Using language, symbols, and texts resources

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

Students are required to identify and interpret the metaphors in two short poems.

Task: Students apply both their knowledge of the functions of roots and information from a model to explain why care is needed when transplanting trees. Assessment focus: interpreting diagrams.

Students compare fractions, identify which is larger, and explain or show their reasoning.

This task requires students to show how to calculate multiplication problems with multi-digit numbers.

Students discuss making an interval estimate in multiplication problems (i.e., getting a lower and an upper limit for the actual answer using the front-end and rounding-up estimation methods). They then use this method on two problems.

Students estimate a subtraction problem, share their methods, discuss the rounding one number method, and then do more problems by rounding one number.

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.

The assessment focus is on the ability to make inferences about character and justify these with evidence from text.

Students calculate an exact square root and estimate approximate square roots by finding the length of the square flower bed of a given area, and give an explanation for their answers.

This task assesses student ability to find the text features of a science report about moa.

Students read through an article about a pending tidal wave. From their comprehension of the cloze passage, they fill in the gaps with their own words. SJ-2-2-1982. Text provided.

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.

This resource assesses students' ability to select appropriate key words, from a given list, for the purpose of finding information that can be used to answer a given question. Students' ability to generate key words is also assessed.

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

A model of combining two short sentences is given. Students create simple then compound sentences to go with some photos, using simple conjunctions to join sentences. A peer sharing task completes the resource.

Students create simple and compound sentences to go with given photos. The focus is on combining sentences, using simple conjunctions. A peer sharing task completes the resource.

Students convert fractions to decimals and explain how to do it.

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

This comprehension task assesses student ability to evaluate the ideas and information in a text about an environmental issue. Students are asked to read a text, then respond to four questions. SJ-4-3-2005. Text not provided.

Students identify spelling errors in common homophones and write the identified errors correctly. Students also identify lines of text without errors.

Students use an index from a book on windsurfing to explain their understandings of an index and to find specific information.

This resource requires students to answer questions about an index page.

Assessment focus: ability to de-construct and interpret messages in advertising, so that students can understand meaning-making processes in the construction of imagery.