Thinking resources

Students enlarge a shape made of cubes and explore the relationship between the scale factor and volume.

In this practical task students design a net for a lidded cardboard cube to hold a tennis ball. They then cut out and construct the cube.

In this practical task students design a net for a lidded cardboard box to hold 3 "chocolate bars" represented by hundreds blocks. They then cut out and construct the box.

Students write arguments for and against school rules.

Students read a narrative that is about being different and about group dynamics. Assessment focus: an evaluation of characters and the author's construction of them. (A link to the text is provided. Reading age <8.) SJ-1-4-2005. Text provided.

From visual stimuli and a series of simple statements that describe personal attributes, students identify which person is being described.

Task: Answer questions about frog's skin adaptations, and use this information to think about consequences of chytrid fungus for Archey's frogs. Assessment focus: using information to think about management of native endangered species.

The assessment focus is on student ability to identify details that support the main idea of a text, and to identify where the main idea is developed.

This comprehension task assesses student ability to identify important information and establish the main idea of a narrative text. The text describes a person's experience of war and their learnings from it. SJ-2-1-2006. Text provided.

Students produce a simple written description, using nouns and adjectives with some precision.

Task: Select which state of water applies to a list of places where water can be found. Assessment focus: states of water.

Students read an article on cold water survival and retrieve information from this text.

This comprehension task assesses student ability to identify and justify evidence used to visualise and make inferences about a character and setting.

Students first do the science activity Throwing Balloons 2 (PW2548) where they predict, observe, and explain what will happen when a balloon containing another balloon filled with water is thrown. Then the students do this writing task where they describe the balloon and what happened when it was thrown, and explain why they think it moved the way it did. Six annotated exemplars of student scripts (writing) are included under the "Working with Students" tab.

Students are asked to match six everyday objects to the main energy transformation that occurs in each of these objects.

Students read the letters written by four different people and identify the main idea of each letter.

A newspaper article on the Wearable Art show is the context for this resource, with five short written response comprehension questions.

Students read a poster about railway crossing safety to answer retrieval and inferential questions.

Students read a narrative then complete three tasks that focus on one of the characters. Assessment focus: an evaluation of a character and the author's construction of that character. SJ-4-3-2004. Text provided.

Students are assessed on their ability to find details and identify the main idea of a narrative about a Cook Island tradition.

Students read an extract from Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' to answer retrieval and inferential questions.

After reading a narrative about a shrewd boy, students identify evidence in the text that supports their thinking. Assessment focus: analysing and evaluating a character and the author's construction of him. (There is a link to the text used for this resource in the Task administration section of the Teacher information pages.) Reading age 8-9. SJ-2-4-2000. Text provided.

Students produce a simple written description, using nouns and adjectives with some precision.

Students read a poster on sand dunes to answer retrieval and inferential questions.

Students read a recount about New Zealanders travelling in Africa, then answer retrieval and inference questions. The text is provided.