Citizenship at key stages 1 and 2    (Year 1-6)

• In a circle, ask each child to say what they think they need in order to be healthy and happy. Then ask the children to discuss, in pairs, what they think the basic needs of all humans are, eg water, food, clothing, shelter, friendship. The children share their views with the circle.
• Introduce three or four different toy animals into the circle, and ask the children to identify the needs of each animal. What does the animal need in order to be healthy and happy? Make a shared list of the basic needs all animals have in common, and then a list of the similarities and differences between animals' and humans' basic needs.

• Ask the children which of the toy animals would make a suitable pet. Make a shared list of all the different animals that can be kept as pets. The children, individually, carry out a 'draw and write' activity, with a pet animal in the middle of the page surrounded by small pictures (and words where appropriate) representing the needs of the animal and our responsibilities towards it. Then talk about pets. Which pets do children own? Who looks after them? Using stories, photos or soft toys, ask the children to identify the needs of different pets. Use pet care accessories to show how different pets need to be looked after.
• Ask the children to take on looking after a soft toy animal - they can do this in groups, pairs or singly. Can they remember to give the animal everything it needs every day, eg dogs need to be walked and groomed, hamsters need to have their cages cleaned out? Children keep a record of how they look after the toy animal.
• Play the Animal Name Game. Each child thinks of a wild animal and chooses the animal's favourite food, favourite place to be, greatest fear and why the animal is important. The children discuss their choices in pairs, then as a whole class. Individual children give a description of their animal, and others guess its name.
• Ask the children to name all the wild animals they think live in the school grounds/neighbourhood/local countryside. Show them photos of common British wild animals, eg hedgehog, squirrel, owl. What do they think these animals need in order to live? How can the children help provide them with what they need, eg putting appropriate food on bird tables? The children identify some simple rules for behaviour in areas where wild animals live, eg making sure they don't disturb birds' nests, putting litter in bins, not stamping on insects.
• The children design their own garden for wildlife, identifying different features that help provide the animals with the environment they need to live in.

• As a class, discuss volunteering and the role of charities. Why do people volunteer? Brainstorm the different voluntary, community and pressure groups the children know of. Ask them why we need these groups and what their purpose is.
• Make a class list of different animals. Divide the list into categories - farm animals, wild animals and pets. Discuss what helps keep animals healthy. Who looks after them when they are ill or injured? What happens if no one looks after them? Tell the children that it is against the law to mistreat an animal.
• Focus on the work of a local and/or national organisation that works to improve the lives of animals, and to prevent cruelty and promote kindness. You could show the children a clip from a TV programme or video about the work of the organisation.
• Introduce the idea that, just as we have laws to protect people, we also have laws to protect animals. Describe what people at the chosen organisation do, eg inspect the conditions in which animals are kept and take action when these are unsatisfactory. It may be helpful to liken their role to that of services for humans, eg the police.
• Discuss the different jobs the organisation does, eg campaigning, prosecuting people who mistreat animals, finding new homes for unwanted pets, rescuing animals in distress, lobbying MPs. Does it help all animals - farm animals, wild animals, laboratory animals and pets - or just certain kinds of animals?
• Discuss the work that volunteers for the organisation undertake. This might include: visiting a home to check its suitability for an animal; administration, eg accounts; committee work; fundraising; and practical animal care, eg dog walking. In pairs, children discuss what they would like to do to help. What would happen, for example, to unwanted pets if the organisation did not exist?
• As a class, discuss pet ownership. Ask the children what pets they have at home. Why were those pets chosen? Who takes responsibility for the pets and what does this involve, eg feeding and exercising them, buying special equipment and food, paying vets' bills? The legal age for pet ownership is 12. Discuss with the children why this might be. What would they do if they could no longer keep their pets at home?
• Give the children details of a selection of pets that need a home, and a number of different families that are looking for a pet. In small groups, the children decide which pet would suit which family. This can be done simply in discussion, or as a role-play or interview where the animal interviews its would-be owners.

• Different animal welfare organisations campaign about many issues. Provide the children with different newspaper or other media articles about one or more animal welfare issues. Working in small groups, they identify the key points of their article(s) and share these with the class.
• Ask the children how they might help to improve animal welfare, eg creating and maintaining a wildlife habitat at home or at school, providing food for birds, looking after their pets, organising fundraising activities to support an animal welfare charity.
• Either conduct a debate/discussion on an animal welfare issue, eg fox hunting, circuses, zoos, factory farming, the effects of pollution, or ask the children to design a poster/flier to highlight their concerns about a particular animal welfare issue, eg leaving dogs in hot cars, disturbing fledglings, fireworks. Make a class display for a suitable area in the school.