Attention, Parents! Virtual Learning Resources for Grades K–12

Are you looking for exciting ways to keep your child engaged in learning at home? Do you wish you had a resource to help you foster empathy for animals at the same time? Well, TeachKind has got you covered!

We know kids love animals, so tap into this innate affinity in order to engage your children academically.

ALL GRADES (PRE-K–12)

Virtual Field Trips

Have your child go on a journey to the Arctic tundra, Africa, or other exciting places to view animals in their natural habitat with live cams. Have them write down what they observe.

DIY: Easy Vegan Ice Cream Recipe

Try this “shake and make” recipe for some science fun.

Animal-Friendly Movies

Have your child watch a movie and then write down what the story was about or what they learned from the film. (Younger children can draw pictures to express themselves.)

GRADES PRE-K–2

‘Eat Green!’ Song

Directions: Read through the lyrics with your child and teach them the gestures that go with the song. Then have them watch the video and sing along using the gestures. Have them read the lyrics and listen to the song simultaneously multiple times. Ask your child to start their day with this song for a week. Optional: Eat the fruits and vegetables mentioned in the song.

(Builds oral language and reading fluency)

‘Share the World’ Program

Directions: Review the step-by-step guide to the activities. Have your child complete the “Opening Activity: Test Your Animal Knowledge.” (View all lessons and worksheets here.) Then have them watch the video—there are multiple pauses in it with discussion questions. Do “The Golden Rule and You” activity (beginning on page 2) with your child. Then have them respond in writing to the “Personal Narrative Writing Prompt.” They can use the worksheets on page 5 or 6 to organize their ideas. You can work through the rest of the activities with your child or just have them do the writing prompts on pages 9, 12, 14, 17, and 20. Don’t forget to have them fill out the Kindness Pledge!

(Develops reading and writing skills)

‘Like You, Only Different’ Alphabet Flashcards

Directions: Download and print the student-friendly flashcards. Go over the letter and sound on each one, and read the sentence aloud, pointing to each word as you say it. Have your child repeat the letter and its corresponding sound. If they’re able to, have them read the sentence aloud with you. Then have them cut out and color the flashcards. Staple them together. Read the information about the animal on each card to your child. Finally, read the bonus flashcards (species, speciesism, empathy, and vegan) to your child and use the discussion questions listed in the web feature. Optional: Create a word wall with these terms. Kids love to learn big words!

(Develops phonemic awareness and builds vocabulary)

Community Helpers Can Be Heroes to Animals, Too

Directions: Have your child watch the videos of community helpers being heroes to animals. Then have them choose any type of community helper. On a sheet of paper, they’ll write at the top “A [police officer, nurse, teacher, firefighter, etc.] helps animals.” Then ask them to write a sentence (or more) describing how this person can help animals. Beneath the sentence, have your child draw a picture of the person helping an animal in some way. Ask them to draw inspiration from the stories they saw in the videos about the different ways people have helped animals in need. Once your child has finished their drawing, have them share it with you and describe what’s happening in it.

(Connects to social studies content)

Grammar Packet: Compassionate Nouns and Verbs Worksheets

Directions: Have your child put nouns in the right category (person, place, thing, or animal) on the Noun Sort (cut and paste) and the Noun Category: Our Land and Sea Friends worksheets, cut and paste verbs into the correct sentence on the Action Verbs : Animals Big and Small worksheet, and identify action verbs on the Action Verbs: At the Farm Sanctuary and Action Verbs: Surprising Little House Guests worksheets. Answer sheets are included, so checking their work is easy.

(Develops understanding of conventions of standard English)

Rescue Stories Comprehension Worksheets

Directions: Have your child read (or follow along as you read) the texts. Discuss the key vocabulary words identified. Then have them complete the comprehension questions on the worksheets. (Younger children still learning how to write can draw pictures to express themselves.) Answer sheets are included, so reviewing their work is easy. Be sure to have kids watch the video that goes along with the rescue story “Herman the Duckling’s First Swim” to see the real Herman!

(Develops reading and writing skills)’

Our Farm Read-Aloud

Directions: Share the videos below with your students and use this lesson to help students understand that sheep are individuals and why it’s cruel to buy and wear wool.

