Students work together to learn what animals in San Diego rescue organizations need and to carry out a blanket drive that directly supports their comfort while they wait for homes. Through class discussions, listening to a rescue volunteer, and using photos, item counts, and short presentations, students practice asking questions, paraphrasing information, and building on one another’s ideas. The project centers on the question, “How do our kindness actions make life better for animals waiting for homes?” and ends with a gallery walk where students reflect on what they learned and how their actions helped the rescue partner.

Students will ask and answer questions in partner, small-group, and class discussions as they plan a blanket drive and prepare to speak with a San Diego animal rescue volunteer. They will paraphrase key information from the volunteer visit, short read-alouds, photos, and simple charts about what animals in shelters need. Students will build on one another’s ideas to make shared decisions, explain how kindness actions help animals waiting for homes, and use evidence from the project during the gallery walk and sticky-note reflection.

Students will create interview questions for a San Diego animal rescue volunteer, simple posters or announcement cards to invite donations, and labeled collection boxes for the blanket drive. Throughout the project, they will also make a photo journal or class display showing planning, teamwork, and donated items, along with brief captions that paraphrase what they learned from the visitor and other media. By the end, the class will present the donated blankets and a gallery walk featuring project photos and donation items, where classmates add sticky notes naming one new fact they learned and one way their kindness actions improved life for animals waiting for homes. As a final reflection product, students will add sticky notes about animals’ needs and how their actions helped the San Diego rescue partner.

Begin with a short visit or video message from a San Diego animal rescue volunteer who shares photos, simple stories, and needed items for animals waiting for homes, then invites students to ask questions and paraphrase what they heard with a partner. Next, set up a mini gallery walk with pictures of shelter spaces, blankets, toys, and care items so students can study the images, talk in small groups, and name what animals might need to feel safe and comfortable. End by introducing the question, “How do our kindness actions make life better for animals waiting for homes?” and have the class brainstorm possible kindness actions for a blanket drive.

Host a simple classroom or library showcase where students display collected blankets, photos from the drive, and student-made posters explaining what animals in San Diego rescues need and how kindness actions help them while they wait for homes. Invite families, school staff, and a San Diego animal rescue volunteer to visit, ask questions, and listen as students paraphrase what they learned from the volunteer and other project sources. Include a gallery walk with the project photos and donation items, and have visitors and students add sticky notes naming one new fact they learned and one way the class’s actions improved life for animals waiting for homes. End with a brief student share-out in pairs or small groups so every child participates in speaking, listening, and responding to others’ ideas.