster | Recommended for grades 3-6

When sixth-grader Lily Grabowski learns about Cagney, a Maltese rescued from a puppy mill by her
THIS PAGE: NITTY DITTY/UNSPLASH.COM About the Author: As a teacher, read-aloud was Jo Anna (“J.D.”) Kloster’s favorite part of the day. Lily Unleashed is her debut
teacher, she has to do something to help. But taking the dog into her home sets off a chain of events
that challenges her dog smarts and relationships with family and neighbors. In this rare, realistic fiction
novel centering on puppy mills, students will learn common behaviors of dogs from puppy mills and
see an in-depth example of a young humane hero’s motivations and actions including a school-based
group project.

novel inspired by her real-life “heart-dog,” Cagney, who was rescued from a Wisconsin puppy mill. Kloster now serves as a
volunteer animal advocate for The Humane Society of the United States.
LILY UNLEASHED © 2022 BY EMPTY CAGES PRESS LLC; AUTHOR PHOTO CREDIT: PATRICK KLOSTER