Rabbit, Our Classroom Pet  (Part Two)

Objectives:
1. Students will listen to stories being read aloud.
2. Students will recognize the sequence of events by acting out the story.
3. Students will use a combination of words and pictures in their writing.
4. Students will identify characters in the story.
5. Students will distinguish between reality and fantasy.

Key Words: 
character, setting, fable, reality, fantasy, tortoise, hare

Procedure:
Based on the fact that the rabbit was chosen as the classroom virtual pet, a selection from eight books having rabbits as the main characters was read during the daily read aloud. The students acted out the stories and retold them in correct sequence. A chart was made listing relevant facts about rabbits. The stories were identified as fantasy. Favorite characters were identified and discussed why they were chosen. The following is a list of the selected stories read each day during read aloud.

• Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth, by Lucy Bate, Illustrated by Diane de Groat, Scholastic Inc., 1975

• The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams, Illustrated by Florence Graham, Platt & Munk, 1987

• Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present, by Charlotte Zolotow, Illustrated by Maurice Sendak, Harper Collins, 1962

• The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter, Illustrated by David McPhail, Scholastic Inc., 1986

• Grumpy Bunnies, by Willy Welch, Illustrated by Tammie Lyon, Scholastic Inc., 2000

• The Rabbit and the Monkey, Fox Tales International, retrieved from the Internet 1/28/03 © Fox Tales International P.O. Box 10800, Peoria, IL 61612-0800 www.foxtalesint.com

• The Tortoise and the Hare, by Aesop, Illustrated by Arthur Friedman, Troll Associates, 1981

Assessment:
Students identify and explain the reason for choosing their favorite character in The Tortoise and The Hare.

	Favorite Characters From The Tortoise and The Hare
My favorite character is the Hare because he went fast.	My favorite character is the tortoise because he won.	My favorite character is the fox because he was the judge.
My favorite character is the Hare because he went fast.	My favorite character is the tortoise because he won the race.	My favorite character was the Hare. I like the Hare because he ran very fast.
My favorite character character is the Hare because he went to sleep.	My favorite character is the Hare. He did not win.	My favorite character is the Tortoise because he won.

Students will participate in acting out the different stories - each child will have a turn as narrator.

The students will assist the teacher in making a chart distinguishing between reality and fantasy based on the discussions and stories read to them about rabbits.

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