e Habits OF - Burnet Middle School

Realistic
Fiction
~"e Habits OF
~~
by
Julia Schaffer
illustrated
by
Sandy Rabinowitz
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Read to
Fi:ndOut
How does Howie
learn to be more
responsible?
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Strategy: MoniTor Comprehension
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Vocabulary
• bulletin board, decency, delivery,
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• Sk ill: Make Inferences
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STRATEGIES & SKILLS AT A GLANCE
Comprehension
injury, mournful, shriek, slurp,
sympathy
Vocabulary 5troh~9Y
• Diction ary: Idioms
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Word count: 1,9611
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Tlr~M,Graw
HII/Compames
Macmillan
McGraw-Hili
Published by MocmillonIMcGrow-Hill, of McGrow-Hili Education. 0 division 01
The McGraw-Hili Componies. I nc" Two Penn Plazo. New York. New York 10121.
Copyr ight C by Macmillan/McGraw-HilI. All righlS reserved. No porI of t his publicaTion
may be reproduced Or diSTributed in any form Or by Dny means, Or sTored in a dOlobme Or
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leorning.
P,in l ed in The United Stales of America
t 13115 6 7 8 9 016 to 09 08 07 06 05
.... :~~e
~obits
Rabbits .. ..... .
by Julia Schaffer
illustrated by Sandy Rabinowitz
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Professional Dogs ........................ 2
Chapter 2
Howie's Fault .... ... . . . ... . .. . . ... . ...... 5
Chapter 3
What to Watch For .. ... . . . ... .... . . ... 10
Chapter 4
Howie Can Do It.
Comprehension Check.
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~o\lter
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Professional Dogs
Howie Jordan was slumped on a tattered
couch in the lobby of the Have a Heart Animal
Shelter. A big book called Professional Dogs
was open on his lap. He looked at a close-up
o f a dog trainer with a bomb-sniffing German
shepherd. "Now that's a job ," he thoug ht.
He fished out the last crumbs of ranchflavored chips. "Why can't r do somethi ng like
that?" he thought. "Why can't I do something
that matters to othe r people?" He peered into
his empty bag of chips.
"Hungry? " asked Ms. Alfonso. She was the
coordin ator of the after-sch ool program, and
Howie could see that she was ready to go
home. "I'm sure your mom wi ll be here soon,"
she sa id .
Thi r ty m inutes later. Howie's stomach was
growling. Ms. Alfonso was on the telephone,
tell ing someon e that she would be late. Th e
night staff were sta rting their rou nds.
2
Howie was starving. He felt like eating
macaroni and cheese. He crumpled his bag of
chips into a ball and shot it at the garbage
can. Howie looked up as headlights flashed
across the parking lot. "She's here!" he cr ied.
Howie's moth er pushed open t he shelter
door, saying, "Where's you r backpack? "
"Rig ht here," Howie answered.
Robe rta Jordan looked him over. "Where's
your sweater?"
Sweater? Had he worn a sweater t hat day?
"Um, let me check."
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Howie searched inside hi s backpack and
under the couch . Ms. Alfonso suggested they
look in the after-school room. There was his
sweater, the blue one with green stripes.
"Here it is," Howie ca lled, hurrying back.
Hi s mother said sharply, " Tomo rrow pay
attention to w here you put things. Don't
waste Ms. Alfonso's time."
" If you'd let me take the bus, she wouldn't
have to wait for either of us," Howie replied.
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Howie's fault
Howie was the on ly fifth g rader who
volunteered at Have a Heart. Even though the
shelter had pit bu lls and Rottweilers, he was
stuck g rooming bunny rabb its with t he fourth
graders. Today it was his turn t o change the
water. Howie went into t he rabbit room. He
didn't really like rabbits. They were babyish.
And they couldn't do anything interesting.
Who had ever heard of a rescue rabbit?
Howie opened the first cage. He pictured
the dog trainer from the book. With b lack
hair and brown eyes, the man could have
been Howie's uncle or his cousin. But Howie
felt sure that if he tried to become a dog
trainer, people would say that he had bad
concentration and couldn't be trusted. He
was so t ired of hearing that!
5
After he had changed the water in each
cage. Howie went back to the after-school
room . "You smell like rabbit," Billy Jefferson
whispered. Howie laughed. "Te ll me about it,"
he said.
There were shrieks from across the room.
Jessica Green was up out of her chai r and
poin t ing. There was a rabbit running across
the floor. And another. "That's strange," Howie
thought. "Somebody must have left the-"
He ran to the rabbit room . Rabb it s were
dart ing every which way. Howie grabbed
Guthrie. but the rabbit leapt out of his grasp
onto a table. It landed on the point of a
pencil and squealed .
Instantly there was b lood. Howie winced in
sympathy. Ms. Alfonso ran into the room with
a rabbit under each arm. She shut the door.
