Benefits of Classroom Pets in Secondary Education
Introduction
When I started teaching biology, I noticed that my students were always the most engaged when we found ways to incorporate animals into our classroom. It could be as simple as a social-emotional check-in of “Which turtle are you today?” or discussing the predator-prey relationship between whales and penguins. While it was easy to incorporate animal discussions into my biology classes, I also had multiple sections of human physiology with little to no discussion of animals. This made me wonder—what would happen if I incorporated live animals into my classroom for all of my students to engage with? Would this have any benefits for my biology students? What about my physiology students? Living in a major city, my students did not always have access to nature outside of school. Students also tended to arrive to school late and often had difficulty focusing on their classwork. Having pets as a child always made my day more enriching, and I wondered if introducing pets to my classroom would do the same for my students. This motivated me to incorporate a fish tank into my classroom, followed later by a terrarium of Australian green tree frogs. The impacts of these projects are outlined in this article.
[M]y students were always the most engaged when we found ways to incorporate animals into our classroom.
Background Research
According to the American Humane Association’s Pets in the Classroom Study, classroom pets in kindergarten through eighth grade can help teachers achieve multiple objectives: teaching responsibility and leadership, teaching empathy and respect, and “provid[ing] an avenue for relaxation when children are stressed” (Ganzert & McCullough, 2015). These findings are not isolated. Dunlap (2020) found that classroom pets had a positive effect on student empathy in an elementary classroom, and Nichols (2022) reported pets in his elementary classroom allowed him to foster a positive environment and decrease student anxiety. Overall, research conveys that pets decrease stress and anxiety in young people in educational environments.
While there is an abundance of research available demonstrating the benefits of pets in kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms, there is a heavy emphasis on elementary (kindergarten through fifth grade) learning spaces. Programs such as Pets in the Classroom (2023) even provide grants for teachers in grades pre-kindergarten through ninth grade to fund classroom pets and related supplies. However, there is little to no research on the benefits of animals in classrooms with students older than eighth grade, and there are no programs that provide funding for animals in classrooms above ninth grade.
In Fall 2023, I introduced an aquarium to my high school science classroom containing white cloud fish, ramshorn snails, and the aquatic plant Elodea (Figure 1). Students, both individually and in groups, took breaks throughout class to observe the living inhabitants of the aquarium without phones or other distractions. I noticed students engaging more than they did in a typical class period—students watched the fish swim around, tracked down freshly hatched snail babies, and asked if they could feed the fish. After these breaks, I also noticed a change in students’ demeanor. They were more calm, focused on their work, and rooted in the classroom with their peers. Motivated by this improvement, I decided to install an Australian green tree frog terrarium in our classroom (Figure 2 and Figure 3) and observed similar effects in students. Students were fascinated by our frogs—for many, the first thing they did when they came into the classroom each day was look into the frog tank and try to find each of the three frogs’ hiding spots for the day.
Figure 1
Classroom aquarium with white cloud fish, ramshorn snails, and Elodea
Figure 2
Classroom terrarium with Australian green tree frogs
Figure 3
Australian green tree frog, “Kiwi”
One phenomenon that I did not expect was the terrarium’s ability to reach beyond my classroom. Australian green tree frogs are nocturnal, so I fed them at the end of the school day closest to their wake cycle. My students would often come in after school to help feed the frogs their live crickets for the evening, but a few weeks after introducing the terrarium I started receiving visits from students who were not in any of my classes. It then became a regular occurrence for students from other classes to come to my room after school, introduce themselves, and ask if they could feed the frogs with their friends. It was extremely encouraging to see that these frogs provided such a positive experience for my students that they told stories to their friends and brought them to my room to share the experience. I recommend incorporating living organisms into the classroom regardless of the subject taught (e.g., math, history, literature, etc.) because the greatest benefits that I observed from these projects were not directly tied to curriculum. Integrating mindful moments into the school day for students to observe these animal enclosures markedly improved calmness and productivity. Allowing students to take “brain breaks” to feed and interact with living organisms also increased the sense of community and shared responsibility among students in the classroom.
Incorporating Living Organisms into Curriculum
Living organisms can benefit any classroom regardless of subject, but one specific benefit in a life sciences classroom is the ability to build them into class curricula. It is important to ensure that the animals in an aquarium or terrarium have all of the components of a natural ecosystem they need to survive: producers, consumers, decomposers, and any additional living or nonliving components required for adequate nutrient cycling. In doing the work to set up your ecosystem, you are preparing yourself to share connections to key ecology topics like predator-prey interactions, cellular respiration and photosynthesis, and the carbon cycle.
