Are Pigs Smart? Ask a First Grader

Are pigs smarter than dogs? First graders have found out the answer through research. It turns out that pigs are the fourth smartest animal. In order to find the animals that came in first, second and third just ask a first grader!

This spring first grade students researched the animals featured in fairy tales: the black bear, the gray wolf and the pig. They watched videos of the animals in their habitats, listened to books and articles read aloud, reread the articles and highlighted facts of interest and then written the facts in their own words in their research packets. Students practiced their measurement skills when they measured how the length of a pig would compare to a first grade student. They also created a poster that includes information that they want to share with others about each animal. Students chose photos of the animals to use as a guide while illustrating their research.

An exciting experience during our pig research was having a real pig named Frankie come to visit from the Ross Mill Farm, a sanctuary for rescued pet pigs. Our students shared their knowledge about pigs and had many questions to ask about Frankie. Students experienced the sound a pig makes while singing. This brought a fact to life that students had read about, a mother pig sings to her piglets while nursing. Unfortunately a black bear and wolf were not able to come to class for visits but first grade students certainly learned a lot observing the real pig from Ross Mill Farm. If you want to learn more about Ross Mill Farm just click on the link. https://rossmillfarm.com/