by Becca Barnes, MBES
Bunnicula vants to suck your vegetables! Bunnicula is the story of a family, the Monroes, that adopts a Transylvanian bunny rabbit that has mysterious traits that grab the interest of the other pets in the house. The Monroe's dog and cat, Harold and Chester, become sleuths that investigate the unexplainable events that begin to occur when Bunnicula enters their home. The purpose of this webquest is to further explore different elements of Bunnicula. Harold and Chester believe that Bunnicula is some sort of bunny vampire from Transylvania. Using this webquest, students will be directed to research Transylvania or types of bunnies. Also, the Monroes were unaware of how to properly take care of a bunny. Students will have a choice to write a plan for having a bunny as a pet.
Teacher Introduction
Teachers -
I hope you will be able to use this webquest and that your students will gain insight about topics that are discussed within James Howe's book, Bunnicula. Bunnicula's independent reading range is third to fifth grade. I used the book as a read aloud, and had my students complete this webquest after we had completed the reading.
Vampires are a central theme in this story. As Chester and Harold learned more about the creatures, my students became more and more curious themselves. Through this webquest, my students were able to research the "real world vampire" bat. The links that I have included send the students to a National Geographic Kids website that gives the characteristics of a vampire bat. I have included a graphic organizer that I had my students record their findings.
My students were curious about other topics that James Howe had discussed in the story. They asked where Transylvania was located and why there were gypsies in that location. Because of the lack of background knowledge about this area, I added a component to this webquest about Transylvania. The links will lead your students to tourist infomation about modern day Transylvania. This task is at a higher reading level than the other two tasks. I have included a research graphic organizer that students may use to organize their search.
As we were reading Bunnicula, my students asked about our class obtaining a bunny as a class pet. At this time in my teaching career, I do not feel confident about having a pet that my class is responsible for. Instead, I added a component to this webquest where students may research what it would take to own a rabbit. The task asks the students to watch a series of videos about rabbit care. I have attached a T-chart that can be used to help the students while they are completing their research.
I hope your students enjoy this webquest and gain further insight about the story!
Thanks, Mrs. Becca Barnes