June 1 2023
New month, new menu!
Option #2 of June’s Tech Cafe Menu challenges you to create an Animal Rights movie. That’s not easy! Fortunately, the Techbrarian has created a list of ideas. Here they are:
may 30 2023
This week we will be zooming in on Zoos and Aquariums. This is an eye-opening (but long!) documentary on the effects of imprisoning animals.
How can we fight against animal captivity? Just like taking a Meatless Monday, we can choose to not support zoos and aquariums. We can also donate to organizations like PETA by selling our books on Amazon, doing a bake sale, or putting items on our Etsy shop.
Another idea is to fight to free a particular animal. Take the case of Beamish– a monkey that’s been imprisoned for more than 14 years by the United States. Learn more by clicking HERE. For item #8 on June’s Tech Cafe Menu, you can start a #FreeBeamish movement.
Those of you who are painters, you can do item #4 by dividing watercolor paper in half– on one half put an animal in captivity, on the other half, show what they look like in their natural habitat.
Finally, this week, I wanted to share some funny and eye-opening videos about animal rights, in case it inspires you to create one yourself for item #2.
may 22 2023
Let’s begin this week by watching an old Twilight Zone episode. As you watch, try to guess what this week’s Animal Rights topic is…
If you haven’t figured it out, this week we will be exploring Animal Captivity. This is a big part of animal rights. We often think of other animals as things we can own. You are your dog’s owner, a pet store sells snakes, a zoo or circus owns its animals. But if you think about it, what gives humans the right to keep other animals for our comfort or entertainment? Let’s dive deeper:
What can you create to raise awareness of the struggles that animals face in captivity? How about creating artwork like 7th grader Simaya?
may 15 2023
As we continue to talk about animal rights, keep in mind that the animals we are fighting for are REAL. Here’s another story about them:
This month Island Schoolers have been making AMAZING art pieces about animal rights. Here are just a few:
For those of you choosing Option 6 of the May Tech Cafe Menu, here are a great couple of examples of a short documentary from Island Schoolers:
6th graders Ayden and Maimun discuss the cruelty to animals by the meat and dairy industry:
Below, two of our 7th graders, Javien and Jeremiah talk about gender stereotypes:
Remember– It’s not enough to film the documentary. You also have to EDIT it, so that others can see it! Here are some tips:
may 8 2023
It’s time to debate! This week you will be armed with facts to take on people who don’t believe Animal Rights are important. Here is an infographic that can supply your toolbox of responses to cold-hearted people:
Here are a few AWESOME projects students are working on this week!
Last week we listened to some songs about Animal Rights. May’s Tech Cafe Menu Item #3 has you create your own song. If you have no idea how to get started here’s something to get you going:
Try singing it with this beat:
may 1 2023
New month, new Menu!
Tech Cafe’s May Menu Option #3 is to write an Animal Rights song. Here are some examples of what that can look like:
To fight for animal rights you can decide to take a day (or more!) off from eating meat– like having a Meatless Monday.
You might say: one person cannot make a difference in changing the meat and dairy industry. However, if all 42 million teens in the U.S. skipped eating meat once a week, it could make a huge difference! There are plenty of alternatives to meat and dairy– like these:
Tech Cafe’s May Menu Option #4 asks you to steal an idea from Vegan Art’s Facebook page. It’s never ok to steal from stores or other people’s property, but all great artists steal from other artists and then create their own versions. So get inspired by this work:
If you’re interested in doing Tech Cafe’s May Menu Option #5 — Creating a rabbit sculpture– look at the video below to see how:
April 28 2023
Option #1 on The Tech Cafe’s April Menu asks you to write a children’s book about a social issue. Kimberly from the 6th grade ran with this idea and the result are two SPECTACULAR books! One is called “Bullies” and the other is called “Body Positivity“. Check them out below:
Here’s an idea– Tech Cafe’s April Menu Option #7 has you building a factory farm for non-human animals like cows, chickens, and pigs. What if you REVERSED it so that humans were the ones in factory farms? Here’s an inspiration for the role reversal:
april 27 2023
Animal Rights also means not experimenting on non-human animals for dumb reasons– like testing out a new deodorant or lipstick.
This infographic shows you just how big the problem of animal testing for cosmetics is:
Look for these symbols on packaging to tell you it’s CRUELTY-FREE:
Learn more about animal testing by watching these videos:
A ton of companies experiment on animals so they can release new flavors and smells and make more MONEY. Here are some of them:
Tech Cafe’s May Menu Item #5 helps spread the word about which companies are still experimenting on animals. Do this by choosing one of the companies and painting their logo. Around the logo write words explaining the evil thing they do.
april 24 2023
Animal Rights are about believing that non-human animals have the right to be treated with kindness and compassion. That means if you’re going to eat these animals or wear their skin, let them have a good life before they are slaughtered.
Before they get to our plates or stuffed into our jackets, animals are often treated TERRIBLY by what is known as The Meat & Dairy Industry. These companies torture animals, mistreat their workers, and ruin the environment. Why? MONEY, of course! Watch these videos to learn more:
Want to see what factory farms really look like? Click HERE (Warning: Disturbing). Click HERE for a full documentary. (Warning: EXTREMELY disturbing).
So what can you do to let people know about the terrible way in which factory farms abuse cows, chickens, and pigs?
April Menu Item #7 has you construct a factory farm using any material that makes sense in the Tech Cafe. Some people who’ve started this project have used popsicle sticks and Sculpey. Once created, we can post images of our work on Social Media to raise awareness. Here are some examples of projects happening right now:
april 17 2023
We’ve officially entered April, so that means it’s time for the April Tech Cafe Menu:
As you see, the menu is a combination of Mental Health and Animal Rights projects. We’ll be talking about both issues this month. You should know, that you can dive MUCH deeper into animal rights by clicking on “Research” at the top of the Techbrarian website:
Speaking of the April Menu, item #1 is to create a storybook for children about a social issue. We’re partnering up with the 3rd grade to put THE BEST books in their classroom library. Here are a few examples of children’s books about social issues. You’ll need the techbrarian username and password to read them– so ask me!
Interested in doing April Menu Item #4–an interview about mental health or animal rights? Here are some possible questions:
If you choose April Menu item #8, your job is to create a STAMP. But what do you do with the stamp once you create it? One idea is to stamp it on a t-shirt or canvas and put an ANIMAL RIGHTS message on it. Here are some examples:
THE TECH CAFE 