Talofa lava, Kia orana, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Talofa ni, Mālō e lelei, Ni sa bula.
Welcome. Nau mai, Haere mai.
Welcome to our mid-year, 2016 newsletter.
Here are the topics we’re highlighting in this newsletter:
- Our resource developers have been busy and have recently added 36 new online-interactive assessment resources to the banks.
- A selection of ARB resources that explore Poetry (for the upcoming National Poetry Day).
- Assessment resources for Conservation week 10th-18th September.
- We are always looking to work with schools for the piloting and trialling of new assessment resources. If you are interested in becoming involved, click on the link at the bottom of this newsletter.
New resources
The ARB team has recently completed and published 36 new online-interactive resources across the 3 banks.
We have also developed a number of ARB resources for Level 1 of the NZC.
English (10 resources)
Levels 1/2
Level 2
Level 4
Science (7 resources)
Level 2
Level 5
Maths (19 resources)
Level 1
Level 3
Level 5
We continue to re-develop a number of resources that can also be completed online.
A new conceptual map in Addition and subtraction has been created which has links to a selection of assessment resources.
Click here to see the Addition/Subtraction Concept Map.
In our last newsletter, we published the Geometric Thinking Concept Map.
Conservation Week
Conservation Week this year runs from the 10th-18th September. The ARBs have heaps of science resources that can support activities and learning that you undertake during this week.
We have chosen to highlight a few that could provide a starting point for some in-depth discussions about the complexities of conservation.
Identifying risk
Our new Level 2 resources include this idea. The ones most relevant to Conservation Week are:
Our new Level 2 resources include this idea. The ones most relevant to Conservation Week are:
Two earlier resources follow the same theme:
and at Level 4
Animal and plant pests
Level 3
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Conservation projects
Level 3
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Interdependence
Level 3
Level 4
- Waterways tag (this is a very energetic game that doubles as a fitness activity)
Level 5
There are many more. Use keywords to search for resources relevant to your topic.
Click here for more information about Conservation Week.
Some favourite ARBs
From time to time we review some of the most popular selections of ARB resources.
Our English poetry resources are always popular, and, with National Poetry Day coming up on 26 August, we thought we'd give you a selection of these resources to dip into.
For details about National Poetry Day, see https://www.facebook.com/NZPoetryDay/ .
Get involved in the ARB resource trials - September/October and March
As part of developing assessment resources, we pilot and trial our items with groups of students.
Pilots tend to be conducted with a smaller group of students and involve a visit from a resource developer.
Trials are independently conducted online, with students working in small groups or classes or in a computer lab.
We are always looking for teachers and classes that are interested in helping us with this process. The two times of the year that we look at trialling are September/October and March.
Both pilots and trials involve students using whatever online devices they use in class or at home (desktop, laptop, tablet).
It's a great way to see some new assessment resources as they are being developed.
If you are interested in participating in the ARB resource trials (and have a NZ-based classroom), please follow the link to ARB resource trials.
Of course we're always happy to get feedback and would love to hear from you about our website or our assessment resources.
Ngā mihi nui
The ARB team
follow us on 
twitter: @NZCERassessment
twitter: @NZCERassessment