Much-Loved Velveteen Rabbit

1. Conduct a read aloud of Margery Williams' The Velveteen Rabbit. Encourage students to notice how through pictures you can see the rabbit become more shabby and worn in appearance.
2. On white construction paper, ask students to draw two Velveteen Rabbits using Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils. Make one rabbit look brand new, clean and crisp. Make the second one look shabby. The bow around his neck could look perfect or torn and tattered, for example.
3. Students cover their work area with recycled newspaper. Students color the rabbits using Crayola Oil Pastels. Cut them out with Crayola Scissors.
4. Students fold a large piece of white construction paper in half. With colored pencils, draw a setting when the rabbit was a new toy in the playroom. Show a second scene when he was shabby, worn, and sad after being discarded. Fill in drawings using oil pastels. Decorate with Crayola Glitter Glue.
5. With Crayola School Glue, attach each rabbit to a small piece of foam or cardboard. Glue the rabbits onto the background. Air-dry the glue before displaying.
6. Provide an opportunity for students to share their illustrations and describe the connections to the story.

LA: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

LA: Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting or plot.

LA: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

LA: Participate in shared research and writing projects.

VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

Students re-read The Velveteen Rabbit in small groups. As the read proceeds, students identify words in the text that describe the rabbit aging. Student groups make a list of these terms. Discuss how these terms help to age the reader's mental picture of the rabbit. Encourage students to add other descriptors to the list that indicate aging.

Students re-read The Velveteen Rabbit in small groups. As the read proceeds, students identify words in the text that describe the rabbit aging. Student groups make a list of these terms. Discuss how these terms help to age the reader's mental picture of the rabbit.

Students illustrate the progression of one item as it progresses from new to old. Students may choose to sketch a tree, a baby animal, a pet, or even a book.