MODULE SUMMARY

Essential Question: How do farm animals in informational texts compare with farm
animals in fictional stories?

Summary
TOPIC Enduring Understandings
Kindergartners love animals, and these stories about pigs, lambs, Informational texts teach about real life.
and horses beckon students to learn more. The animal folktales Animals behave realistically in
featured in this module are engaging and fun, as well as informational texts.
foundational texts for cultural literacy. Students are exposed to
factual information about animals and to imaginative depictions An author uses imagination to create
of animals that talk and behave like people. fictional stories.
Sometimes, animals act like people in
TEXTS fictional stories. They talk, cook, and build
houses.
Students are introduced to farm life and farm animals through
informational texts: On the Farm, Farm Animals, and The Year at In real life, farm animals live on farms.
Maple Hill Farm. With this background, students read modern They help people in different ways.
adaptations of classic folktales: The Three Little Pigs, The Little
Informational texts and fictional stories
Red Hen, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. To provide context for
are structurally different. Fictional stories
these tales, sections of The Year at Maple Hill Farm are read
have characters, settings, problems, and
throughout the module, season by season.
solutions. Informational texts give facts
about a topic.
READING TRANSFERABLE LEARNING
To learn story elements, students close read multiple versions of Focus Questions
the same tales, comparing and contrasting their plots, narrators,
characters, and messages. To become skilled readers of What makes each farm animal special?
informational texts, students learn to identify a texts main topic What are the parts of a fictional story?
and to retell important details by listening carefully and reading
images closely. Throughout the module, students analyze how How can farm animals in stories act like
animals are portrayed in fictional stories versus informational people?
text, allowing them to see how fiction and nonfiction differ. What happens to farm animals in each
season of the year?
WRITING TRANSFERABLE LEARNING How do farm animals in informational
In this module, students continue to write narratives. They write texts compare with farm animals in
in a mode that mirrors how they speak about events in their own stories?
lives, which provides excellent context for early writing
instruction. Students transfer what theyve learned about story
elements to write original stories about farm animals. To help
give students the facts and vocabulary they need, the first writing task previews informational writing.

Students continue to become familiar with the writing process, learning lessons on oral rehearsal, giving and responding
to feedback, revising their work and sharing it with others. Early in kindergarten, students stories may consist mostly of
illustrations with labels and phonetic spelling. A sentence might consist of actual written words, phonetic
approximations, or even drawings with dictation to a teacher. In their writing, students practice skills like using capital

GRADE K | MODULE 2 | LESSON 1 | PAGE 4

and lowercase letters, as well as sounding out the ending sounds of words. Writing craft is emphasized, particularly
selecting specific details for a narrative.
NOTES FOR TEACHERS
Texts in this module will be read aloud to students, but students should be able to read the texts to themselves using
the pictures and perhaps occasionally sounding out some key words. To develop their joy and independence as readers,
students need plenty of time and encouragement to read on their own or with a partner, turning pages and talking
about what they see. For other ways to support these important learning behaviors, see this video of a kindergarten
class partner reading.

The writing in this module gives students an authentic purpose for integrating foundational skills such as letter
formation, spelling and sentence construction. However, students must also receive direct instruction in these skills,
provided by the shared writing and foundational skills sections of the literacy block.

In this module, students reinforce their comfort with close reading and the writing routines introduced in module one.
Students are introduced to the Socratic seminar in lesson 34. This discussion routine supports synthesis and analysis of
the modules texts. Teachers are encouraged to consult the TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE for guidance in preparing for
Socratic Seminars.

Feedback Survey
As teachers and leaders doing the work of Wheatley with students on a daily basis, we truly value your feedback as we
continue curriculum work this year--and as we begin to plan for the 18-19 school year! While we must be strategic about
what we modify this year, we will use your feedback to guide our work both this year and beyond. Please use this form
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GRADE K | MODULE 2 | LESSON 1 | PAGE 5