Animal Tales: Inspiring Humane-Themed Service-Learning

Most educators know that students of all ages are often captivated by both stories and animals. Stories have been used since ancient times to awaken the imagination and impart community virtue by creating powerful visual images and connections with the characters. This connection takes the listener or reader to a new place. A place where it is OK to "try on the shoes" of another and contemplate new morals or actions. We can harness the power and passion inspired by both stories and animals to create humane-themed service-learning projects.

First, let’s examine exactly what encompasses humane education. Humane education includes animal welfare, environmental issues, and social justice. At the present we will be discussing the animal welfare aspect of humane education and how humane-themed realistic fiction can inspire service-learning in any academic subject area.

Buddy Unchained, the story of a dog who was rescued from a life chained outside and now lives with a loving family, is a perfect example of humane-themed realistic fiction. The reader gets to understand Buddy and his body language and see how he struggled to stay out of the weather, to have water to drink and food to eat, and to have companionship. Buddy is not anthropomorphized or personified; we get to see him as a sentient, companion animal in need of care. We get to relate to the idea of being cold, hungry, and lonely. And what makes the story perfect for inspiring service-learning is that by the end of the tale the reader is excited about Buddy finding a new home and the reader wants to help other dogs have the same outcome. This natural transition gives project ownership and a real voice to the students and lets them choose how they can share the message of responsible pet care in their communities. The academic and social-emotional skills used during the project act to reinforce multiple areas of intelligence and there are numerous activities that can be part of the service-learning work.

Examples:

• Create Public Service Announcements about why dogs should not be chained outside and air them on the school or local radio.
• Write letters to newspapers and legislators asking for anti-tethering laws and explaining why tethered dogs not only suffer from a lack of care, but also why it endangers the community.
• Create a presentation or puppet show about proper pet care that older students can perform for younger students.

There are many ways you can create a community partnership with an animal welfare group who can help with or benefit from projects. Contact local shelters, wildlife conservation groups and rehabbers, environmental organizations, and national animal welfare organizations to find out their needs and how they can be part of your service-learning project.

If you would like to incorporate humane-themed literature into your service-learning work, a great place to find book titles is http://www.humanesocietyyouth.org/awards/best_books.asp. You can obtain free service-learning projects and ideas at http://www.humanesociety.org/parents_educators/mission/ and http://www.humaneteen.org/?q=node/694.

To learn more about this powerful teaching tool, please email youth@humanesociety.org with the subject line “Stories and Service-Learning.”