These tales tell us why Taffy the cat missed out on obtaining a place in the Chinese zodiac, where there was only space for 12 animals.
As we read the individual stories describing the animals, we not only learn about how they related one to another, but also how the order of these zodiac signs was arrived at during the culminating Farm Day event, where all the twelve animals participated – all the main characters except Taffy, the fat cat.
This teaching resource is suitable for students in New Zealand school years 5 through to 10 and their English-as-first-language equivalent in other countries: upper primary through to junior secondary. However, this resource is also suitable for the teaching of ESL and EFL (English as a second language or foreign language) learners, and there is a range of tasks which will suit all.