An Author Study of Beatrix Potter
I like to do this unit in March or April, to coincide with the coming of spring, but it is a theme that can be done at any time during the school year.
Here are some of the Beatrix Potter books we read:
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck
The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
The Tale of Jeremy Fisher
The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes
The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse
Miss Moppet
The Tailor of Gloucester
The Fierce Bad Rabbit
The Tale of Tom Kitten
Beatrix Potter (a bio by Alexandra Wallner)
Country Artist
Because "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" is familiar to most first graders, we begin by reading the story. I have many versions of the story which are not illustrated by Potter, but I always begin with one that is "authentic" including the size. Then I may share with them some of the other "Peter" stories. When a local bookstore was closing, I was able to get big books of four of Potter's stories, including "Peter" for $2.99 a piece! They're LOVELY! There are many versions available in stores and online, including pop-up books and mini-board books...some of them are shortened and therefore easier for first graders to read. One I especially like is "We Both Read: Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny." On the left side is the original version, but the right side of the book has an easy-reader version of the text! And be sure to view the Beatrix Potter videos...they are extremely well done, and include a live action scene of "Beatrix" before the animated stories!
After reading Peter Rabbit, we do several writing activities, including a retelling of the story which we then mount on the tummy of a paper Peter look-a-like.
After reading Peter Rabbit, we do a fun character search. I have an old Beatrix Potter calendar and I display the pictures from her various stories on a bulletin board. Working with a partner, they have to search the many Potter books and anthologies I have available in the room to find their picture. When they have, they make a label stating which story it is from, and I hang it under the calendar picture. This really gets them "hopping!" Another way to play this game (just tried it!) is by giving each child two or three Beatrix Potter stickers (available online from Amazon...the book is called "Peter Rabbit Stickers and Seals",I believe...). The children then work independently to find the titles for their scenes!
Before reading any more of her works, we read a few biographies on Beatrix Potter, including the lovely one by Alexandra Wallner. We discuss her style and her influences, including her very sheltered British upbringing and her love for animals as her companions. The children are fascinated to learn that Beatrix Potter lived at the same time as pioneer author Laura Ingalls Wilder (our fall literature unit), their lives were so different, and their writing reflects those differences. The children AMAZE me when we do a Venn diagram comparing both authors...they make so many connections! Of course, we discuss how the story of Peter was actually begun as a letter to an ill little boy. That inspires us to write our own friendly letters later in the unit. Picking a classmates name "in secret," each child writes a letter after learning about letter parts, and mails it. The children are so surprised to find out who wrote letters to them!
After reading several Potter "tales," we introduce the term homonym (also known as homophone). We talk about Peter's "tail" and the "tale." We also begin to use the terms of antonyms and synonyms, and each child creates a book where he/she lists the word pairs in each category as we find them. A neat extension of this is to write a story called "The Tail of Peter Rabbit." We read about Squirrel Nutkin and the Fierce Bad Rabbit, both of whom experience a little tail trouble, and we organize our ideas in a bunny-shaped prewriting sheet. The resulting "tales" are so cute! Don't forget to read Ann Tompert's "How Rabbit Lost His Tail."
As we read her many stories, each child also writes about each character in a book called "The Characters of Beatrix Potter." We discuss traits and describing words, and create lists to describe many of our favorite Potter animals. We also use the words BEATRIX and MCGREGOR as make-a-word activities. The children receive a xerox copy of these letters, out of order, which they cut out and rearrange to make a variety of two, three and four letter words. While they are using their paper letters, I am modeling using the overhead and overhead letter tiles. We then work together to find out what the "mystery" word is, and then the children paste the letters together to spell that word. This type of activity can be done with ANY theme or unit of study at all!
A science extension of this unit is to plant Mr. McGregor's vegetable garden. Each child chooses to plant one type of vegetable, such as carrot, radish, cucumber, tomato or bean. They plant it in a cup, and make a sign stating what they're growing. We then graph how many of each vegetables we have planted.
Towards the end of the unit, we each create our own Potter-inspired tale. Using blank books cut into the size that Potter said "was just right for little hands," we write an animal story. After learning that Potter wrote some of her "nursery" books for the very youngest child, we model our books after those, including The Fierce Bad Rabbit. After writing and illustrating them, we take them to a kindergarten class and read it to them...a thrill for us as well as the kindergartners!
There are also numerous worksheet-type activities we do during this unit, many of which are available in stories and online, including "Peter Rabbit's Big Book of Fun." This has some great wordsearches, games, dot to dots, spot the difference pages and other activities to keep everyone occupied!
