A Chicken’s Life

This lesson plan is designed to help teachers present animal rights issues to their students. If you’re an educator, please feel free to adapt this material to fit your needs, and contact us if you need help incorporating this activity into your curriculum.

Suggested grade levels: 3rd–5th grade

Objectives: Understand the various ways in which chickens are exploited in our society and learn about chicken behavior.

This colorfully illustrated comic tells the story of three students who visit an animal sanctuary and learn fascinating facts about chickens and their behavior. It also describes the lives of the chickens—some of whom came from factory farms and school science projects—before they were rescued. The comic includes a fun word puzzle for students to complete. You can order the comic book here or click below to view it online and print it out for your students.

a chicken's life comic book

Once your students have read the comic, print out copies of the corresponding “Fill in the Blanks” and “Discussion and Reading Questions” worksheets to help them process the material and learn more about the lives of chickens.

Love this lesson? Check out “A Cow’s Life” to teach your students about animals used for clothing!

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 Ingrid E. Newkirk

“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?” READ MORE

— Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President and co-author of Animalkind