{"id":252,"date":"2008-09-16T14:18:42","date_gmt":"2008-09-16T19:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/252"},"modified":"2008-09-16T14:18:42","modified_gmt":"2008-09-16T19:18:42","slug":"teaching-life-science-with-childrens-literature-home-for-a-bunny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2008\/09\/16\/teaching-life-science-with-childrens-literature-home-for-a-bunny\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Life Science with Children’s Literature: Home for a Bunny"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Home for a Bunny<\/a>, written by Margaret\u00a0Wise Brown and illustrated by Garth Williams, offers a great way to introduce students to animal habitats and the differences between\u00a0various animals, all while\u00a0helping\u00a0a cute little bunny to find a home.<\/p>\n

It is spring. The robins are chirping, the frog is croaking, and the flowers are blooming. This is the scene in which\u00a0a little brown\u00a0rabbit sets out in search of\u00a0a\u00a0place to\u00a0call home: “Down the road and down the road he went. He was\u00a0going to find a home of his own. A home for a bunny, A home of his own. Under a rock or a log or a stone. Where would a bunny find a home?”<\/p>\n

During his search, the bunny meets several different animals and asks each one where\u00a0it lives, hoping that\u00a0he can share its home.\u00a0First, he finds a mother robin and her babies high up in a tree. The bunny realizes that he cannot live there, stating “Not for me, I would fall out of a nest. I would fall on the ground.” Next, he finds a frog living in a bog. Again, the bunny recognizes that this will not make a good home, as he would surely drown in a bog. The\u00a0third animal he meets is a groundhog who lives in a log, but when the bunny asks if he can come in, the groundhog selfishly says no. So he continues “down the road and down the road” until he meets another bunny. This pretty white bunny shows him her home\u00a0under a rock. When he asks to come in, she happily says yes and that becomes the bunny’s new home.<\/p>\n

This book contains beautiful illustrations of the bunny and all the other animals he meets. Children can clearly see where the different animals live and will laugh in agreement as the bunny explains why he cannot live in a tree or a bog.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nHome for a Bunny <\/em>would be an excellent book to use as part of a unit on animals and, more specifically, as an introduction to animal habitats.\u00a0After reading the story, teachers could\u00a0discuss with their students why the bunny cannot live in a tree or under water in a bog. The students could compare the various characteristics of the animals in the story and sort animals based on where they live. In Virginia, this book relates to Science SOLs K.6 and\u00a01.5, which state that students will understand that animals have\u00a0basic\u00a0needs (including a suitable place to live) and can be classified according to certain characteristics (including water homes versus land homes).<\/p>\n

Because the story takes place in spring, it could also be used as part of a lesson on seasons (science SOL 1.7a-b). The beginning of the book explains several aspects of spring, such as\u00a0leaves\u00a0budding on trees, flowers\u00a0blooming, and baby robins\u00a0hatching from eggs.<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n