Whatever Happened to the Classroom Turtle? : How Animals Spark Student Engagement and a Love of Learning (Foster Hands-On Learning and Student Engagement with Class Pets and Science-based Activities)

Research shows that keeping animals in classrooms can have profound effects on student well-being and success in school. In this practical guide, Dr. Brady Barr offers a step-by-step process for reintroducing nature-based learning experiences into 21st century schooling. Discover how to select a classroom pet, introduce it to your students, and design carefully thought-out lessons centered around the animal. Use this resource as a comprehensive guide toward the reintroduction of nature into the classroom: Become familiar with the numerous benefits that having animals and class pets in the classroom provides. Study the various obstacles that might prevent educators from keeping animals in their classroom and learn how to overcome those obstacles to achieve hands-on learning. Discover a step-by-step process for bringing animals into the classroom in a way that enriches students' lives through experiential learning. Learn the biology and life sciences of certain classroom pets, pertinent state laws regarding the use of classroom pets, and the process of keeping and caring for the animal. Contents: Acknowledgments Table of Contents About the Author Introduction Chapter 1: The Need for and Benefits of Animals in the Classroom Chapter 2: Hurdles to Animals in the Classroom Chapter 3: How to Select the Perfect Animal Chapter 4: How to Locate Animals Chapter 5: How to Write Lesson Plans Epilogue Appendix A: Tips Appendix B: How to Create Self-Sustaining Food Sources for Your Classroom Animal References and Resources Index "In Whatever Happened to the Classroom Turtle?: How Animals Spark Student Engagement and a Love of Learning, the author, Dr. Brady Barr, digs deep to the foundation of his career as a biologist - the classroom pets that his teachers kept and his interactions with those animals. Dr. Barr believes that the plants and animals his childhood teachers kept were a deciding factor in the course of his life and pushed him to become a more curious and passionate student. Furthermore, Dr. Barr insists that students have lost an incredibly meaningful part of their schooling as nature has disappeared from their classrooms. As such, Dr. Barr offers a comprehensive guide towards the reintroduction of nature into the classroom. Readers will learn why students need animals in the classroom, as well the benefits that keeping animals provide. Dr. Barr also addresses the disappearance of classroom pets by describing the various hurdles, obstacles, and laws that have cropped up. Therefore, he provides readers with an in-depth, step-by-step process towards the reintroduction of classroom pets. Dr. Barr even goes as far as providing readers with the tips and guidance necessary to care for the animals. Through this book, readers will have all the guidance they need to bring nature into their classroom, thereby turning it into a place that uniquely cultivates their students' minds"-- Provided by publisher