Grades 3-5 Limited to Chicago schools This free curriculum program includes a teacher workshop with stipend provided, a four lesson curriculum package, and a school visit by trained volunteer educators who bring animals to your classroom. Zoo-to-You provides an integrated approach to life science and social science content with activities designed to support language arts and mathematics skill development. Each curriculum includes an Illinois and Chicago Academic Standards and Chicago Frameworks alignment outline to provide teachers with support for writing lesson plans. Zoo-To-You Program Driven by Ford Funding. On a recent afternoon at Chase School, one fifth-grade classroom turned into a zoo, literally. Thanks to a program sponsored by Ford Motor Company, with additional assistance from Aon Corporation, Lincoln Park Zoo can take its educational offerings on the road and into the city's schools. Through the Zoo-to-You program, students learn about animal adaptation, habitat preservation and the impact humans have on wildlife. Ford's donation to to the program includes $35,000 in operating funds and a custom van that is used to transport animals to the schools. The program, which has been offered at no charge to schools for more than 20 years, annually reaches about 200 teachers and 5,000 students in grades three through five. Teachers who enroll their classroom in the Zoo-to-You program attend a zoo workshop that enables them to lead the class through two lessons outlined by Lincoln Park Zoo staff. After the first two lessons have been completed, the Zoo-to-You van--carrying small animals such as hedgehogs, armadillos, parrots, and snakes--makes a visit to the school. Specially trained zoo volunteers use the animals to help teach students about the environment. "We're delighted with our new association with Lincoln Park Zoo and the fact that we're working together to educate children in the Chicago schools," said Al Hailey, Chairman of Ford's Chicago Community Relations Committee. "We strive to do good things in the communities where our employees live and work, and the Zoo-to-You program is an ideal way for Ford to help educate Chicago's young students about animals and their habitats." Ford has also supported many other Chicago Public Schools programs. Aon Corporation has been a supporter the Zoo-to-You program for the last several years. Reprinted with permission from Chicago Educator. Photos by Jon Randolph.