When my son was little, this was one of his favourite books; however I know that it appeals to older children too! Have a go at the activities below and you will see!
Language of text: French
Type of text: picture book
Author or source: Benoit Charlat
Intended age of students: Key Stage 1/2/3
Source reference: 2203127171
Approaches:
This is the story of a rabbit who has a dummy in its mouth and doesn’t talk… until you takes its dummy out of its mouth!
I want to read it to children who after the 1st reading can join in with “il ne repondait pas” and “il repondait”. You can then choose a narrator and pupils to play the part of each animal and act it out; children can then do this in small groups. I bet everyone will want to be the rabbit so they can take it in turns! The children could use the dictionaries to look up the names of the animals.
Rationale:
The text and the illustrations are simple and clear which makes this story easy to use.
If the children have never been told how to do to the negative form in French, we could show them “il ne repondait pas” and “il repondait” then ask them to come up with a rule about how it is formed.
Outcomes:
The pupils could come up with what would be normal answers to the questions the rabbit is getting asked; I realise most are “yes” or “no” questions but they can be developed… and they need to know how to answer those too! They could then come up with some questions of their own to ask the rabbit; this gets them to think about relationships and friendships too and the topic can be discussed.
Topics or themes:
animals; Easter (it is about a rabbit!)
Grammar:
asking and answering questions; the negative form; the imperfect tense
How much time required:
1-2 lessons
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