This past week, I used the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems to engage my second graders as we worked on story elements and compare and contrast texts. I can’t wait to share those learning activities with you! Be sure to grab the free Knuffle Bunny activities at the end of this post!
I’m not sure why it is, but there is just something about reading Mo Willem’s books that screams SPRING!
Maybe it’s the springy list of characters of bunnies and ducklings.
Or maybe it’s his use of brighter pastels that feels so springy. ๐
Either way, I always keep my stash of Mo Willem’s books in my April teaching bin!
This past week, I rebelled against our mandated district curriculum (SHHH! Don’t tell…) and took a few days to read the Knuffle Bunny trilogy to my class.
And man, was it magic! โจโจโจ
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I had forgotten what it was like to get kids excited and connecting to books. And let me say, we need to get back to that place a little bit!
Story Elements with Knuffle Bunny
We started off with the first book in the series, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. If you haven’t had a chance to read this book, please do yourself a favor and GRAB IT! Not only is it funny, but so heartwarming!
Anyway, to start, I introduced Mo Willems as an author and discussed how he is the same author of the Pigeon books. I thought this would be a surefire way to engage the class, but it was crickets because THEY HAD NEVER READ ANY OF THE PIGEON BOOKS! (My teacher-heart died a little-not gonna lie! Those books used to be a mainstay in the first-grade classrooms!)
We also discussed the cover, how the book was a Caldecott Honor book, and what that meant. By this point, the kids were excited to read it!
As we read, we discussed the characters, setting, and what happened at the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
After reading, we used sticky notes to add that information to the story elements interactive anchor chart.
The following day, we read the second book, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. By this point, the KIDS were dying to read the second installment because they loved the first one so much!
Before diving in, we discussed the text’s title and the play on words that Mo Willems used. We discussed the difference between “two” and “too.” Using this as a launching point, I had students share their predictions with their neighbors; then, it was time to READ!
After reading, we again used sticky notes to add the story elements to the interactive anchor chart. But this time, they had the retell the ending in their Reading Response Journals. After discussing, I added the last sticky note by combining all their answers.
By Wednesday, they were dying to see the next installment of the Knuffle Bunny adventure.
I honestly had to hide my Knuffle Bunny Free book from the class because so many kids were trying to get a sneak peek! (Did I mention this class HaTEd reading before?)
Before reading, we reviewed the two previous stories. I had students share a quick summary using the sticky notes as a guide. Then, we discussed the title and how it was a play on words. (Free/Three) We also made a quick prediction we shared with our shoulder partner on the carpet before diving in.
After reading, we added a third set of sticky notes to our Story Elements Interactive Anchor Chart. (Don’t forget to use different colors!)
TEACHER TIP! Buy the Super Sticky Post-It brand stickies for sticky notes that will stay on for more than a few days!
Compare and Contrast with Knuffle Bunny
From here, it was time to compare and contrast!
To complete the assignment, each student got a compare-and-contrast sheet. Then, they chose two versions to compare. They had to write at least two ways the stories were different and two ways the stories were alike. The students were so ready and excited to write!
There was plenty of information to pull from, as they could use the story elements interactive anchor chart to help guide them.
After completing the activity, I called students back to the carpet with their sheets. We discussed the three stories and shared our comparisons. As we went, I made a quick list of some of our answers.
Then, I had students vote on their favorite book from the series. It was almost a tie, with Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale taking the lead by only two votes!
Honestly, they love the part where Trixie has a meltdown. I think they really connected with that part.
Personal Narrative Writing with Knuffle Bunny
So just in case you’re new around here… I am a huge believer in tying reading AND writing together.
So, using the Knuffle Bunny series as inspiration, we worked on personal narrative writing.
The prompt?
In the Knuffle Bunny series, Trixie loses her special toy. Have you ever lost a toy or something special? Write a story about a time you lost something special.
Using this as our lens, the students used this quick brainstorming sheet to express their thoughts and feelings on paper.
The following day, I passed back the brainstorming sheets, and then we worked to write a personal narrative story.
A few students claimed they never lost anything (well done, Mom, I guess?) So, I told them to imagine if they did lose something special. It was a perfect exercise in using our imaginations (something so many of my students can’t seem to use these days!)
After writing their narrative, students could draw their special toy in the “Lost” poster area of the writing paper. (Like these activities? You can grab them as part of the Applicious Resource Library!)
Then, when students were done, we shared our writings in triangle groups.
Then, I hung them up so that everyone could see our writings when they came into our classroom.
Knuffle Bunny Activities Download
Like all the quick activities we did in this post? Be sure to sign up for the Applicious Teacher Resource Library to gain access to these and tons of other amazing resources!
Knuffle Bunny Activities for 2nd Grade
So there was our simple yet powerful week of lessons using the Knuffle Bunny books as our learning base. Students loved reading the series, and it was easy to chart the Story Elements using the Interactive Anchor Chart. Then, we could use the chart to reference when it came time to compare and contrast the books in the series. And of course, we had to close our unit with some writing to close the literacy loop! Don’t forget to grab the Knuffle Bunny activities mentioned in this post by joining The Applicious Resource Libary down below!
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