Participating and contributing resources

Task: Answer questions about a planned wildlife reserve. Assessment focus: interdependence of animals with their habitat.

Task: Label a picture with ways to protect ourselves from the Sun, and describe why we need to do so. Assessment focus: protection from the Sun's rays.

Students read a map of a new school, and answer questions about the placement of some trees. They are assessed on their ability to suggest the trees' impact on the school environment.

Students answer two multichoice questions giving explanations for their choice and two short answer questions.

Task: Design a station on Mars. Assessment focus: problem solving to meet human needs in a different environment.

Task: Demonstrate understanding of the pupil reflex of the eye, and apply this to answering questions about sunglasses safety. Extension questions probe understanding of who decides on and applies safety standards. Assessment focus: effect of UV light on the eyes and how it can be mediated by simple sunglasses technology.

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.

Students use their knowledge of the fire triangle to identify risk factors for a given scenario, and apply this to their own situation. They use rubrics to rate and improve some of their explanations.

Task: Sort cards to identify how four items of rubbish will impact on the beach, plants and animals that are found there, and humans. They then select items to remove and leave, and justify their decisions. Assessment focus: impact of materials on the environment.

Students identify where heat is lost from a house, explain ways to reduce heat loss and suggest ways to reduce heat loss.

Students design a low energy house.

Task: Using statements from four people decide and justify whether or not each person supports wind farms. Identify which person has a misconception about wind farms, giving a reason. Assessment focus: identifying different perspectives.

Students complete the wording for an advertisement about recycling. They need to complete sections on why, what, and how we recycle.

Task: Describe problems caused by cutting down trees on a bank. Assessment focus: erosion.

Task: Match recycled materials to their possible uses, and justify reasons for recycling. Assessment focus: reasons for recycling.

Task: Students suggest ways to stop sand dunes blowing on to farmland, and describe the predicted outcome of their suggestions. Assessment focus: application of knowledge of erosion to a specific situation.

Make observations from a photograph, identify potential environmental problems giving reasons, decide which problem is the most important and give reasons for the choice.

Task: Complete a drawing of things found on a dairy farm, and describe relationships between them. Assessment focus: interdependence in a dairy farm environment.

Task: Complete a drawing of things found in a garden, and describe relationships between them. Assessment focus: interdependence in a garden.

Task: Complete a drawing of things found in and near a flax bush, and describe relationships between them. Assessment focus: interdependence in a flax bush environment.

Task: Complete a drawing of things found in an area of native bush and describe relationships between them. Assessment focus: interdependence in a native bush environment.

Task: Complete a drawing of things found in or near an ocean, and describe relationships between them. Assessment focus: interdependence in an ocean environment.

Task: Students identify which different events threaten our native birds or have done so in the past. Assessment focus: identification of the specific impacts of human actions.

Task: Interpret a flowchart and text to identify in what ways goats are pests. Assessment focus: identifying ways in which goats are pests and how they are controlled.

Task: Match animal pests to the harm they cause, and use information about pest control. Assessment focus: animal pests and their control.