52 Georgie the Bunny: Instructor guide

Georgie the Bunny’s Funny Tummy

Instructional Guide

Learners will explore the different causes, the clinical signs, and treatment to lagomorph(rabbit) gastrointestinal stasis (GI Stasis). The lesson will include a short story with embedded activities designed to reinforce the information in the story.

Intended Grade Level

1st – 5th grade. Students should be familiar with the general anatomy of hte GI system such as the stomach, intestines, and flow through the system.

Learning objectives

• Students will be able to define what normal diet is for a rabbit.
• Students will be able to identify what clinical signs of GI Stasis.
• Students will be able to know how to prevent GI Stasis.

Lesson Format

This can be done in a group of any size. The material can be presented online in front of the class or individually on personal devices.

• First students will follow the story of Georgie experiencing GI Stasis and complete the embedded activities. A audio file is available if needed. (30 minutes)
• Next, students will explore the GI track of Georgie and what different areas of the system do. Students can click the information icons and read more about each organ to access their knowledge on the gastrointestinal system. (5 minutes)
• Next, students will complete the assessment which is a drag-and-drop activity where students will place words relating to GI stasis and Georgie’s story into the correct spots in the poem to assess their understanding. (5 minutes)
• Students will then play a matching game where there are causes of GI stasis and they must find the duplicate card to match them together. This will test their grasp of the causes of GI Stasis. (10 minutes)
• Lastly, students will test their knowledge by dragging and dropping words into the supplied story about Georgie. (5 minutes)

Lesson Background

The story the students will hear is about Georgie the rabbit. Georgie is stressed due to a test coming up and to sooth himself he is grooming. This excessive grooming leads to an constipation and an upset stomach (signs of GI Stasis). Below is information about Georges diet and bowl movements that may be helpful or pertinent to the story.

Good Rabbit Diet (Food)

Like all animals, rabbits need different types of food to keep them happy and healthy. The main things rabbits need from their diet is energy, water, and fiber.  Energy can come from yummy food like fruits and vegetables but must not be feed too much because they may become overweight. Water can be consumed either as liquid water or through the food they eat.

Fiber is a very important part of a rabbit’s diet. So, what is fiber? Fiber is a material that is found in plants that us humans cannot digest, but some animals like rabbits can. There are two different types of fiber, digestible and indigestible, but both are needed in a rabbit’s diet. The digestible fiber gives rabbits energy, while the indigestible fiber helps clean the rabbits gut, and keep everything moving through the rabbit.

Inside the Rabbit

Rabbits are different then us humans in their anatomy (where things are in their body). Rabbits are hindgut fermenters, meaning that they digest their food using an organ called a cecum that works with good bacteria to get energy out of the food. This bacteria produces nutrients that then need to be eaten again for the rabbit to fully digest the nutrients. In order to do this, the rabbit will eat a special kind of fecal ball (poop) called a cecatrope.

Rabbit Bowl Movements

The cecum (an organ next to the large intestine) is home to some good microflora (bacteria) that is responsible for processing fiber entering the gastrointestinal system. Rabbits themselves cannot digest this fiber, so they utilize the bacteria to help break it down for them. The bacteria process this fiber into digestible and usable nutrients. These usable nutrients get passed through the rabbit’s system and gets excreted as a special poop called a cecotrope. This cecotrope gets eaten by the rabbit to gain access to the digested fiber nutrients.

Activities

Link to student page: https://open.lib.umn.edu/giphysiolessons/chapter/group_x_student_page-3-3/

Activity 1: Story of Georgie’s the Bunny’s Funny Tummy. Students will go through Georgie’s story with the option of audio to have the story read to them. There are activities embedded in the story book.

Activity 2: Informational buttons on a rabbit’s digestive system. Students will click on the green info bubbles on the diagram of the rabbit’s digestive system to learn more about how food moves through their body. More complicated elements like the liver and pancreas are excluded.

Activity 3: Good sources of fiber sorting activity. Students will sort the foods into good and bad sources of fiber for rabbits.

Activity 4: Matching the causes of GI stasis in rabbits. Students will find the image matches. When the matches are found, it will tell them what cause of GI stasis the image represents.

Activity 5: Finish Georgie’s story. Students will drag and drop words into the blanks in Georgie’s story. When the story is finished students can check to see if they understood the story correctly.

Common misconceptions and challenge points

Some common misconceptions around rabbits include the thought that

• Rabbits should eat carrots.
  • Carrots can be a treat, but not the basis for the diet. Carrots have a high sugar content and should only be given in moderation.
• Rabbits who are experiencing GI Stasis will get better on their own.
  • GI Stasis is a very serious disease that can lead to other problems very quickly.
• Rabbits only need a few meals a day, just like dogs and cats.
  • Rabbits (prey) are not like dogs and cats (predators) and need food throughout the entire day and overnight. The way their digestive system works is that they need a constant supply of fiber in their tract to keep everything healthy and normal.

Assessment

Students will complete the drag and drop activity to access their knowledge of a rabbit’s normal diet. This will assess Learning Objectives 1 – 3. 

• Students will be able to define what normal diet is for a rabbit.
• Students will be able to identify what clinical signs of GI Stasis.
• Students will be able to know how to prevent GI Stasis.

Further exploration

Rabbit Diet Information from OSU

GI Stasis Information from Kansas State

The Scoop on Poop from ARBA