A little imagination and a lot of love is what helped find Kasey, an adult female pit bull, a home recently.
Through a new curriculum program at Spruce Primary School in Lynnwood, first- and third-grade students have been given the opportunity to create profiles of animals like Kasey who live at the Lynnwood Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) center and are in need of a loving family. The finished profiles are showcased at www.paws.org.
The project, said first-grade teacher Jennie Warmouth, helps students hone their writing skills while doing a good deed.
And so far, six of the eight animals profiled by the students have been adopted.
It hasn’t been easy.
Most of the dogs and cats the students work with have been labeled as “hard to place.”
“We normally choose an animal that has been in here a long time – maybe a few weeks or a few months – that has a lovely temperament but maybe they’re shy or not as cute as some of the others,” said PAWS education advocate Sheridan Thomas.
It’s the students’ creativity in profiles like Kaseys that probably initiates people to visit PAWS specifically to meet the profiled pets, Thomas said.
“Do you dream of adopting a cute, loveable dog that already knows how to sit, stay and shake paws?” Kasey’s profile reads. “Kasey is a strong girl and she needs a mighty human to take her on daily power walks! Kasey is one of a kind and she is waiting for you!”
The inspiration for the project began two years ago in Warmouth’s class. At the time, her new Australian Sheppard puppy, Penny, served as the mascot for a class project titled “The Penny Drive,” during which students brought in pennies to raise funds for PAWS. While the event brought in about $80, Warmouth said she wanted to do more for the animal shelter.
“We needed to think of something other than money, something that the kids could do and that they could relate to,” Warmouth said. “They tend to be animal lovers at this age, and they produce their best work when they can relate to a real-world subject rather than just writing for an imaginary reason.”
So with the help of fellow Spruce Primary third-grade teacher Anna Walter, Warmouth set about creating a curriculum and initiating the relationship with PAWS officials.
The group of about 45 students now write profiles together for an average of two animals per week. Students are able to practice their spelling, math and grammar skills and set up a basic description including name, age and gender on the class’s “Pet Notes” chart from the information provided by PAWS for each animal. Additionally, the third-graders learn important writing skills such as how to appeal to an audience, and how to be honest but complimentary, Warmouth said. Both classes also are working with technology through the exchange of almost daily e-mails between the classes and PAWS officials. In the future, Warmouth and Walters would like to include typing and computer skills in the curriculum.
Thomas, who has worked with the students from the very beginning, said the project has been a huge help to PAWS and has solicited a very positive reaction from the community.
And the students, Warmouth said, look forward to learning and working on the profiles every chance they get.
“I want to help the animals every day,” one student said. “I love this.”
For more information about PAWS and to view the work done by the students at Spruce Primary School, go to http://www.paws.org/.
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