GRADES 3–5

‘Share the World’ Program

Directions: Review the step-by-step guide to the activities. Have your child complete the “Opening Activity: Test Your Animal Knowledge.” (View all lessons and worksheets here.) Then have them watch the video—there are multiple pauses in it with discussion questions. Do “The Golden Rule and You” activity (beginning on page 2) with your child. Then have them respond in writing to the “Personal Narrative Writing Prompt.” They can use notebook paper to write their first draft of ideas and do their final draft on the writing sheet on page 4. You can work through the rest of the activities together or just have your child do the writing prompts on pages 6, 8, 10, 11, and 14. Don’t forget to have them fill out the Kindness Pledge!

Compassionate Comic Books

Directions: Have your child read the comic books online and then play reading games to determine the main idea and practice inferencing skills for each story.

Rescue Stories Comprehension Worksheets

Directions: Have your child read the texts. Discuss the key vocabulary words identified. Then have them complete the comprehension questions on the worksheets. Answer sheets are included, so reviewing their work is easy. Be sure to have them watch the video that goes along with the rescue story “Christmas the Puppy’s First Holiday” to see the real Christmas.

(Develops reading and writing skills)

Animal-Friendly Idioms

Directions: Have your child read through the idiom posters (with harmful vs. helpful idioms and their meanings) and think about why the original idiom is listed as harmful for animals. Ask them to research other harmful idioms and change them to create phrases that promote helping animals instead. If they need a refresher on idioms, you can have them watch this short video.

(Develops understanding of figurative language)

‘Like You, Only Different’ Personality Quiz and Nameplates

Directions: Have your child read and complete the Personality Quiz: Which Animal Are You Most Like? Then they can use the “Results” page to tally their responses and use that information to determine which animal they are most like. Finally, they can download and print the corresponding nameplate.

(Develops understanding of generating and analyzing patterns and relationships)

Inspirational Reading Comprehension Passages: Kids Who Are Heroes to Animals

Directions: Have your child read the passages about compassionate kids who take action to help animals. Discuss the key vocabulary words identified. Then have your child complete the comprehension questions on the worksheets. Answer sheets are included, so reviewing their work is easy. Kids can visit AnimalHeroKids.org to learn about more young people helping animals.

(Develops reading and writing skills)

Hey, Little Ant

Directions: Share the videos below with your students and use this lesson to promote kindness to all animals, big or small.

GRADES 6–12

39 Images and Daily Writing Prompts

Directions: Each day, have your child read one prompt and respond in writing. Make sure they watch any video on the page (like this one, which goes with prompt 3) or read any related background information for the writing prompts.

(Develops writing skills)

Life for a ‘Backyard Dog’

Directions: Have your child read “A Day in the Life of a PETA Fieldworker.” Then they can complete the Author’s Purpose worksheet. Make sure they watch the video “Chained Dogs React to PETA Fieldworkers.”

(Develops understanding of an author’s craft and structure of a text)

SEAWORLD KILLS: IMPRISONING ANIMALS IN AMUSEMENT PARKS

Directions: Have your child watch the documentary Blackfish (available on Netflix) and respond in writing to the film’s discussion questions.Then have your child take a position on whether orcas should be used for entertainment. They can use the Building an Argument worksheet to organize their ideas and then draft their writing piece on a separate page.

(Develops understanding of using valid reasoning and sufficient evidence to support an argument)

Grade 6–8 

Rescue Stories Comprehension Worksheets

Directions: Have your child read the texts. Discuss the key vocabulary words identified. Then have your child complete the comprehension questions on the worksheets. Answer sheets are included, so reviewing their work is easy. Be sure to have them watch the video that goes along with the rescue story “Waheed and Tracy the Camels Fall in Love” to see the real Waheed and Tracy!

(Develops reading and writing skills)

Grade 9–12

Rescue Stories Comprehension Worksheets

Directions: Have your child read the texts. Discuss the key vocabulary words identified. Then have your child complete the comprehension questions on the worksheets. Answer sheets are included, so reviewing their work is easy.

(Develops reading and writing skills)

What’s a Vegan?

Directions: Have your child divide a piece of notebook paper into four sections and then research the following issues and record their notes in each square: animals used in experiments, animals used for food, animals used for clothing, and animals used for entertainment. Your child should briefly explain why vegans avoid using animals in each context. Then they should use their notes to write a persuasive essay responding to the question Is it ethical to consume animal-derived ‘products’?

(Develops writing skills)

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Like these ideas? Please share them with other parents who want to incorporate compassion for animals into their children’s academic work.

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