All about dogs

a comprehensive five day unit

all about dogs!
Includes lesson plans, graphic from your friends at

organizers, craft ideas,

projects, comprehension
questions and more!
giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson Plan
Week at a
Glance:
Day One: Introduction
to Dogs
Day Two: Dog Breeds
Day Three: Animal
Classification - Mammals
Day Four: How Dogs
Stay Healthy
Day Five: Dog
Communication
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson Plan
Day One: Introduction to
Dogs
Objective: The students will be
able to describe physical
characteristics of a dog.

Lesson Plan: Day one

Introduction (10 minutes):
*Teacher Says: This week we will be
learning all about dogs. Raise your
hand if you have a dog! What kind of
dog do you have? What do you
already know about dogs? What is
your favorite thing about dogs?

*Dogs are friendly mammals that are

different than most animals we learn
about because they primarily live
with people!
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson (20 minutes):
*The teacher will read, “Woof! 100 Fun
Facts About Dogs” from National
Geographic Kids. After reading,
discuss any new information that
students learned about dogs. Did
anything surprise you?

*The teacher will guide the students in

completing the “Dogs can, have, are”
graphic organizer, filling in information
about dogs from the book.
Independent Work (10 minutes)
*The students will complete the “Dog
Adjectives” activity worksheet
attached below. Review that adjectives
are describing words.

Closing (5 minutes)
*Review with the students the
adjectives they used to describe dogs.
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
dogs
can are

have
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
dog Adjectives
Directions: An adjective is a describing word. Fill in the blank
with an adjective that describes the physical traits about
a dog.

A dog has...
_______ fur
a _________ tail
a _______ body
________ legs
________ ears
a ________ nose
_______ eyes
________ teeth
__________ paws
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson Plan
Day Two: Dog Breeds
Objective: The students will be able
to recognize various breeds of
horses and their unique features.

Lesson Plan: Day two

Introduction (10 minutes):
*Teacher Says: Today, we will focus on
different types of dogs. Different types
of dogs are called “breeds”. There are
over 350 different dog breeds in the
world. They come in all shapes, sizes and
colors! They also have different
personalities!

*On a white board or anchor chart, write

down as many dog breeds as the
students can name that they already
know.
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson (20 minutes):
*The students will watch the video, “15 Dog
Breeds”- [Link]
v=nQlqJ9_EzQU&t=50s. After the video,
discuss the dog breeds mentioned in the
video and any specific characteristics
about those specific dog breeds.
*In small groups, the students can use non-
fiction resources including books, articles,
[Link], A-Z Animals to find
information about the dog breeds in the
attached graphic organizer. The students
will write two facts per breed.

Independent Work (15 minutes)

*The students will choose one dog breed that
they would like to learn more about. Using
non-fiction resources, students will collect
information using the “Dog Research” activity
sheet attached.
Closing (5 minutes)
*The students will share the information they
learned from their dog research with the
whole group.
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
types of dogs
Golden Retriever Poodle

Beagle Bulldog

German Shepherd Border Collie

 giant
All pandas
About dogs
dog Research
Directions: Choose one type of dog to research
more about. Fill in the information below.

dog
Interesting Facts
Species:
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Appearance ____________________
____________________
Ha

Diet
bit
at
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson Plan
Day Three: Animal
Classification - Mammals
Objective: The students will be able
to explain characteristics of dogs
that classify them as mammals.

Lesson Plan: Day three

Introduction (10 minutes):
*Teacher Says: Today, we will focus on
what makes dogs a part of the same
animal classification group that we are
in. Dogs are mammals, just like us!
What are mammals?

*Mammals are animals that have

backbones, give birth to live young and
feed their babies milk, are warm-
blooded, have hair/fur and breathe
using lungs!
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson (20 minutes):
*The teacher will read the book,
“Everything Dogs!” from National
Geographic Kids. After reading, the
teacher will guide the students in
completing the “Vocabulary Square”
defining the word, mammal.

*In small groups, the students will use the

attached checklist to discover what
makes dogs mammals. Discuss each point
on the checklist with the students.

