Text: Armadillos Sleep in Dugouts and Other Places Animals Live
Author: Pam Munoz Ryan Genre: Informational
Learning Goals: Language Arts or Content Area

The students will understand the places animals live in their natural habitats.
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The students will understand that author’s use different words to convey the same meaning.
Before reading:
Build background knowledge: None needed
Introduce story vocabulary: sturdy, nest (multiple meaning word), stamp
(multiple meaning word)
Set purpose: As I read this story I want you to listen to find out where certain animals live and rest. I also want you to listen for words that mean the same as sleep or rest. If we come across a word that you think means sleep or rest, I want you to give me a thumbs up. Authors don’t want to use the same word over and over, so they often use synonyms, or words that have similar meanings, to make the text more interesting. We will be discussing some of these words as we read.
During reading:
Teaching Points/Questions:
Page #2- How do the illustrations shown support the information we’ve read about? (they show the different animals and where they live- helps us to get a picture of the animals’s home)
What clue does the author provide to give the reader a hint of what we will read about next? (the inset at the bottom of page 2- “I’m a bustling beaver. Where do
I call home?”)
Page #6- There are 2 multiple meaning words on this page that I mentioned before reading. I want you to listen as I read these sentences again and use the clues in the sentence as well as the illustrations to help you figure out what these words mean in this selection. (Reread first sentence) The author isn’t referring to a postage stamp which is one type of stamp, what are the moose doing when they stamp out a moose yard? (stomping the ground)
We know that a nest can be something a bird builds out of straw and twigs, but think about how that word is used in this sentence. (Reread the next sentence)
What is another word the author could have used in place of the word nest here?
(rest, sleep) What details from this page helped you figure that out? (the illustration shows the polar bears sleeping)

Page #10- Listen as I reread this sentence. (reread 2 nd sentence)-What word did the author use in place of the word sleep or rest? (doze)
Page #14- I’ve heard people referred to as “pack rats” before. After reading the sentence about the pack rat and looking at the illustration, why might someone be called a “pack rat”? What clues did you use to help you come up with this?
(they collect a lot of things and keep stuff- don’t get rid of it- the picture shows all kinds of things lying around and the pack rat is bringing something else to his hut; the text says his hut is for the things he collects)
Page #18- The illustrator included a “cut away” of the dirt mound and of the burrow. Why is that helpful to us as readers? (helps us see what the termites do inside the dirt mound and what a burrow looks like under the ground)
Page #19-Listen as I reread this page. (reread) What is another synonym for the word rest or sleep? (snooze)
Page #22- What evidence do we see here that it is important for the animals to not only have a place to rest, but to also be protected from predators? (the armadillos dugout is covered by vegetation, the deer find a thicket when they want a safe location)
Page #30- How are elephants different from the other animals we’ve read about in the text? (they don’t have a sheltered house, they live in the great outdoors because they are so big)
After reading:
Comprehension focus: After reading, I notice that the animals adapt to their surroundings by using the resources around them to find a place to rest. Think about one animal we read about. Where does this animal live and rest? (answers will vary- each partner can share one)
Vocabulary review: _Review the 3 words mentioned earlier by having the students share a sentence with their partner using the word in the correct context-how it was used in the story.
Writing Extension: How are animal homes similar? Use details from the text,
Armadillos Sleep in Dugouts, as well as the main selection, Animals Building
Homes, to support. (This can be done as a shared or independent writing)
Possible Answers: Animal homes can provide a place for the animals to raise their young. They can provide shelter and also a place that protects them from predators. (they will use specific details from the stories to represent or show these similarities)