Rescue Dogs

Content Objectives

Students will:

• Learn about rescue dogs.
• Access prior knowledge and build background about different kinds of dogs that help people.
• Explore and apply the concept of rescue dogs and their qualities.

Language Objectives

Students will:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the concept of a rescue dog.
• Orally use words that describe what rescue dogs do in particular situations.
• Extend oral vocabulary by speaking about the qualities of a rescue dog.
• Use key concept words [crisis, scent, track, pet, companionship, courageous, selfless, sacrifice, leadership, abilities].

Other

Explain

• Use the slideshow to review the key concept words.
• Explain that students will learn about rescue dogs:
• What a rescue dog is.
• How rescue dogs are special.
• The qualities of a rescue dog.
• The abilities of a rescue dog.
• The situations in which a rescue dog would be helpful.

Model

• After the host introduces the slideshow, point to the photo on screen. Ask students: What do you see in this photo? (a dog and its owner). How is a dog a good pet? (They offer companionship to their owners).
• Ask students: Why else might a dog be good to have around? (They can also be helpful as rescue dogs).
• Say: Dogs can help people in many different ways. Rescue dogs are dogs that are trained to help people. What kinds of rescue dogs can you think of? (search dogs, guide dogs).

Guided Practice

• Guide students through the next two slides, showing them that search dogs and guide dogs are two types of rescue dogs that help people. Always have the students describe what the rescue dog does.

Apply

• Play the games that follow. Have them discuss with their partner the different topics that appear during the Talk About It feature.
• After the first game, ask students to talk about what qualities a rescue dog should have and why. After the second game, have them discuss why the sense of smell is so important for a rescue dog, and why it allows a rescue dog to do things that a person cannot. After the third game, have students discuss what a guide dog for a blind person should and should not do.

Close

• Ask students: Have you ever seen a rescue dog, in real life or on television or in the movies? Explain what type of rescue dog it was, what it was doing, and why.
• Summarize for students that rescue dogs are a great help for people who can't see. Rescue dogs are also great at finding things because they have a strong sense of smell. Encourage them to think about what people train normal dogs to do.