Primary Science Readers’ Theatre ACTIVITIES FOR “HOW RACHEL RABBIT FIXED THE FOOD CHAIN” Prereading Activities Students can enter their vocabulary into their Science Picture Dictionaries or the teacher can orally review the words with the class before reading the play. camouflage carnivores consumers herbivores predator prey producers nocturnal Draw what you ate for dinner last night. Does this make you a consumer or a producer? Explain your answer. Purpose For Readini Find out how the Rabbit family changed the food chain to solve a problem. As we read along, try to decide if you like their solution. Post-reading Activities Write the problem and solution that the Rabbit family used in this play. Tell whether you agree or disagree with their solution. List at least two reasons for your answer. Diagram an example of a real life food chain. Start with a producer (plant) and then draw the sequence of consumers until your food chain is completed. Label each step of the food chain. | Research an example of an herbivore | and a carnivore, Find out what each one | eats. Find out if the herbivore and q carnivore are eaten by other animals. Use the Activity Sheet for How Rachel * Rabbit Fixed the Food Chain to help you} complete this activity. 46 © 2002 Pieces of LeamintPrimary Science Readers’ Theatre ACTIVITY SHEET “HOW RACHEL RABBIT FIXED THE FOOD CHAIN” Name. Pe Draw the herbivore and carnivore you researched. List what foods they eat and what animals eat them. Herbivore - _ Carnivore ] What do they eat? What do they eat? Who eats them? Who eats them? © 2002 Pieces of Leaming 47mary Science Readers’ Theat “HOW RACHEL RABBIT FIXED THE FOOD CHAIN” A play to teach about the food chains of animals Characters i Mother Rabbit Rapid Rabbit Father Rabbit | Rachel Rabbit Henrietta Hawk Henry Hawk Grass Narrator Samantha Snake Sneaky Snake | Vocabulary camouflage, carnivores, consumers, | herbivores, predator, prey, producers, nocturnal Props rabbit ears, snakeskin shirts, hawk hats, green shirts (grass) SCENE! The prairie in the morning Narrator: The Rabbit family is having a dinner meeting on a grassy hill. Father Rabbit is upset. Father: Mother, Rapid, and Rachel, | have bad news. Your sister Rebecca Rabbit has been eaten by a hawk while she was eating her lunch on the prairie. Mother: Oh, no! That's my fifth baby to be eaten this year! Between the hawks and the snakes, we'll become extinct! This will have to stop! Rachel: How can it be stopped, Mother? We're herbivores; we feed on plants and grass. q 48 2002 Pieces of LearningPrimary Science Readers’ Theatre Rapid: When we're eating, it's scary because a ake or hawk might sneak up and eat me. VRachel and Rapid: What's your plan, Father? - | Father: Well, our fur is a good camouflage, but not good enough for hawks and ; snakes. | propose that we become nocturnal. | Mother: If we only come out at night, the hawks and snakes will be sleeping. F Then we'll be safe. f Rapid: it's morning now, so let's go to sleep. f Rachel: I'm hungry, but | guess | can wait until dark. Narrator: The Rabbits quickly hop into their hole. Rabbits: Long live herbivores! Down with carnivores! Narrator: The Rabbit family falls asleep. SCENE 2 The prairie, a few days later Narrator: Henry and Henrietta Hawk are searching for food. Henry: Henrietta, I'm hungry. | haven't seen any rabbits lately. Where could they be? Henrietta: Beats me! Do rabbits take vacations? (© 2002 Pieces of Leaming 49Primary Science Readers’ Theatre Henry: If this keeps up, we'll have to eat those little rats and mice. Yuck! Henrietta: We could eat the snakes, but they've been mighty skinny and tough lately. Narrator: While Henry and Henrietta look for rabbits, the Rabbit family is sleeping snugly in their rabbit hole. Samantha Snake and Sneaky Snake slither in the grass, looking for something to eat. Samantha: You're looking rather thin, Sneaky. Sneaky: Well, | only have these little prairie mice to munch on. | haven't seen a rabbit in days! Samantha: We carnivores need meat to eat. | wouldn't waste my time eating plants. Samantha and Sneaky: We need a juicy, chubby bunny rabbit! Sneaky: Look out for those hawks. Remember our dear sister Sally who was eaten by one just last week? Samantha: | hope we find a rabbit soon. After all, we're the consumers. Sneaky: Consumers? Samantha: A consumer eats living things like plants and animals. Sneaky: Goodie! | like being a consumer. Is a rabbit a consumer? Samantha: Yes, because rabbits eat grass and other plants to survive. 7 Sneaky: Then is grass a consumer? 50 © 2002 Pieces of LearnPrimary Science Readers’ Theatre tor: Just then the Grass family S UP. ass: We most certainly are NOT fasumers! We are producers. Brass: We make our own food. We 't have to hunt for food. Our gorgeous en blades soak up the sunshine to [make its own food. | Grass: We store our food in our lovely roots and leaves. It's too bad that all those herbivores eat us when we never bother anyone. Sneaky: | see those hawks up there in the tree. Let's hide over there on the rocks. Our bodies will be camouflaged to protect us. Narrator: As the rabbits sleep, the hawks and snakes look desperately for food. SCENE 3 The prairie, the next morning Narrator: Rachel Rabbit was so hungry, she snuck out of the rabbit hole while everyone was sleeping. Rachel: (whispering) This nocturnal stuff is for owls, not rabbits. | need sunshine. Narrator: Rachel is spotted by Sneaky Snake who quickly swallows her up. Samantha: Sneaky, you didn't leave any for me! | ©2002 Pieces of Leaming 54Sneaky: It sure feels good to have a full stomach for a change. Narrator: Just as quickly, Henrietta Hawk swoops down and gobbles up Sneaky a Snake. Samantha: Help! Help! It's a predator! Narrator: All of the shouting woke up the Rabbit family. They hop outside to see | what is happening. q Rapid: The sun is hurting my eyes! Mother: We're not used to the sun anymore. Father: Watch out for those hawks and snakes. We will NOT be their prey anymore! Mother: Where is your sister, Rachel Rabbit? Rapid: Come to think of it, | haven't seen her since last night. Narrator: Samantha Snake sneaks up and tries to eat Rapid Rabbit, but he was too fast for her. Samantha: You Rabbits make me sick! Your precious Rachel was eaten this morning by my brother, Sneaky Snake. Narrator: Samantha begins to cry. Samantha: Henrietta Hawk Swooped down and ate HIM. Woe is me. Narrator: Henry and Henrietta Hawk shout down from their tree. Hawks: You Rabbits have upset the whole food chain on this prairie. We carnivores are starving! 62 © 2002 Pieces of LearyPrima pther: Before we hide, we'd like to leave you with is song: {To the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel) All around the food chain, The snake ate the rabbit. Then the hawk ate the snake, Oh, my, what a habit! The consumers ate the producers, The predators ate their prey. That's the way the food chain goes, Day after day. f Rabbits: Let's hop on out of here before they get us! THE END © 2002 Pieces of Leaming 53