Teaching Sequence

20 minutes	Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
40 minutes	Part B: Zoo Issues
30 minutes	Part C: Thinking Hats Activity
20 minutes	Part D: What Is Your Local Zoo Doing?
10 minutes	Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Step 1.

Begin this lesson by explaining to students that they are going to investigate their thoughts and feelings about zoos.

Break the class into pairs or small groups and explain that each group needs to come up with three key questions they have about zoos to write on the Student Worksheet. Provide students with some tips for creating their questions, such as the following:

Thinking of how they feel about zoos and recording their gut responses. E.g. positive, uneasy, torn.
Writing down keywords associated with these feelings and thoughts. E.g. future, captivity, education, unnatural.
Rephrasing their thoughts and feelings into question that incorporate keywords. E.g. What will zoos of the future look like? What freedoms are animals given in captivity?

Step 2.

When students have developed their three questions, invite groups to team up with another group. Each group needs to interview the other group using the questions they created to generate a discussion about how they think and feel about zoos.

In addition, invite students to suggest any questions they may still have about the issues raised in this activity. Students could record these questions in their workbooks and use them to help plan your zoo visit or to guide further inquiry.

Step 3.

Explain to students that the point of this activity is for them to realise that there are many different views about zoos. These can be difficult to discuss, including for those who are involved with the operation and management of zoos, as many people have different and often opposing opinions about zoos. Therefore, it would be useful to work as a class to develop some guidelines for discussing these issues, particularly in the context of this lesson in which students will discuss some contentious ethical issues. Setting classroom ground rules is an important step in creating a safe space for all students to share their thoughts and ideas.

You should work with your students to create your own ground rules. However, they might include:

Own your ideas by using 'I think' rather than 'you should'
Respect each other and value diversity by remembering that each person has their own beliefs and values and their own worldviews, experiences, and opinions
Each person has a right to contribute their ideas so listen politely
Be brave in sharing your ideas, experiences and opinions
Appreciate that everyone has the right to uphold their privacy; this might mean they don’t want to share their ideas or experiences on an issue
Share feedback in a way that is considerate and positive by remembering to be positive, kind, helpful and specific when providing feedback
Make a record of your ground rules and keep them in a place where all students can access them; alternatively, provide each student with a copy of the ground rules

Part B: Zoo Issues

Step 1.

Now, explain to students that they will be exploring some of the varying views about zoos. Before you do this, check student understanding on the following terms and provide definitions for terms students are unsure or unclear about:

Zoo/aquarium -
A facility that has both indoor and outdoor settings where living, usually wild animals are kept mainly for public exhibition. Includes aquariums.
Ethics -
Ethics is concerned with distinguishing between what is morally good and evil. Ethics refer to rules provided by an external source, such as a workplace code of conduct or religious principles. When we talk about ‘zoo ethics’ we are talking about how zoos should behave.
Unethical -
When something is not morally correct.
Animal welfare -
Animal welfare is about understanding the experience of each and every individual and making sure that experience is as amazing as it could be so they thrive and experience a life worth living.
Conservation -
The act of preserving and conserving wildlife and other natural resources to prevent exploitation, neglect or extinction.
Captivity -
A situation where a person or animal is kept somewhere and is not allowed to leave.

Step 2.

Explain to students that they will now explore some of the issues around the role of zoos by watching a clip from Zoos Victoria. Students will then participate in a guided discussion about the issues raised in this clip, using the suggested timings and discussion points below:

Zoos Victoria is Fighting Extinction (https://youtu.be/qPrUvuKJs6E)

Allow students to watch the clip through once uninterrupted. You can watch it a second time, pausing the clip in places in order to ask questions about what students are seeing in the clip.

Guided discussion suggested timings and discussion points:

0:18 - What do you think is meant by the term 'success' in this context?
0:30 - How do you think zoos might help people connect to animals?
0:52 - In what ways are you aware that zoos help the community to take action for wildlife?
1:22 - Do you think a zoo should be responsible for fighting extinction? If not then whom?
1:45 - The list of these species is available here - how many of these have students already heard of?
2:00 - Why do you think zoos exist? Have they always existed for this purpose?
End - What do you think about this clip? Do you agree or disagree with the information presented? Why? How did this clip make you feel? Why?

Step 3.

Now, break the class into four groups and explain to students that each group needs to create their own guided discussion around a clip. They will then present the clip to the class and guide the class through a discussion about this clip and its contents. This teaching strategy creates greater engagement with the content and places ownership of teaching other students in each group.

Assign each group with one of the following clips (please not the suggested start and stop times for each clip):

Animal Captivity Is Slavery (https://youtu.be/8PZBV8O5pfI) - Whole clip
The Pros & Cons Of Zoos (https://youtu.be/RHBuAOp5upU) - Start to 2:50
Zoos Enrich Our Lives but Cost Animals Their Dignity, Says Bill Nye (https://youtu.be/iWwtZOhiaso) -Start to 0:44, then 4:27 to end

Explain the following instructions for creating a guided discussion (also available on the Student Worksheet):

Your guided discussion should have at least four pauses
At each pause a question must be posed to the class
Questions should focus mainly on zoos, the role of zoos, the ethics of zoos and animal welfare
Those presenting the discussion must undertake the relevant research to answer the questions they pose to the audience and to potentially answer other questions from the audience
Concluding remarks should summarise the presenters' position on the video they shared

You could also distribute this Guided Discussion Rubric to students so that they are aware of what is expected of them.

When conducting research, remind students of the Search Strategies for Googling.

Step 4.

Invite each group to present their guided discussion to the class. If you have time, you may choose to allow students to watch each clip once through before commencing the guided discussion.

