Zoo-themed writing activities provide a reason to practice editing skills.
Zoo-themed creative writing activities help children develop and maintain their research, writing, editing and publishing skills while having fun. Writing from a zoo animal's point of view helps a child stretch his imagination. Crafting a call to action to help an endangered species uses the same writing skills children will need as adults. They will eventually compose presentations, proposals and business plans, document family and community events and write letters to family, friends, legislators or businesses.
Adopt a Zoo Writing Buddy
Telling stories from a zoo animal's point of view helps children practice empathy.
Writing buddy programs improve reading and writing skills by encouraging children to hug, read to and write to stuffed animals. One northwest Indiana school's sixth grade reading levels went from 47 percent to 93 percent after initiating a writing buddy program, states Purdue University Assistant Chancellor for Student Development & Outreach, Richard Riddering. (Reference 1)
Place a stuffed zoo animal in a book bag with a journal and pen. Include copies of magazine, newspaper or internet articles and short books about that animal and its habitat. Children take the book bag home, read one of the books or articles and write a journal entry from the zoo animal's point of view. Once each child has hosted the zoo writing buddy, the book bag goes to the next classroom. The children form relationships with the animal and with students from other classrooms, schools and communities around the world through their journal entries while practicing their writing skills.
Hold a Competition
Instead of the ice cream sundae theme that Pleasant Valley Elementary School in the Greater Johnstown, New York School District used for their contest, make a bulletin board with a grizzly bear, elephant, monkey or other zoo animal. Pleasant Valley students competed against faculty and staff to earn a chance to throw a pie in the principal's face. (Reference 2) For every essay, poem or story each child writes, the animal gets a habitat-related item, such as a bundle of grass for the elephant, a fish for a grizzly bear or bananas for a monkey.
"At the Zoo" Writing Fair
Hold a zoo-themed writing fair. Have students write to local and national zoos to ask about the animals they house and what everyone can do to help endangered species survive. Invite presenters from the nearest zoo to judge essays, poems, short stories and skit scripts that present information about an endangered zoo animal. Ask the zoo to display the top five submissions in their next newsletter.
Tags: animal point, animal point view, from animal, from animal point, point view