Get Creative Teaching Writing Using a Class Pet for Engagement

So you’re thinking about getting a class pet?! Congratulations! Your students are going to love having a class pet. If you missed last week’s blog post, I broke down the best classroom pets that are low maintenance. One of the things that held me back for YEARS from getting a class pet was the dreaded feeling of taking care of something else in addition to my long day as an elementary teacher. Once I got over that, I found the joy having a class pet brought my first graders and I’ve never looked back. Keep on reading teacher friend, because I’m going to share how getting a classroom pet hamster helped engage my students in writing.

I knew my first graders would love having a classroom pet hamster

Everyday in our class morning meeting, I show my students a cute baby animal picture. I read a story early on in my teaching career that looking at a cute baby animal each day will extend your life. Who doesn’t love cute baby animals, so I decided to make it a part of our morning routine. I plan to create a morning meeting product soon in my Teacher’s Pay Teachers store so you can get in on this fun daily dose of cuteness. Since I knew my students love those adorable tiny hamster videos on kid’s YouTube, it was no surprise that they were excited to get our very own classroom hamster. You can follow me on Instagram here so you can check out all the videos on our class hamster, Biscuit!

I went into the pet store one day with my dad and low and behold, they were giving away Chinese Dwarf hamsters. The pet store had an “accidental litter” and because of that, the hamsters were FREE. I used this as a sign that it was time to get my first graders our hamster and I took her home that day. Of course my kids lost their minds and were so happy to have a cute hamster as our new class family member.

Turn a class pet hamster into fun writing activities

My students wanted to be a part of taking care of our hamster, which sparked the idea to create lessons for writing time

I had to figure out a way to include my students as much as I possibly could with taking care of our class hamster and learning about her. You can incorporate writing about your class pet into literacy time by making it a station or independent work during Daily 5. A writing prompt will help get them started. You can also make the writing prompts funny so students will be excited to get writing. If you decide to get a class pet hamster, check out these fun and engaging activities my students love doing!

If you have a different class pet, check out my entire section of Class Pet Activities over on Teachers Pay Teachers!

Use nonfiction books about your classroom pet so your students can become experts

I went to our school library and checked out all the books I could find on hamsters in the nonfiction section. Luckily we had quite a few and this was a great way to introduce having a new pet, learning to care for her and what to expect when you have a class hamster. I highly recommend checking out nonfiction books so you can read them to your students. If you do literacy stations, you could even have a class pet nonfiction station the first week you have your new pet. I use Daily 5 to teach reading groups and allow my students to check out the nonfiction books during read to self.

Keep track of your classroom pet using a data tracker during Daily 5 reading stations

Instead of viewing our class pet hamster as a distraction during learning time, I made a data tracker to allow students to go visit Biscuit during Daily 5 and keep track of what she is doing. This includes one of our first grade math standards and gives them a way to see what Biscuit is up to. They absolutely go crazy if she’s in her wheel or doing something other than sleeping. Hamsters are nocturnal so it’s important to teach your students that fact if they’re constantly wondering why a hamster sleeps so much!

My students store their hamster data tracker in their book tubs so they can easily access it during Daily 5.

Daily writing prompts will engage your students in writing about their classroom pet

As I mentioned before, making a daily writing prompt for your students that involves your class pet will help engage your students in writing. There’s 10 different writing prompts my students can choose from when they’re working on writing during Daily 5. Of course I’ve gone over each prompt and at times have to review which writing prompt a student is working on. I have an extra table in my classroom that Biscuit’s cage is on top of, and there’s enough space for one or two students to sit and observe her while they’re writing. They love having this special writing space.

I highly recommend getting a classroom pet to engage your students in writing

As a classroom teacher, I highly recommend getting a classroom pet for your students. If a hamster isn’t your cup of tea, check out my entire classroom pet section. You might want to start with fish or tadpoles! Bird watching is of course a great activity as long as you can put a bird feeder up near your room.

So, there you have it. Using a class pet for engagement during writing time is not only going to excite your students but make them the writers you know they are.

Tell me in the comments if you have a class pet and what your students love most about having one!

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Get Creative Teaching Writing Using a Class Pet for Engagement