Carrots in the Classroom?

During my internship, the other teachers and I were trying to encourage the students to read more books. Well I had recently gotten my Angora's when inspiration struck! I had been struggling to name them and had found the perfect way to combine two of my passions...teaching, and caring for the newest members of the family! Thus, Name That Hare! Was born!

Female (Later named Fiona)

Male (later named Shrek)

Prior to the competition I allowed the students to choose six possible names for both the male and female rabbits. (Two names per rabbit per fourth grade class.)

Here's how it works...

1. Students read books on their level and take an AR (Accelerated Reading) test that tests their comprehension of the book.

2. Students who score an 80% or higher show their reading log to me and I gave them a ticket that they could used to vote on their favorite names. (One boy name and one girl name).

3. On the bottom of the poster I kept a tally of how everyone voted so they could easily see which of the names were winning.

The students LOVED it. They became very competitive and read more so they could vote for the names they loved the most. The winners were Shrek and Fiona (although I thought Mr. Fluffystein was really cute). The competition lasted a month and to keep them encouraged I brought in short videos I taped of the bunnies playing in their pens.

Sometimes it's those impromptu things that just work the best! :)

~That Farm Girl Teacher