One of the most successful projects I conducted this year with materials from my terrarium and aquarium set-up was an “ecosystem in a jar” project with my 10th grade biology students (Figure 4). Students formed groups to create either an aquatic ecosystem (Figure 5) or a terrestrial ecosystem (Figure 6) with the challenge of keeping all of the organisms alive for two weeks. Depending on which they chose, they used materials from our class pet supplies to create self-sustaining ecosystems. Although I purchased some materials separately, I already had many in our classroom aquarium or as leftovers from the initial aquarium and terrarium setup. I created a project outline, heavily inspired by another teacher’s published lesson in The Science Teacher (Cizmas, 2021).
Figure 4
Ecosystem-in-a-jar projects absorbing sunlight for photosynthesis
Figure 5
Student aquatic ecosystem
Figure 6
Student terrestrial ecosystem
Including classroom pets made my classroom feel more like a ‘home,’ or a safe space for students.
Best Practices for Keeping Class Pets Happy and Healthy at School
Classroom pets are a long-term commitment, and the initial set-up of a sustainable ecosystem in your classroom will require time, patience, and research. Some classroom pets, like Australian green tree frogs, can have a lifespan of up to 15-20 years and require very specific conditions to thrive, including consistently high temperatures and humidity. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct thorough research before selecting a classroom pet to ensure that you are able to provide adequate space, heat, light, humidity, food, and other living conditions for your pet to thrive. This does not only apply to when you are at school—it is also key to ensure that you can either bring class pets home with you or organize care for your pets over class breaks like winter and summer vacation. Additionally, food will be a consistent expense for your pets.
However, I’ve learned tips and tricks along the way to make the journey easier. It is easy to mitigate the cost of food by culturing your own. For example, with a little time and patience, it is relatively easy to culture insects like fruit flies and crickets that can feed many amphibian and reptile pets. To mitigate clean-up time and expenses, I also recommend introducing a ‘clean-up crew’ into your tank. Popular choices for terrestrial ecosystems include isopods and springtails—both of these small invertebrates are decomposers that will eat dead matter and feces and keep nutrients in your tank cycling. If getting a classroom pet seems a bit daunting, I recommend starting with something lower maintenance like an aquarium to see how you and your students can work together to care for fish and other aquatic creatures before moving to semi-aquatic or terrestrial species. If you are ready to dive in and build a fully sustainable terrestrial ecosystem, Table 1 contains information on species I recommend as good ‘starter species’ for your classroom. If startup costs also seem daunting, it is important to remember that many businesses, particularly local pet stores, often provide discounts for teachers. Even if there is no officially advertised discount, always ask if a teacher discount is available. You might be surprised by how many retailers are willing to offer 10-15% off for teachers—store owners are also often interested in these types of classroom projects and can offer helpful advice and recommend specific supplies.
Table 1
Recommended Pets
Conclusion
Through this journey of bringing pets into my classroom, I learned a lot about both myself and my students. I learned that simple observations of living organisms in the classroom can improve students’ sense of calmness and increase their focus and productivity after even short observation sessions. I also learned more about my students as individuals—once there were animals in the classroom, students were much more likely to share about their own pets at home and what they liked and disliked about different animals. Igniting these conversations promotes a stronger sense of community and encourages students to engage with both their teachers and one another in an authentic way. Including classroom pets made my classroom feel more like a ‘home,’ or a safe space for students. It is easy to create a warm and welcoming environment when there are living creatures that are clearly being cared for, to the extent where students want to be in the classroom even outside of class hours. Inviting students to care for classroom pets also provides a structure for excellent teamwork and fosters a sense of responsibility among students. Incorporating animals in the classroom was not only extraordinarily beneficial for my students, but it expanded my idea of what it means to be an educator in terms of going beyond curriculum and creating a home-like feeling in my classroom. These projects shifted my priorities from curriculum-based outcomes to include emphasis on social-emotional outcomes as well. Moving forward, I hope to share these findings with others and encourage as many educators as possible to consider incorporating pets into their classrooms.
Citation
Gregor, K. (2025). Benefits of classroom pets in secondary education. Kaleidoscope: Educator Voices and Perspectives, 12(1), https://knowlesteachers.org/resource/benefits-of-classroom-pets-in-secondary-education.