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Alpha Stage







The Detroit Free Press is running an article entitled “Experts try to help
deer with head stuck in toy pumpkin.” The article begins:

A plastic jack-o'-lantern meant for collecting Halloween candy is
threatening the life of a small, immature deer that calls a gated
community home. The fake pumpkin has been stuck on the animal's
snout for at least several days. It hangs there like an orange-and-black
feed bag from its thin handle, which appears to be snagged on the
young buck's ears or horn buds.

Read the Article!!


Discussion Starters:


  • Ask your child(ren) what the following words mean: “snout,”
    “litter,” “wildlife,” and “anesthetize.” Challenge them to spell
    each of these words.

  • After sharing the story of this young deer with your child(ren)
    ask them what lesson they might be able to learn from it. Ask
    them to explain how they learn this lesson. What lesson do you
    think can be learned from this story. There are multiple lessons
    that can be learned, so think of one that your child(ren) have
    not already shared. How can you learn this lesson?

  • Many people say that people should not interfere with wildlife in
    their natural habitats because that’s interfering with the natural
    course of the word. Ask your child(ren) if they agree.
    Why/why not? Ask if animal specialists should intervene to help
    this deer? Encourage your child(ren) to explain their opinions.
    What do you think? Why?

  • A local zoo director said, "I'm always amazed at how wildlife
    makes it sometimes, even under the hardest conditions." Ask
    your child(ren) what they think this statement means. What do
    they think the hardest conditions that wildlife ever encounters
    are? What enables wildlife to survive in these conditions?
    Together, you and your child(ren) might take a look at this
    National Geographic article entitled “Life in a Deep Freeze.” http:
    //magma.nationalgeographic.
    com/ngexplorer/0211/articles/mainarticle.html

  • The national networks are not going to run a story about this
    deer. It’s taking place in a suburb of Detroit and is being
    covered by a local newspaper. Ask your child(ren) if there’s
    any point in them thinking about this story if they live on the
    other side of the country, world or even city? In other words,
    why should anybody care about this story?
A Trapped Deer  
November 10, 2006
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