During this unit we also focus on nonfiction books about rabbits. We make several fact books and describe the different types of rabbits, including the commercial white, the Netherlands Dwarf, the angora rabbit and the lop. We add new words to our vocabulary, such as warren (rabbit's underground home), doe and buck (female and male rabbits), and kittens (baby rabbits). Of course, we read other non-Potter rabbit fiction.
Hopper (Pfister)
Bunny Trouble (Wilhelm)
More Bunny Trouble
Country Bunny and the Gold Shoes
The Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings
Bunches and Bunches of Bunnies
The Golden Egg Book (Brown)
Home for a Bunny
The Runaway Bunny
Bunny Money (Wells)
Marshmallow
The Spring Rabbit
Rabbit Stew
Hungry Hare
Rabbits and Bunnies
My World: Rabbits
Life Cycle of the Rabbit
Observing Nature: Rabbits
The Little Rabbit
As a culminating event, we have Bunny Day! Children make rabbit ear headbands, and I paint a pink nose and some whiskers on those who are interested! Each child brings in a stuffed rabbit (and I have LOTS of extras for those who don't) and we spend the day doing bunny activities, including "The Bunny Pokey"
You put your bunny ears in, you put your bunny ears out,
You put your bunny ears in and you shake them all about
You do the Bunny Pokey and you hop yourself around
That's what it's all about!
(continue with bunny whiskers, bunny nose, bunny paws, bunny teeth, and best of all, bunny tail!)
We compare our bunny with a friend's rabbit by writing about it and by filling out a Venn diagram. We may even have a volunteer bake carrot-shaped cookies that we can munch...of course, we'll offer the "real" thing too for those who don't have a sweet tooth!
Here's a fun song, sung to the tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Little Peter Rabbit had a carrot in his paw.
Little Peter Rabbit had a carrot in his paw.
Little Peter Rabbit had a carrot in his paw.
So he ate it and he hopped away!
And an old favorite fingerplay:
Here is a bunny (two fingers for bunny ears)
With ears so funny
And here is his hole in the ground (make circle with other hand)
When a noise he hears
He pricks up his ears (put fingers straight up)
And hops in his hole in the ground (put fingers into hole)
This song is sung to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean."
My bunny hops all through the garden.
My bunny hops all through the yard.
I like to play tag with my bunny
But trying to catch him is hard!
Come back, come back
Oh come back my bunny to me, to me!
Come back, come back
Oh come back my bunny to me!
Here are a few art projects we do during this unit:
PETER IN THE WATERING CAN: Using a teacher-made tracer, have each child trace and cut out a watering can shape from silver foil paper. Then draw and cut out a Peter and glue to top of the can...add a pipe cleaner handle!
DUCK GLYPH: We do this after reading about Jemima. The legend is as follows:
Yellow duck: I am six years old.
White duck: I am seven.
Bonnet: I'm a girl
Bowtie: I'm a boy
Open umbrella: I don't like to play in the rain.
Closed umbrella: I do like to play in the rain.
Brown basket: I have fed ducks before
Orange basket: I have never fed ducks
Striped eggs: I like scrambled eggs best.
Dotted eggs: I like fried eggs best.
Zigzag eggs: I like hardboiled eggs best.
Two color eggs: I like omelettes best.
Solid color eggs: I don't like to eat eggs.
They use a tracer for the duck's body (a facing-front duck, with wings outstretched) and then using construction paper, they draw and cut out the rest. The results are ducks carrying an umbrella in one hand and a basket of eggs in the other!
GIANT CARROTS: After reading "The Seed Bunny" and "The Carrot Seed" we make GIANT carrots using large tracers. Mounted in the center of the carrots is a poem that the children complete using words that describe carrots. The CAPITAL letter words are the words the children brainstorm and then write:
A carrot is YUMMY
A carrot is sweet.
A carrot is a bunny's favorite treat.
A carrot is DELICIOUS
A carrot is good
So eat your carrots like a good bunny should!
Some other carrot words include: orange, a vegetable, healthy, tasty, terrific, crunchy, etc.
MINI-CARROT BOOKLETS: Each child has two papers with six carrot shaped outlines. The first is the cover called "Bunny Business." The next pages are as follows:
A bunny is ________ like a ____________.
A bunny's nose is as __________ as a ___________.
A bunny's tail is as ___________ as ______________.
A bunny's teeth are _____________ as ________________.
A bunny's foot is as _____________ as a ________________.
The children fill in the blanks (great for introducing SIMILIES!), cut it out, color the cover and add a green paper leaf to the top. Makes a cute border around a bulletin board!
Have any more ideas? Let us know!
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Try this FANTASTIC site for "slide shows" of Beatrix Potter's stories!
Potter Slide Shows