Source: WILD TV: "Wildlife in the City"
Funding for the VITAL/Ready to Teach collection was secured through the United States Department of Education under the Ready to Teach Program.
Several people in this segment from Wild TV describe their feelings about horses and why they enjoy riding and being with horses. They describe their love for horses and a special bond or connection they feel with them. One young man says he feels he is a part of the horse. People say they feel proud of themselves because of what they can do. They speak of horses as enriching their lives. Children become familiar with horses at Cedar Lane Stables in Queens, New York City. They learn about a different way of living.
Download and ShareWhat is Frame, Focus and Follow-up?
Frame (ELA) What animal, if any, would you like to have as a pet? What are your reasons? Does your preference for one pet versus another tell us anything in particular about you? When we know what characters like or dislike in stories we are able to make better connections to them. Think of some things you’d like to know about someone in your class. How about a character in a story?
Focus (ELA) People have different reasons why they like being at the stable and working with the horses there. Listen for the many different reasons people give. Think about what we learn about these people as they talk about horses.
Follow Up (ELA) Whether a text is fiction or nonfiction, we learn about the people or characters by what they tell us about their likes, their dislikes and their reasons for doing something (motivation). Talk about one fictional character and one real person. How do their likes, dislikes and reasons for doing something influence their lives and the situations in which they find themselves? For example, how do the likes, dislikes and motivations of a politician influence his or her life and situation?
CAROLYNE: Most of the children are involved with…they learn how to muck a stall, how to clean out the stall, how to groom a horse, how to tack up a horse, they’ll take riding lessons - little by little.
CAROLYNE: The stables here themselves, are like an escape from the city, from the everyday life. You come down here and it’s a place for you to get back to nature.
WOMAN 1: Well, I’ve been riding for about fifteen years and I found this piece of heaven about five years ago.
WOMAN 2: You know, you get to that point in your life, you want to do some of those things that you didn’t get a chance to do. So about two years ago I decided that I’m gonna pursue the horse thing.
CAROLYNE: I just had a love for animals, but horses especially. I mean, there’s just a special bond between horses.
CAROLYNE: Well, I’ve been riding since I was seven years old and it’s something that I know that I have been interested in from childhood to adulthood and it’s something that I’ve stuck with and that’s something that makes me very proud.
OLD MAN: What we try to do is work with children and get them familiar with horses.
YOUNG BOY: I like running, galloping.
YOUNG BOY: Feel good and it feel exciting to my life.
YOUNG BOY: I have a connection with him. I’m a part of him, too.
WOMAN 2: They’re just like human beings, they get scared, they shiver, they’re cold, they get heated up, they sweat.
CAROLYNE: These are children from the neighborhood, children as far as Brooklyn. Some come from the Bronx. Coming down and connecting with a horse, they’re connecting with nature and they’re learning about a different way of life, they’re learning about a different animal that they’re not really used to seeing. And it’s just - it’s enriching.
WOMAN 1: It’s so hard to put into words, it’s something in here that you can’t put into words. It’s just a real good feeling. It just makes me feel like I’m closer to a higher spirit.
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