An article about a female wrestler provides the context for this assessment that combines a retrieval chart with questions on alliteration, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Task: Match vocabulary and definitions, and select why these terms are useful to know when thinking about butterflies at risk. Assessment focus: understanding science texts.
Task: Complete a drawing of things found on a dairy farm, and describe relationships between them. Assessment focus: interdependence in a dairy farm environment.
Students first do the science activity Throwing balloons 3 or Throwing balloons 4 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 resource's writing task where they describe the balloon and what happens when it is 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 review their knowledge of greenhouse gases and the effects of global warming. They identify areas where they are unsure, as well as things they know.
Task: Complete a drawing of things found in or near a waterway, and describe relationships between them. Assessment focus: interdependence in a waterways environment.
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.
Task: Students explain six things that would be needed to develop and maintain an offshore island habitat for endangered birds. Assessment focus: identification of needs of endangered birds.
Task: Students interpret a graph to answer questions, and use background knowledge to justify their responses. Assessment focus: control of body temperature in different types of animals.
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 categorise statements according to whether they are evidence or inferences. They make inferences about moa, supporting them with evidence. Assessment focus: thinking in scientific ways.
Task: Predict which of three balls dropped from different heights will squash most, explain why, and design an investigation to test prediction. Assessment focus: acceleration and fair testing.
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.
This resource assesses a student's ability to skim quickly and find the answers to eight questions about islands in the Pacific. It is a timed exercise.
This comprehension task involves progressively disclosing a poem to students. It assesses their ability to use evidence from the poem to work out what it could be describing. SJ-4-1-2002. Text provided.