First graders gather information from a variety of texts to more deeply understand the connections between literary and informational texts. They build on knowledge of the seasons to focus on the life cycles of animals, specifically frogs and toads. Students explore how animals grow and change over time and describe that process in writing. Students gain knowledge of how and why characters interact throughout a story, the importance of punctuation for developing understanding, and the differences between literary and informational texts, culminating in their writing of both a narrative story and an informational report.