Who Knows What?
Project the Course Presentation in the student chapter Who Knows What About Animals? or have students access it.
Show the first slide and ask: What does a farmer know about animals?
Sentence starter: A farmer knows… because they need to…
Show the second slide and ask: What does a zoo keeper know about animals?
Sentence starter: A zoo keeper knows… because they need to…
Show the third slide and ask: What does a vet know about animals?
Sentence starter: A vet know knows… because they need to…
Make sure students understand that while they all know things about animals, they know some different things:
A farmer knows how to look after farm animals, but will take their animals to a veterinarian if the animal is sick.
A zoo keeper knows how to look after unusual animals like lions or bears.
There are different veterinarians who look after farm animals, pets, and zoo animals!
Explain to students that people who know a lot about something are called experts .
Ask students: What are you an expert on?
Sentence starter: I’m an expert on… because I know a lot about…
Tell students that no matter what else they know, each of them is an expert on themselves. Nobody else knows them or their own lives as well as they do!
Now ask: How do we know that what we learned on the National Geographic website is true?
Explain that we know National Geographic is a reliable source of information on animals because:
they are experts – the people who work there have learned a lot about animals and nature; and
they are reliable – they have been giving good information about animals and nature for a long time.
Someone who knows a lot about something.
