Pictures are given of the life cycles of three different animals (hawk, turtle and deer). Students identify which stage the animal's survival is most in danger and give explanation of why it is not safe. Students also give one special feature that helps this animal survive at this time.
Task: Complete a drawing of things found in or near a waterway, and describe relationships between them. Assessment focus: interdependence in a waterways environment.
Task: Describe on a chart how a duck's features help it to survive, then infer what might happen if these features were changed in some way. Assessment focus: how adaptations aid survival.
Task: Decide the advantages for survival of both introduced and native frogs' life cycles, explain how climate change could impact on native frogs, and identify level of interest in survival of native frogs. Assessment focus: using information about adaptations.
Task: Identify how features/adaptations of a starfish help it survive, and decide whether the amount of evidence from scientists' observations supports or does not support their theory/inference. Assessment focus: using observations as evidence to inform theories.
Task: Students interpret information about couch grass from a diagram and explain why its special features make it difficult to get rid of. Assessment focus: special features ensure a plant's survival.
Task: Read a short piece of narrative. Identify and explain the behavioural adaptations of oystercatchers. Assessment focus: interpreting text to identify behavioural adaptations and their purposes.
Task: View photograph to explain how a chiton protects itself in its environment. Assessment focus: identifying features that help to protect an animal in its particular environment.
Students view an online animation which illustrates stages of a volcanic eruption, write their observations and answer question about eruptions. Assessment focus: observations based on a model, and knowledge of volcanic eruptions.
Task: Order fruit according to size and number of seeds, make a generalisation about the pattern and use this to predict whether a fig has small or large seeds. Assessment focus: pattern seeking.
Task: Identify how the kererū's adaptations contribute to its interactions with its ecosystem, and how knowing about kererū's' adaptations can benefit both it and people. Assessment focus: using understandings about adaptations to consider actions affecting the kererū.
Task: Read information and compare the special features that influence the chances of survival of black robins and fantails. Assessment focus: interpreting text to identify risk factors for survival.
The context of this task is a story about a power cut. Students identify the changing feelings of the children in the story and record these as a graph over time.
Students read a narrative about how a character copes with changes in her family dynamics. Students then complete three tasks focusing on that character. Assessment focus: an evaluation of a character and the author's construction of her. (The text used for this resource is reproduced under the "Working with Students" tab.) Reading age 10-12. SJ-4-2-2000. Text not provided.
This practical task has two parts. The first part of this practical requires students to observe the effects of different indicators on different substances. Students use these results to identify if some other substances are acid, alkali, or neutral.