Independent Work (10 minutes)

*The students will independently
complete the “Mammal Quick Check”
comprehension questions attached
below.
Closing (5 minutes)
*Review comprehension questions with
the students together.
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
vocabulary square

Word: Definition:

mammal

Sentence: Picture:
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Animal Classification
Directions: If the question is true, color in the check.
If all five statements are true, horses are mammals!

Is a dog a
vertebrate?

Is a dog warm-
blooded?

Does a dog have

hair/fur?

Does a dog give

birth to live
young?

Does a dog
breathe using
lungs?
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
mammal Quick Check
1. What is a vertebrate?
________________________________________
________________________________________
2. What makes a dog a mammal?
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
3. Do dogs lay eggs or give birth to live
young?
________________________________________
________________________________________
4. What does it mean to be warm-
blooded?
________________________________________
________________________________________
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson Plan
Day Four: What Dogs Need
to Stay Healthy
Objective: The students will be able
to describe how dogs stay healthy, including
diet, exercise, sleep, grooming, vet care, etc.

Lesson Plan: Day Four

Introduction (10 minutes):
*Teacher Says: In today’s lesson, we will
learn more about how dogs stay healthy.
Make a prediction: what do you think dogs
need to stay healthy?If you have a dog at
home, how do you help to keep them
healthy and happy?

*There are many important ways that

dogs stay healthy. They need food with
the right nutrients, clean water, exercise,
sleep, vet visits, grooming, a safe space
to live, and of course - love & affection!
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson (20 minutes):
*The teacher will read, “The Trouble with
Children (According to Dog!) by Katie Weaver.
Questions to ask during/after reading - What
does Dog need to stay healthy and happy in
the story? What does Dog think about the
children? How can children help care for Dog?
If Dog could ask for anything to keep him
healthy or happy, what do you think he would
ask for?
*In small groups, the students will complete
the “Dog Unscramble” activity worksheet.

Independent Work (10 minutes)

*The students will use the writing graphic
organizer attached below, “Main Idea and
Key Details” to write three supporting key
details for the main idea, “Dogs need many
important things to stay healthy.”

Closing (5 minutes)
*With a partner, students will share the
three key details they wrote on their
graphic organizer.
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
dog Unscramble
Directions: Unscramble each word associated
with dogs and how they stay healthy.

deti
vte
execseIr
gmIgnoor
speel
tyos
wtera
wlkas
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Main idea and Key details
How do dogs stay healthy?
Main idea
Dogs need many important things
to stay healthy.

Detail #1
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

Detail #2
______________________________________________
______________________________________________

Detail #3
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson Plan
Day Five: Dog Communication
Objective: The students will be able
to identify various ways that
dogs communicate.

Lesson Plan: Day Five

Introduction (10 minutes):
*Teacher Says: What does it mean to
communicate? How do people
communicate? Just like people
communicate, dogs also communicate in
their own special way. How do you think
dogs communicate?
*Dogs communicate in many ways. They use
body language, bark, wag their tails, move
their eyes and ears, growl or show their
teeth, crouch if they are scared and more.
They can do many different things to show
certain emotions.
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
Lesson (20 minutes):
*Teacher Says: Let’s go through the
different emotions. What do you think a
dog would do to show it is happy? Sad?
Angry? Loyal? Love?
*The students will watch the video, “How Do
Dogs Communicate?” from BBC Earth Kids
- [Link]
v=z3AV_7BtovQ
*After watching the video, use the
attached graphic organizer, “Dog
Communication” to fill in four ways dogs
communicate with people or other
dogs/animals.
Independent Work (10 minutes)
*The students will complete the “Dog Comic
Strip”, making a comic strip story about a
dog and how it communicates.

Closing (5 minutes)
*The students will share their comic strip
stories in small groups or with the class.
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
dog Communication
Directions: In the boxes below, record
different ways dogs communicate.
 giant
All pandas
About dogs
dog Comic strip
Directions: Create a comic strip story about a dog and
various ways that they communicate. Write in the thought
bubble what the dog might be thinking or saying.