Students create character vignettes with a focus on writing pieces that are brief, descriptive and set in one point in time. They should not be concerned with plot. As the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity, students need to show a controlled and elegant skill in writing, and to use figurative language to 'show' rather than 'tell'.
Students write a set of instructions after reading a poem about cooking. Students self-assess their writing before conferencing with the teacher to set their next learning steps.
Students research and write a biographical recount on the life of a well-known New Zealander. Supports for this process and formative assessment points are given.
Students identify common spelling errors, taken from the essential word lists, and write the identified errors correctly. Students also identify lines of text without errors.
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.