There was a flurry of excitement in 5 Orange this week with the arrival of some new fishy classmates. Mrs Heath had given them a task to petition her for a class pet through persuasive writing. After crafting thoughtful arguments, and a careful editing process, they presented her with a document titled ‘We Can Handle A Fish!’ (scroll down to read)
Their bid was successful and they welcomed their new class pets last week. The first order of business was making a fish care roster with the class devoted to responsibly looking after them. The second was to name their new pets through a voting process, and after the votes were cast they picked Mushu (for the Kai Beta), Sushi School (for the Albino Neon Tetra’s), Shark Bait (for the Cardinal Tetra’s), and Coral (for the Algae Eater).
Next term, the learning will continue with the class doing a research assessment where they will focus on the four species of fish in their tank.
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We Can Handle A Fish!
Have you ever seen a child beam at the sight of their pet? 5 Orange wants a class pet. By suppling the fishes basic and complex needs it will teach us responsibility which will help us later in life. It will make us calm and quiet when we are stressed or anxious. If you actually love us, keep reading to the next paragraph if you want to be the best teacher in the entire school!
Firstly, to take care of a fish we need food, a tank, a heater, thermometer, rocks, some gravel, sand or pebbles, plants, and a small fish net. All of these items can be purchased at pet shops or fish aquariums. For feeding we could have a roster to feed the fish. We can alternate each week as well as days. Another easy solution is to use an automatic fish food feeder or fish food shells for holidays and weekends. Guppies are highly adaptable and thrive in many different environments and ecological conditions. Guppies are good because they are a type of fish that can survive in dirty water and live with less food so that would work for weekends. Fish are also social and sometimes can also follow your finger. Neon tetras are cool to watch swim around in big groups. If a fish got sick, there are types of medication that would work. At the end of the year, you could give it back to the pet shop or you can have it. Male guppies, which are smaller than females have ornamental caudal and dorsal fins, while females are duller in colour. Fish live up to 3 years and can survive 2-7 days without people supervising them. Keep reading to see just how responsible we can be!
Secondly, a fish could help us learn in many different ways. For example, we will take full responsibility for our own actions for the fishes’ health and safety. To make sure of that we will feed the fish and make a safe and hygienic place for them to get comfortable in, teaching us the responsibility of owning a pet. A fish could even teach us a bit about science, wouldn’t you want beautiful neon tetras that would fascinate your students? That could contribute to our science lessons. A fish teaches us about how people and animals both have different needs, which relates to economics. If you don’t want to deal with 27 sad students for at least 2 weeks, and if you care about us at all, keep reading!
Finally, fish help kids learn when they are stressed. The fish give you better impulsive control, less anxiety and a mood stabiliser. Fish cannot only lower anxiety and stress, but they can also help with sleep. Fish improves your health and stability. Watching fish swim back and forth in their tanks, is a calming moment and it helps to relax the mind and ease the muscle tension. If you somehow are not convinced already read the next fact. Observing fish in a tank can lower blood pressure, improve sleep quality, reduce level of stress, decrease pain and calms nerves. Don’t you want us children to grow up happier, healthier and have an enjoyable life, leading descendants of others into love, passing it onto others? We will definitely give many others a wonderful experience like you should give us. Soon enough you will be making a big difference to the school. All you need to do is buy us a pet fish!
In conclusion, you must now be convinced that we definitely deserve a delightful class fish, because of our three brilliant reasons, that it will make us happier and healthier, teaching us the responsibility for us to own something and that we will take care of its basic and complex needs. You must now understand that your class absolutely deserves to have a class fish. Don’t you want to make your class shine with beautiful, bright florissant colours? If you love your class, you must agree to get us a class fish.
Written by your independent and responsible class, 5 Orange.
