February 19-25, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
Behavioral scientists recently published a study that found that dogs are remarkable judges of human character. Their study found that dogs will stop following the commands or other cues of a particular person once they decide that human is unreliable. In a series of experiments with 34 different dogs, researchers pointed to a container that held a hidden food treat as a subject dog watched them. Previous research has shown that domestic dogs understand when a human points at an object. In the first stages of the experiment, the researcher always pointed to a container that held a treat. However, in later rounds, the researcher would point to containers that the dogs found were empty. In even later rounds, the same researcher once again pointed to a container that held a hidden treat. However, the dogs would no longer respond to a researcher who had previously steered them wrong. The experiment shows that dogs are quick to respond to clues and commands given by humans, but they are equally quick to determine if a particular human is trustworthy.
Objective:
Dogs have lived among people for more than 14,000 years, longer than any other animal. Breeders have developed about 400 dog breeds to perform various tasks and provide companionship. Most scientists believe that prehistoric human beings first valued dogs as watchdogs. Later, people realized that dogs could also be used for herding and hunting other animals. The intelligence, loyalty, and tracking ability that make dogs useful to herders and hunters serve people in other roles as well. For example, police departments use dogs to track criminals and to sniff out illegal drugs and hidden explosives. Dogs assist disabled people in many ways. For example, they guide the blind and serve as “ears” for the deaf. Dogs of all breeds provide company for human beings, and many breeds were developed for this purpose. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore dogs and other animals.
Words to know:
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students to name as many dog breeds as they can. (The “Breeds of purebred dogs” table in World Book’s Dog article lists over 175 dog breeds, many of which have World Book articles.)
2. Ask your students to debate this hot-button issue, “Dogs make better pets than cats.”
3. Ask your students to use World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of the probable origin dates of different dog breeds. (Students may wish to use the “Breeds of purebred dogs” table in World Book’s Dog article for help.)