It began when fifth-grade teacher Stacy Hubbard and her students at Pulaski Street Intermediate School in Riverhead, Suffolk County, New York, read a Storyworks article as part of their reading and writing program. The article, “Rescue in the Rainforest,” tells the story of a young sloth living near a hotel in a national park in the Costa Rican rainforest. The sloth fell ill when a tree she relied on for food was likely cut down. A hotel worker contacted an organization specializing in sloth conservation, and their experts nursed the sloth back to health and then taught it how to survive on its own in the wild. The article also presented a background on sloths and the traits that enable them to survive in the rainforest. The steps the conservation organization was taking to protect sloths were also discussed.
How Storyworks Motivated Students to Protect Sloths
Suffolk County, NY
October 2023
STORYWORKS INSPIRATION
After reading the article and learning about the challenges sloths face in the wild, one student told the class that he had been to Sloth Encounters, which sold exotic animals and offered paid sessions where children could hold and feed their sloths. The company also presented traveling exotic animal shows. Hubbard was aware that Sloth Encounters faced legal issues because it did not have the proper permits for its business activities. She and her students watched TV news reports about Sloth Encounters and learned that animal rights groups also accused the company of exploiting their animals. The fifth graders got very upset, and Hubbard saw this as an opportunity for “authentic teaching” that would address curriculum standards in English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Civic Readiness. She invited guest speakers, including the executive director of Humane Long Island and a member of the Suffolk County legislature. Her students learned more about the proper treatment of wild animals and the process for passing laws that protect wild animals. Hubbard and her students started a letter-writing campaign supporting a bill that would make shows with wild or exotic animals illegal in the county.
WORDS INTO ACTION: Pulaski Street Intermediate School fifth graders take action to save sloths after reading about them in Storyworks magazine.
STORYWORKS RESULTS
In July 2023, the Suffolk County Supreme Court ordered Sloth Encounters to cease operating as a petting zoo or pet store. In October 2023, the Suffolk County legislature amended its code, prohibiting the use of wild or exotic animals in traveling performances or shows, even if the animals are domesticated. And Stacy Hubbard’s fifth graders—inspired by a Storyworks article—learned animal welfare and active citizenship lessons.
Credit: Barry Sloan, newsday.com
Here, the class listens to Al Krupski, Suffolk County legislator, talk about government and how a bill becomes a law.