TeachKind Rescue Stories: Songwriter and Student Save Lamb From Slaughter

Stories of humans helping other animals are all over the internet, and sharing them with your students is an excellent way to encourage kindness both in and out of the classroom. Because most children naturally feel compassion for animals, sharing rescue stories is a great way to engage and motivate different types of learners and encourage them to take action to help end animal abuse.

Each TeachKind Rescue Stories reading comprehension worksheet tells a different animal’s tale of transformation and features key vocabulary words and questions in order to encourage literal, inferential, and evaluative thinking. These worksheets were used in a study that found that students who read passages about having compassion for animals performed significantly better on Common Core–aligned assessments, demonstrating that instructional time need not be sacrificed in order to instill empathy in young people!

This rescue story is about a California boy in a 4-H program who—with the help of legendary songwriter and PETA supporter Diane Warren—prevented his beloved lamb, Cotton, from being slaughtered.

Use other TeachKind resources to create an entire lesson around this story. You can use this worksheet to address the following Common Core English language arts standards:

Grades 9-10

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1
  Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Grades 11-12

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1
  Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Download This Rescue Story!

Stories that pair real-world compassion with classroom skills offer teachers a meaningful way to engage high school students. This TeachKind rescue story recounts how a California 4-H student, with support from songwriter Diane Warren, intervened to save a lamb named Cotton from slaughter and later provided the animal a life at a sanctuary. The passage is accompanied by a printable reading-comprehension worksheet designed for grades 9–12 that highlights vocabulary, literal- and inferential-reading questions, and prompts for evidence-based writing activities.

Use the story as an anchor for lessons that combine ELA standards with social-emotional learning: students can analyze author purpose, cite textual evidence, write persuasive letters defending animal welfare, or research agricultural practices and alternatives to animal slaughter.

For extended units, pair the passage with debates, project-based research, or creative storytelling that lets students explore ethics, advocacy, and civic responsibility. Sharing rescue stories like Cotton’s not only builds literacy and critical thinking but also cultivates empathy, turning a single reading assignment into a catalyst for compassionate action and classroom discussion

Please share these resources to inspire other teachers to incorporate compassion for animals into their curricula.