Howie dashed to the cabinet and pu lled
out cotton balls and antiseptic. "Here," he
sa id, placing th em on th e table. Poor Guthrie
was trembling.
" Howie," Ms. Alfonso said, looking him in
the eye. "Pack up your backpack and sit by
the door."
"But it isn't 6:00,"
" I don't want you near the rabbits."
" But it was a mistake. " Ms. Alfonso
didn't answer. "Don't you need my help?"
Howie asked.
"NO. I need to focus my attention on the
rabbits , which is what I wish you had been
doing. Go wait for your mother and for
goodness' sa ke s, close the door behind you!"
7
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~Wie's
heart was beating fast. An injury to
the paw could take a long time to heal. He
stood outside the rabbit room door, wishing he
could help. He felt his cheeks get hot. Other
kjds were watch ing.
"What happened? " Billy asked. Howie
didn't answer.
By 6:30, Roberta Jordan hadn't arrived.
Howie waited on the couch and never took
his eyes off Ms. Alfonso. Finally she asked,
"What is it. Howie?"
" Please don't tell my mother," he said.
"Don't you think she should know t h at
you left the rabbit cages open?"
" It was a mistake,"
Ms Alfonso sighed . "Your mother is always
late," she said, sitting down beside h im.
" I know. She works in a hospital that's
far away."
B
Howie continued, " It's her job to take xrays . She doesn't fi nish work unt il 6 :00. We live
really close. I could take the bus , but she thinks
I'd lose her money."
Ms. Alfonso pointed to the rabbit cage.
"Howie, w hat do you see?" she asked.
"A rabbit," answe red Howie. Obvio usly.
"And w hat is t hat rabbit doing? "
" It 's sitting, I guess. "
"Anyth ing else? "
W hat was her po int? "Sn iffing? "
"And?"
" I don't know."
" Yes, you do. Watch ."
"Um, it 's lifti ng its ea rs."
" Good. That's what you're going to do
tomorrow. You're going to watch the rabbit s
and ta ke notes on everyt hing you see."
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What to
Watch For
The next day, Howie sat down opposite a
rabbit named Libby. Every time Libby made
the slightest movement, he wrote it down. She
rubbed her chin. She picked at her hay. Then
he moved on to Mr. President. Whoever had
been grooming Mr. President had missed a spot.
As he moved from rabbit to rabbit, Howie
tried to remember their names. Velvet and
Black, the bunnies, were especially hard to
tell apart, but Howie noticed that Velvet's
eyes were bigger.
Around 6:00, Ms. Alfonso came by.
Howie could feel her watching him close ly,
just like he had been watching the rabbits.
"Tomorrow," she said, "I want you to do the
same thing." Howie smi led . It was peaceful
watching the rabbits.
10
A couple of days later, Howie watched
Guthrie for a long time, wondering how it
felt to have a bandage on his paw. Libby,
he not iced, was acting strangely. She looked
at Howie with mournful eyes, and Howie
wondered what was wrong .
It had been two days since Howie had
spoken to the ot her kids, but today Kevin
Acosta sau ntered over. "What's t he matter,"
Kevin asked, taunting, "a re you afraid of
rabb its now? Afraid they' ll bite you?"
Howie turned to look at Kevin. " No, Kevin,"
sa id Howie. "I'm studyi ng them ."
"OK, Mr. Professo r. Do you speak
Rabbit yet?"
0-
As Kevin spoke, Howie could see his eyes
darting from side to side. Kevin was checking
for Ms. Alfonso, and he was making sure that
Jessica Green was wat ching. "Howie, don't
you talk anymore?" Kevin asked.
''I'm just watching you," Howie said . Th is really
freaked Kevin out. He glanced down to make
sure his shi rt was tucked in. He touched his
hair to see if it was sticking up. He laug hed out
loud, but the laughter had gone o ut of his eyes.
The next day, as
Howie was watching
Libby, he noticed that
her chin was wet, but he didn 't understand
why. Did she slu rp up her water all at once?
No. The bowl was full. She hadn't eaten any
of her hay.
" Billy," Howie asked, "does it look to
you like there's something strange about
her front toot h? " Billy leaned in, and Howie
continued, " Does it look like maybe it 's
crooked?" Then Howie saw it clearly. "Yes!
That 's why she isn't eating! " he said . "She
can't bite properly! "
A few feet away, Ms. Alfonso was
changi ng the bulletin board, putting up an
article called "Is Your Rabbit Sick? What to
Watch For," Billy ran straight to her, saying ,
"Ms. Alfonso, Howie just discovered something
of great importance,"
13
Ms. A lfonso peered into Libby's cage.
"You're right. Howie, and I wouldn't have
caught it. Libby 's tooth needs to be clipped."
