My class has been reading "The One and Only Ivan" which is about a gorilla and elephant who are in a circus. It told from Ivan's point of view, so the students understand his thoughts on things and how they're treated in the circus.
This book led to a discussion about animals in captivity. Even though it would be very easy for me to tell them my thoughts and try to get them to understand my side of things, that's not the job of a teacher. My job is to get them to think for themselves and do their own research, which is exactly what I did.
They had to write a research paper on whether or not they agree with animals being held in captivity, which included circuses, fairs, and amusement parks. I allowed them to research articles on their own, we discussed biased and unbiased sources. They then had to create a picture of their campaign. I'll let you figure out their stance based on their pictures below. (By the way, the class was unanimous in their opinion)
