Second-grade students at Burleson Elementary welcomed Max, an accelerant detection dog, for a special lesson Oct. 11. Students learned about Max and other types of service animals while also learning about fire prevention and safety. 

“We always try to engage our students before we start a lesson. Hands-on learning helps them connect the real world to what they are studying in the classroom and books,” explained Jennifer Crumpton, a second-grade teacher at Burleson Elementary and owner of Max with her husband Johnny. 

In addition to talking about fire safety and different types of service animals, Crumpton also tied the lesson into STEM lessons.

“They are super excited and interested in working dogs,” Crumpton said. “I want them to know about careers where they can use science. We also talked about the engineering process and STEM, and with that, I wanted them to understand the part of science that goes into training and how they can use that in a career.”

During the lesson, Crumpton led Max through an exercise in which he found hidden pods with accelerant in them. Preston Key, one of the students, said it was his favorite part of the lesson, summing up: “He is a firefighter dog, and he can smell things that make fires.”

Crumpton said she felt the lesson was a great way to teach students about service animals. 

“We are talking about working dogs and fire prevention week and celebrating that. We were able to show the dog off so the kids will know about having an arson detection dog, and they loved it and were super excited,” Crumpton said.