Students watching the guided discussions of other groups should be encouraged to take notes as they watch. Students can use the following points to guide their note-taking (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What is interesting to me about this clip?
How does this clip make me feel?
What issues are raised in this clip and how/why are they presented?
What does this tell me about the role of zoos?
What questions does this clip and discussion leave me with?

Use the Guided Discussion Rubric to assess the guided discussions of students.

Step 5.

Once all groups have had a chance to present their guided discussions, engage the class in a discussion to check for understanding and to summarise what students have learned.

Ensure students understand the following:

The topic of zoos has been and still is very divisive, difficult and emotive.
The role of zoos is evolving, with many zoos strengthening their conservation priorities.

Part C: Thinking Hats Activity

This activity is designed to help students think critically and creatively about the issues associated with zoos and to build empathy for the stakeholders involved in owning, working in and visiting zoos. Students will explore issues and potential solutions from a range of different perspectives using de Bono’s Thinking Hats.

Step 1.

Students are asked to imagine they are characters in a community meeting about their local zoo. Students will work in groups to play the following roles. Examples of these roles at Zoos Victoria are available below. Encourage students to use these links, or conduct their own research into their local zoo to find out more.

Zookeeper (information about being a zookeeper at Zoos Victoria is available here or here)
Ethics committee (information about the ethics committee for Zoos Victoria is available here)
A visitor to the zoo (encourage students to think about why people might visit a zoo, such as to see and learn about animals or to enjoy the open space provided at the zoo)
Vet (information about being a vet at Zoos Victoria is available here)
Zoo management (information about zoos management for Zoos Victoria is available here)
Scientist (information about a scientist for Zoos Victoria is available here)

In addition, explain to students that the topic they will be discussing in their meeting is:

Divide the class into six groups. Give each group one printed copy of the Thinking Hats Worksheet and assign them ONE of the profiles on the sheet.

Each profile requires students to think using one of Edward de Bono’s Thinking Hats. The table below shows each profile and the Thinking Hat to be used by students as they adopt that profile and think about how they would respond to the topic of the meeting. Explain this table to the class.

Thinking Hat	Profile	Focus/Way of thinking
Red	Visitor to the zoo	Intuition or emotion
Green	Zookeeper	Creativity and alternatives
Yellow	Vet	Positives and benefits
Blue	Zoo management	Process and control
White	Scientist	Facts and figures
Black	Ethics committee	Negatives and caution

Allow 10-15 minutes of research, reading, discussion and note-making time in groups. Each group should note their answers and ideas on the Student Worksheet.

Step 2.

Reconvene the class and have each group share their answers and ideas. Each group member may speak, or there may be one spokesperson per group. Facilitate a discussion based on the ideas and viewpoints presented. Encourage debate and rebuttal between groups but emphasise the importance of finding solutions and compromises, and remind students of the class ground rules. As a class, think about specific scenarios that will keep discussion flowing, for example:

Example: The scientists say the zoo should focus on only keeping the animals who need conservation.
Possible discussion points for this scenario: This might mean removing some of the big animals that attract the most visitors. What happens to the animals that don’t need conservation? If less people visit the zoo, then won’t that be less money for conservation?

Extend: Once complete, ask each group to create a mindmap to of the ideas presented by their group. Students can use mindmeister or bubbl.us to create their mindmaps or work on a large sheet of butcher's paper.

Part D: What Is Your Local Zoo Doing?

Step 1.

Now explain to students that they will be looking at the main priorities of their local zoo in terms of the issues raised in the lesson so far. Invite students to work in the same groups they were in during the Thinking Hats activity to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet).

You could provide each group with a copy of the Conservation Priorities Factsheet to help them answer the questions below.

What is our local zoo?
Have you ever been to this zoo? If so, what are your impressions of the zoo, particularly in the context of the ethical issues discussed in this lesson?
What are the conservation priorities for this zoo? What sorts of conservation work does it do?
Does your local zoo focus on Australian animals or animals from other countries? For example, Zoos Victoria has prioritised a number of Victorian animals for conservation (see here), but also engages in a number of international conservation programs (see here).
What do you find interesting or important about these programs?
Recall the Thinking Hat your group represented in the earlier activity – what might your Hat say about the conservation programs at this zoo? What questions might this Hat have?
What sorts of education or community engagement programs does this have? For example, Zoos Victoria runs a number of community action programs (see here) aimed at educating zoo visitors and inspiring them to take action in their everyday lives.
What do you think might be the strengths and weaknesses of these programs?
Recall the Thinking Hat your group represented in the earlier activity – what might your Hat say about the community engagement/education programs at this zoo? What questions might this Hat have?

Step 2.

Once complete, invite students to share their thoughts through a class discussion, considering the following question:

How do the views presented at your local zoo challenge or deny any of the views presented in previous activities, such as in the guided discussions or Thinking Hats activity?

Refection

Invite students to work independently to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What information presented in this lesson was new to you?
How was the information presented in this lesson connected to what you already knew?
How has your thinking changed over the course of this lesson? Did you have any thoughts or opinions that were changed or refined through participating in this lesson? Please explain:
What questions do you still have about the topics and activities presented in this lesson?

Invite students to keep a record of any questions generated; if you are planning to visit local zoo, these could be used to help plan your visit.

Take It Further

Visit Your Local Zoo

Questions and issues raised in this lesson can be used to guide your students' learning experiences at your zoo. Once you have completed this lesson, consider using the Planning Your Zoo Visit document to work with students to plan your trip to the zoo.

Taking Action

Following your trip to your local zoo, you can use the Taking Action document to guide students to design and implement a social action project around a local animal species they identify as needing conserving. Students can be inspired by the conservation work of the zoo they visit, and you can use learnings from the lesson below to support the students to take action.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Fighting Extinction - Zoos - For People or Animals?

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