Animal heroes – Cross-curricular KS2 lesson plan

What's included?

PDF lesson plan

Key Stage

KS2

Age

Years 3-6

Subjects

Most children will instinctively love a cute kitten or playful puppy. However, understanding the important roles animals have in society – and the extraordinary work of animal heroes – can create greater empathy and compassion…

Ask the class what comes to mind when they think of the word ‘hero’. Compare their answers with surveys from around the world, which show that children admire everyone from Sherlock Holmes to Spider-Man, Hermione Granger to Bilbo Baggins.

We know that heroes come in all shapes, sizes and forms. Sometimes, they’re not even human! A lesson on animal heroes can develop children’s understanding of what it means to be heroic and help them to think about how we treat creatures that can often be taken for granted.

Learning objectives

Explore what it means to be a hero
Discuss ways in which animals work for and help us

Starter activity

A good entry point is to find an inspiring animal story. There are plenty to choose from, such as wartime surveillance pigeons, or tiny glow-worms that provided much-needed light for soldiers to examine intelligence reports, study battle maps or read letters from home.

Since 1943, more than 60 animals have received the PDSA Dickin Medal, the equivalent of the Victoria Cross, awarded for acts of gallantry during military service. It is named after Maria Elisabeth Dickin whose vision was to raise the status of animals in society.

The US Navy has been recruiting and training sea creatures for more than 40 years. Endowed with superior underwater senses, bottlenose dolphins have served in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and at naval bases on the home front.

Dolphins use their echolocation skills to discover and mark sea mines, while sea lions dive hundreds of feet below the surface to investigate and recover lost or suspicious objects. Both can be taught to guard harbours by detecting unauthorized intruders such as enemy divers.

But to paraphrase a well-known poem, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. During the 1950s the United States conducted a series of field tests utilising insects as weapons. ‘Operation Big Itch’ went awry when some of the fleas escaped into the plane and bit the crew.

Animal Hero Awards

You can also find many courageous creatures in everyday life. In 2013 the RSPCA and the Daily Mirror began the Animal Hero Awards.

One former winner is Henry, a deaf springer spaniel, whose owner Julie Barrett has diabetes. Henry is able to detect when Julie’s blood sugar is low and saved her life when she fell seriously ill with septicaemia.

Henry has learnt sign language and is now an ambassador for the Deaf Dog Network. Earlier in his life Henry had been badly abused by a former owner, but recovered under Julie’s care.