Follow-Up Activities

To help your students get more out of the lesson, assign one or more of the following activities:

• Help your students develop empathy for animals by asking them rewrite the story from Blue’s perspective.
• Alice Walker made a bold statement when she referred to eating a steak as “eating misery.” Ask students to do research to determine whether there really is a connection between steak and misery. Allow them to use the school library and the Internet to research modern farming techniques and the treatment of animals on farms and in slaughterhouses, then ask them to write a one-page summary of their findings, explaining whether they believe that the physical, emotional, social, and psychological needs of animals are met on modern farms.
• Alice Walker is one of many women who work to protect animals. Ask your students to research others, such as Alicia Silverstone, Jane Goodall, Traci Bingham, Francine Patterson, Pamela Anderson, Persia White, Summer Phoenix, Elizabeth Muto, Thora Birch, and Ingrid Newkirk.

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