Reproduction of A Hare in the Forest, Hans Hoffmann
Background Information about A Hare in the Forest
Chart paper (optional)
Bags that include one object from nature (e.g., leaves, thistle, stick, grass, bark, earth, fur, etc.) (1 bag per 2 students)
Student Handout: "Tactile Poem Template"
Pens or pencils
1. Introduce the definition of habitat: a place where an animal or plant normally lives. It is often identified by a dominant plant form or physical characteristic.
2. Introduce and display the reproduction of A Hare in the Forest by Hans Hoffmann to the class. Prompt discussion with the following questions:
What animals can you identify in this work of art?
How would you describe the habitat or space they live in?
When you think of this animal, is this the type of place you would imagine it would live?
3. On chart paper or on the board, list student responses in a word bank that has two columns, one for identification of objects they noticed in the painting, and one for adjectives (the adjectives column should be on the left, and the objects column on the right). Students will use words from the second column to record objects in the painting. If they cannot come up with the word in English, have students say the word in their own language. Call on other students to help when a student is having difficulty identifying or finding the word to identify an object or animal in the picture. You can also explore some of the differences between hares and rabbits in the extension activity at the end of this lesson.
4. Inform students that adjectives are words that describe something, such as an object (noun). Pass out the bags that have a texture for student pairs to feel. The set of class bags should include textures that correspond to objects in the painting, such as soft and furry items, a feather, different types of leaves from smooth to rough, a thistle, a stick, grass, bark, possibly some earth, etc. Hand out one bag to pairs of students and instruct them not to look inside. Then have the students reach inside their bag, feel the object, and describe its texture to their partner.
5. Next call on each pair to refer to the artwork and identify where they see an object or animal that might feel like the texture in their bag. When students think of an adjective describing the texture of an object in the painting, add it to the descriptor/adjective column in the word bank, next to the object it is describing; some objects will have more than one adjective associated with it. It also may be necessary to add the object to the identification column. Students may need help coming up with words, and other students could be called on to help.
6. Download, make copies of, and pass out the student handout "Tactile Poem Template" to each student, along with pencils or pens. As a class, review the poem template and fill in the descriptor words and objects that the students found in the work. Each student should fill in the vocabulary words from each column of the word bank listed on the board on their template.
The poem begins as in the example below:
In the painting A Hare in the Forest:
I feel a ____________ ____________.
7. Once the poem is collaboratively written, read it aloud as a class.
Begin by reminding students about the definition of a habitat. When you think of a hare, is the habitat depicted in the painting the type of place in which you would imagine a hare would live?
You could use this opportunity to discuss the differences between rabbits and hares:
- A hare is much larger than a rabbit and has longer hind legs and longer ears. When a hare is born, it has a full coat of fur, and its eyes are open. A mother hare has her young (called "leverets") on the open ground, and a hare can live on its own an hour after birth.
- Rabbits are smaller, and their young, called "bunnies," are born hairless and blind. Since bunnies are born helpless, rabbits must create a nest of grass and stems with a layer of fur that a mother rabbit plucks from her own body. This is how a mother rabbit keeps her bunnies warm, hidden, and safe from predators.
- Rabbits burrow in the ground and stay hidden during daylight hours, while hares stay on the surface among plants, and usually try to escape enemies by running. In the painting A Hare in the Forest, the hare is surrounded by the types of food it eats, such as bark, buds, small twigs, and shoots. As a class, research more of the differences between the two animals.
To introduce new vocabulary about textures, have students go out of the classroom to do texture rubbings. Have the students do rubbings based on the textures identified in A Hare in the Forest—leaves, bark, grasses, rocks, etc. Ask students to label the rubbings with the object from which they made their rubbing and a descriptor of the texture, such as bumpy, rough, etc.
Common Core Standards for English Language Arts
SPEAKING AND LISTENING
K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and text with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
K.6 Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
1.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.
1.4 Describe familiar people places, things, and events, with relative details expressing ideas and feelings more clearly.
2.4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audible in coherent sentences.
3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
4.3 Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker or media source provides to support particular points.
4.6 Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 4 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
5.3 Summarize the points a speaker or media source makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence, and identify and analyze any logical fallacies.
K.5 With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
K.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.
1.5 With guidance and support from adults, demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
1.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because).
2.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).
3.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).
4.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).
5.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships
(e.g., however, although, nevertheless, similarly, moreover, in addition).