Howie smiled, and Bill y clapped him on
the back. " Nice goin'," he said. Ms. Al fonso
gathered the after-school kids in a circle for
a demonstration.
A voice in Howie's head said, "So
this is what it feels like to do something
that matters." As Ms. Alfonso began the
demonstration, Howie watched her closely.
If he ever had to cl ip a rabbit's t ooth, he
wanted to know exactly how it was done.
Ms. Alfonso held Libby as the kids filtered
out of t he room. " Howie," she asked, "would
you put Libby back in her cage?" Was she
serious? Howie reached out for the rabbit and
patted her. He was surprised when she let
out a purring sound.
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Howie Can 00 It
"I've decided to give you a job, Howie,"
said Ms. Alfonso. "You're good at observing
rabbits. When your attention is on them you're
as good as an X-ray technician." Howie smiled.
His mom would not agree. "I'd like you to
leave your notes for the night staff. If they
had been reading what you wrote, we cou ld
have caught Libby's problem earlier.
''I'd also like you to change the water-"
Howie started. "Yes, I remember what
happened . But I th ink that now when you 're
with the rabbits you aren't thinking about
something else, because you're interested.
The more you watch them , the more you
notice. Isn't that right?" Howie had to admit
that it was.
16
"So is it a deal?"
Howie was nodding before the word was
out of his mouth. "Yes," he said .
"Then let me show you where to leave
your notes."
" Isn't it past 6:00?" Howie wondered.
"Howie, if your mom has to work late, you
might as well do something useful. Anyway,
you've read that dog book cover to cover."
Ms. Alfonso pointed to a table. "This is where
we leave any delivery related to the rabbits. It's
where you should leave your notes for Mr. Cruz
and Mr. Simms. Let me introduce you."
They walked down the hallway and into
the dog room. Right away Howie noticed the
different smell and the noise. He shook hands
with the night staff. Both men had dark hair
and dark eyes like the dog trainer in the book
and like Howie himself, he thought, smiling.
17
""- ."
Half an hour later, Howie was back in the
rabbit room when he heard his mother's voice
asking where he was. Howie heard Ms. Alfonso
say, "He's d oing important work. But today
is the sixth time you've been more than
30 minutes late. Th is can't happen aga in. I
can't stay with any chi ld past 6:00." Was Ms.
Alfon so going to kick him out of the program?
She had n't even had the decency to warn him!
"Tomorrow," Ms. Alfonso continued, "Howie will
not set foot in th is building unless he has bus
fare in his pocket." Howie could have laughed
out loud.
,.
" Get your backpack," Mrs. Jordan said to
Howie.
"Sure, Mom. I just need to put Libby back
In her cage. She had a crooked tooth that
was keeping her from eating. We trimmed it
today." Mrs. Jordan stared at Howie. "Today
Ms. Alfonso gave me the job of rabbit
monitor because I caught the problem f irst."
He saw her eyes widen in surprise. " I' ve
been studying these rabbits for three days
straight." She looked as if she hadn't heard
him properly.
Howie returned Guthrie to his cage and
walked with his mother to the front door.
"Shall I expect Howie tomorrow? " asked
Ms. Alfonso.
It was only because Howie was watching
his mother very closely that he cou ld see the
sm ile in her eyes. Even as she mumbled, " I
haven't decided," he knew she was surprised
and proud.
As his mother walked out the door, Howie
turned to Ms. Alfonso and whispered , "See
you tomorrow."
19
Comprehension Check
Summarize
What
Text Clues You Know Inferences
What ski ll did Howie learn
in this story? How will
learning this new ski ll help
him? Use an Inferences
Chart to list events that
DDD
back up your response.
Think and Compare
1. Turn to pages '1 and 12. Kevin is taunting Howie.
How does Howie handle the situation? How did
watching the rabbits help him? (Make Inferences)
2 . Can you think of a time when you learned
something about an anima l by studying it?
What was the situation? Share your story with
a friend. (Apply)
3. Do you think it is better for an animal to
remain in a shelter li ke the Have a Heart
Animal Shelter or to be adopted by a
fami ly? Expla in your answer. (Evaluate)
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Write a Poem
Write a poem about a favorite animal. Read
your poem aloud . Then tell how you would
care for that animal.
Give a Report
People help animals in many different ways.
Contact the agencies listed and learn more
about how these organizations help animals.
Then give a report on what you ' ve learned.
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals
www.aspca.org
The House Rabbit Society
www.rabbit .org
People Helping
Animals
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GR Q • Benchmark 40
1he Habits O(
abbits
Howie has to learn to be responsible and
take care of rabbit s in order to stay in an
aftere school program. But will he be able to
do th e job?
5. 2 W ee k 1
T~~ M,Graw Hill cornpoo~,
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Macmillan
McGraw-Hili
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