Second graders show off creative writing skills for dogs and cats awaiting adoption at PAWS
Each week, the students in Jennie Warmouth’s Spruce Elementary classroom look forward to working together on “The PAWS Project” – a program that involves writing advertisements for harder to place dogs and cats at PAWS.
Dr. Warmouth teaches her students to read and analyze the veterinarian notes and intake documents, identify positive attributes, and then collaboratively write a paragraph promoting the animal’s adoption. These colorful descriptions are placed on the animal’s kennel and published online for potential adopters to see.
An avid animal lover, Dr. Warmouth created The PAWS Project to capture her students’ interest and supplement her district’s reading and writing curricula. After nearly two decades, she’s discovered that the impact on her students runs much deeper. In fact, the positive influence of this weekly humane education enrichment on her students’ social, emotional, and academic development was the topic of Dr. Warmouth’s dissertation at the University of Washington in 2017.
To date, hundreds of students from Spruce Elementary – located just one mile from the PAWS Companion Animal Shelter – have played a role in helping more than 500 dogs and cats find forever homes.
View the Pet Advertisements from this year’s Second Graders
Dogs
Cats