Thinking resources

Students choose the most appropriate topic sentence for a set of supporting sentences.

This task is about topic, supporting, and summary sentences in paragraphs of explanation.

This task is about topic, supporting, and summary sentences in paragraphs of persuasion.

Students identify which of four shapes created from equilateral triangles has the largest area and which has the largest perimeter.

This task is about identifying the topic sentence, supporting sentences, and summary sentence in a paragraph of description.

Students read a poem to answer questions that focus on the language used. Text provided.

This comprehension task involves progressively disclosing a poem. It assesses a student's ability to use evidence to predict what it could be describing. SJ-2-4-1994. Text provided.

This comprehension task involves progressively disclosing a poem to students. It assesses their ability to infer. SJ-1-1-1998. Text provided.

Students are assessed on their ability to retrieve details that support the main idea of an article about an endangered species.

Students consider the potential for chemical change when a range of everyday substances are mixed. They use logical reasoning to work out the consequences of four pairs of reactions.

This comprehension task assesses student ability to find details that relate to the main idea of a text about a Māori naturalist/scientist. Students are asked to read a text, find details about the given main idea, then justify why they think the main idea is right or wrong.

Task: Students decide what sort of animals two skulls belong to. A self-assessment checklist is included. Assessment focus: using evidence to identify carnivores and herbivores.

Students read a narrative and make inferences about the characters' feelings based on evidence in the text. Text is provided with this resource. SJ-2-2-1999. Text provided.

Students are required to identify whether a series of statements about the School Journal story 'Personal Mail' are true or false, and to support their opinion with evidence from the text. This task assesses students' retrieval and inferential comprehension skills. SJ-3-1-1991. Text provided.

Students read an article about the Moa then answer retrieval and inferential questions. SJ-2-3-1982. Text not provided.

This resource has students comparing four advertisements on holiday camps and identifying the meaning of a slogan.

Students use the scaled plan of a property to calculate the area of the pool, house, and lawn.

This comprehension task assesses student ability to find the main idea of a transactional text about a Māori naturalist/scientist. Students are asked to read a text, identify the main idea from three choices provided, and then justify why they think their choice is right.

Students read a story about family dynamics to answer inferential questions. SJ-3-3-1996. Text provided.

Students interpret back-to-back stem-and-leaf graphs. Knowledge of the median is required.

Students read an article about the development of safety glass to answer retrieval and inferential questions.

Students read a narrative about a family's encounter with a stray cat. They then use evidence from the text and their background knowledge to evaluate the characters. SJ-1-3-2008. Text provided.

Students read a narrative about how a girl deals with her anxiety over Sports Day. They then use evidence from the text and their background knowledge to complete the task. Assessment focus: evaluating. SJ-2-3-2009. Text provided.

The use of metaphors and similes is explored in this poem about umbrellas in a storm. Text provided.

Students read three texts and select the statement that identifies the main idea of each text.