The Rabbit Problem

​When a book becomes a staple in one’s teaching routine, it should be shared with the world. Every year I break out Emily Gravett’s The Rabbit Problem for fun and to challenge the mathematical thinkers in my classroom. Her whimsical drawings and fun add-ons such as recipe books entice children to take a closer look at the text. The population signs which document Fibonacci’s Code spur readers to predict the next month’s population. At the end, I send students off to figure out what the January and February population of Fibonacci Field would have been if the rabbits hadn’t deserted the field. 

The Rabbit Problem
Directions: Read The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett and record the population in pairs for each month. Then, instead of returning to one rabbit the following calendar year, pretend that the Fibonacci code continues. What would be the next two numbers?

            Month                                                                                     Rabbit Population

January                                                                                                            1
February                                                                                                          ____ pair
March                                                                                                                ____ pairs
April                                                                                                                    ____ pairs
May                                                                                                                     ____ pairs
June                                                                                                                    ____ pairs
July                                                                                                                      ____ pairs
August                                                                                                               ____ pairs
September                                                                                                      ____ pairs
October                                                                                                            ____ pairs
November                                                                                                       ____ pairs
December                                                                                                       ____ pairs
January of following year                                                                      ____ pairs
February of following year                                                                   ____ pairs

How did you break the code?
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