A White House Managerie:

1. The Roosevelt family had over twenty pets while Theodore Roosevelt served as president of the United States. Their pets included Pete the bull terrier, Skip the rat terrier, Blackjack the Manchester terrier, Manchu the Pekingese, Rollo the Saint Bernard, Sailor Boy the Chesapeake Bay retriever, the cats Tom Quartz and Slippers, Emily Spinach the garter snake, Algonquin the pony (www.whitehouse.gov/president/holiday/historicalpets1/04-js.html), Maude the pig, Josiah the badger, Jonathan the piebald rat, the guinea pigs (Dr. Johnson, Bishop Doane, Fighting Bob Evans, and Father O'Grady), Baron Spreckle the hen, Eli Yale the macaw (www.whitehouse.gov/president/holiday/historicalpets1/03-js.html), Fedelity a pony, the dogs Gem and Susan, and a one-legged rooster.
2. Imagine what the White House must have been like with six children and so many animals. Ask students to form an image of that very busy, noisy place. Think about all the things the family would have to do to take care of their various pets.
3. Ask students to write a story about the Roosevelt family and their pets. Ask them to include lots of sensory words so that their readers can gain a clear mental picture of the Roosevelt White House.
4. Provide paper for students to draw a picture for their stories.
5. Share stories and pictures of the White House menagerie.
6. See a photo of Theodore Roosevelt with his family:
   
   www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/roosevelt
   
   Be sure to click on the link "Teddy and the Bear" at the right of the page to read about the connection between Roosevelt and a popular children’s toy. Click on the link "Rats, Cats, and Flying Squirrels" to learn about the many pets of the Roosevelt family.

Standards: NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills; NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies; NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge; NSS-USH.K-4.3 The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage; NA-VA.K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes