Grades K-4 Lesson Plans

Unit 1: Lesson 1
Unit 1
Where the Wild Monkeys Shouldn't Be
A Unit Contrasting the Differences between Domestic vs. Wild Animals

Lesson 1
Comparing and contrasting the differences between wild animals and domestic animals

Time: One 60-minute class period

Materials:

Student writing materials

Photos of students' domestic companion animals (which they have been invited
to bring in to class in advance)

Photos or images obtained from internet, magazines, books of wild animals in

their natural habitats

If smart board or computers are available, have students find images of wild
animals and choose one to bring back to the larger group for discussion

Learning Goals:

Students will begin to explore, discuss and comprehend the differences between
wild and domestic animals habitats, needs and circumstances

Students will practice internet image research and group discussion skills

Students will recognize for themselves, during the course of the discussion, the
innate differences between wild and domestic animals.

Standards:
NA - Standard 1, 5, 6 Communication Arts.
NA- Standards: 5, 6 Social Studies
Copyright New England Primate Conservancy 2013

You may freely use, copy and share this Lesson Plan for educational purposes.
For questions or comments about Lesson Units and Plans, e-mail us at
humane_ed@neprimateconservancy.org.

www.neprimateconservancy.org

Activities:
Once students have gathered all images of wild animals from the internet or
magazines, and domestic animals from home photos they brought in, ask them
to gather as a large group in the classroom. Place a large placard or sign on one
side of the room which has the world 'Wild' on it. Do the same with a sign with the
word 'Domestic' on it. Provide a definition of each word somewhere on the
placard and when students are gathered, ask one student to read each definition
to the rest of the class. Discuss the meanings as a group. Have each student
choose a photo from the compiled photos of 'wild' animals.
Explore these questions with students:

What are some of the differences between wild and domestic?

What might all of the animals, domestic and wild, have in common (the
need for food, water, the ability to feel pain and the elements)
What do wild animals need in their environment which domestic animals
do not? What do domestic animals need in their environment which wild
animals do not?
Where do wild animals live?
What is a pet?
What makes a pet a pet?
What do wild animals need that we cannot give them when we remove
them from their wild habitat?

As the students are responding a list can be created on the smart board or chalk
board which serves to compare and contrast the differences as the students are
discovering and discussing them.
As the discussion subsides naturally, ask each student to bring the photo they
have of a wild or domestic animals and place it in the pile on the floor near to the
appropriate placard with definition. As the student places the photo in the 'Wild'
or 'Domestic' pile, ask them to tell the class why that animal belongs in that pile,
based upon what they have learned and believe. Other students can feel free to
assist the individual student as they classify the animal in the photo as domestic
or wild.
Call to Action:
Encourage students to share their newly developed classifications of 'wild' vs.
'domestic' animals with others.

Copyright New England Primate Conservancy 2013

You may freely use, copy and share this Lesson Plan for educational purposes.
For questions or comments about Lesson Units and Plans, e-mail us at
humane_ed@neprimateconservancy.org.

www.neprimateconservancy.org

Key Concepts and Vocabulary:

Domestic. Wild. Habitat. Animal companion.
Assessment Suggestions for rubric:
Level of group and individual participation and engagement. Student's individual
ability to work cohesively within the group during group discussion, as well as
student's ability to communicate a level of understanding regarding the
differences between wild and domestic animals to their peers, by the end of the
lesson.
Resources/Examples:
From New England Primate Conservancys website:
www.neprimateconservancy.org

Animals in the News

Primate Facts

Primate Species

Farm Animals Fun Facts

FAQs

Letters From the Field Blog

Videos

Action Project:
Further action project might include an invitation to other classes to view a
classroom display board created by students with the 'Wild' vs. 'Domestic'
photos, lists and definitions.

Copyright New England Primate Conservancy 2013

You may freely use, copy and share this Lesson Plan for educational purposes.
For questions or comments about Lesson Units and Plans, e-mail us at
humane_ed@neprimateconservancy.org.

www.neprimateconservancy.org

Where the Wild Things Shouldn't Be

How would you like to live in a cage

That was just about ten feet square,
With no toys to play with and nothing to do --Just you and a bed and a chair?
Oh, sure you'd be fed (the same thing each day)
You'd have water (unless they forgot)
And since you would never be going outside
You wouldn't get cold, or too hot.
But oh, you'd be lonely just sitting alone
With no one to talk to all day.
You'd remember the trees, and the grass and the breeze,
The places where you used to play.

You'd remember your friends, you'd remember the sky,

And games and strawberries and sun,

Copyright New England Primate Conservancy 2013

You may freely use, copy and share this Lesson Plan for educational purposes.
For questions or comments about Lesson Units and Plans, e-mail us at
humane_ed@neprimateconservancy.org.

www.neprimateconservancy.org

And you'd know you could never go skating again

Or swimming, or ride bikes, or run.
You'd get mad and scream and throw things around;
You'd kick and you'd pound on the wall,
And your owners would scold you, and say to themselves,
"He isn't a nice pet at all!"
The more you got mad, the less they would like you,
The less they'd remember to care
About if you had water, or if you got fed,
Or if you were lonely in there.
And then you would know what it's like to be kept
As a pet when you're meant to be free,
And you'd listen when wild things are trying to say
"Please don't make a pet out of me."
~ Beverly Armstrong

Copyright New England Primate Conservancy 2013

You may freely use, copy and share this Lesson Plan for educational purposes.
For questions or comments about Lesson Units and Plans, e-mail us at
humane_ed@neprimateconservancy.org.

www.neprimateconservancy.org