The School Classroom Program

This is a planned and prepared unit PAK, ideal for grade two and grade four classes. The classroom teacher can enjoy the program without having to invest excess energy to participate. The unit PAK is suitable for a teachers to enhance their existing curriculum in language arts and reading.

Stage One
• The horse visits the school.
• The children have the opportunity to see and touch a live horse. They begin to learn about these large and beautiful animals.
• the class is provided with a a life size banner of TRIFON, the Arabian stallion.
• each child is given their own copy of a book by Walter Farley, the author of The Black Stallion
• The life size banner remains in the classroom and the students are given the instructions to “ practice reading to TRIFON.

Stage Two
• after 7 to 28 days of practicing their reading, the class travels to the farm for a 1 1/2 hour visit.
• participating in a series of educational activity centres, they touch and interact with live horses, learning about grooming, tack, feeding, shoeing etc.
• Each child will read two or three paragraphs to the horse at each activity centre.
• For the closing activity of the day, the children form small groups in front of the horses' stalls, read to the horses, and enjoy a refreshment.
• Grade two students are given a second reader as they prepare to leave and encourage to keep on reading to TRIFON, the Arabian stallion – then send a CD of the class choral reading the second book.

It is appropriate for the grade four classes to blend a geography study, following the travels as outlined in the Black Stallion book.

Students also study detailed facts about horses, learning parts of the horse and interesting behavioral tendencies. The greater their understanding about these live horses, the greater the motivation for the children to want to read.

Students will be encouraged to correspond back to TRIFON, the Arabian stallion with their own stories and pictures.