Te Kete Ipurangi Navigation:

Te Kete Ipurangi
Communities
Schools

Te Kete Ipurangi user options:



Literacy Online. Every child literate - a shared responsibility.
Ministry of Education.

Advanced search


Written language: Reading an information report

Updated: February 2020

This unit is designed to develop students’ understanding of the structure of an information report and to practise reading skills leading to formative assessment with feedback and feed-forward. Students will become familiar with the language used in assessment tasks.

Written language: Write simple information texts

Updated: February 2018

In this unit, students will work with text structures appropriate to the genre of information texts to develop their ability to use simple and compound sentences, present tense verb forms, make appropriate vocabulary choices and edit and proofread their texts.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) unit standards - Level 4 Millennium units

Formative teaching and learning resources

The topic of these Teaching and Learning Sequences are the evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals which were replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals in 2016.

These teaching and learning sequences focus on an evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals and lead to a formative assessment on the same topic. Summative assessment could focus on a different aspect or evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals OR be based on the Sustainable Development Goals.

These formative resources are designed to be used together. They recycle language to provide multiple opportunities for students to practise and transfer skills. For example, the listening teaching and learning sequence will ensure students have the background and skills that will enable them to better cope with the demands of the reading activities.

Each of the modules for the EAP unit standards (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) provides two sections:

  • Teaching and learning sequences with an overview of learning tasks, a number of separate teaching and learning sequences outlining the strategies and learning activities followed by the templates for those strategies and learning activities.
  • Formative assessment with an overview of the standard, assessor guidelines, student checklist, formative assessments and formative exemplars (these are exemplars for the purpose of giving feedback before students complete their summative assessments).

It is expected that teachers will select activities according to the needs of their students.

Teachers can adjust the teaching and learning tasks to a topic which suits their students’ interests, or their programme better. Here are some guidelines for adapting these units to suit another topic: 

Skill focus Unit standard Tasks
Listening

Unit Standard 22892, version 4:

Demonstrate understanding of spoken texts and process information in English for academic purposes.

Speaking

Unit Standard 22891, version 4:

Deliver an oral presentation in English for an academic purpose.

Reading

Unit Standard 22751, version 4:

Read and process information in English for academic purposes.

Writing

Unit Standard 22750, version 4:

Write a crafted text using researched material in English for an academic purpose.

What are the Millennium Development Goals?

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that were established in 2000. All 189 United Nations member states at the time committed to help achieve Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

Why the topic was chosen

This topic was chosen because the wide range of the goals makes them relevant to a large number of curriculum subjects and individual student interests. There are a wealth of resources of a suitable level available on the MDGs. It is expected that the topic will remain current for some time.

Acknowledgments

The writers of these modules are Jenni Bedford and Breda Matthews.

Activating prior knowledge

Activating prior knowledge is like preparing the soil before sowing the seeds of knowledge says Jim Cummins. By tapping into what students already know, teachers help with the learning process. This is because learning is relating the new information, or concepts, to what we already know. Some commonly used strategies to activate prior knowledge are: Graphic organisers; Concept maps; KWL Chart; Anticipatory guidesHot potato; Finding out tables; Learning grids; and Brainstorming.

Students learn a second language best when they are able to draw on their prior knowledge of their first language. Therefore students should be encouraged to use their first language within the classroom.

Primary

Secondary

Teaching and learning sequence planning examples:

Primary level:

Secondary level:

Freeze frame

Freeze frames are also called a group sculpture, tableau, still image, or picture window.

In a freeze frame, students work together in groups to visually represent one part of a story through dramatisation. It is a silent, motionless depiction of a scene. Members of a group use their bodies to make an image or picture capturing an idea, theme, or moment in time from the text. Each group presents their freeze frame to the rest of the class with the teacher counting down to zero at which point the whole group freeze into position. Freeze frame encourages close reading of a particular scene in a text and all students contribute.

Watch this video to see a year 12 english class using freeze frames

Teaching and learning sequence planning examples:

Primary level:

Secondary level:

Hot potato

In hot potato, students are put into groups and each student in the group is given a sheet of paper with a different topic or a question written at the top of the page. They are then given a short length of time to brainstorm and write down all the key points they can think of that are related to the topic before passing their paper on to the next person. Each time they receive a new topic the students read what is already written and add their statements. Key points cannot be repeated. The paper keeps getting passed around until it arrives back with its original owner. This strategy is effective in activating prior knowledge and vocabulary or it can also be used as a review tool.

Watch these short videos to see the hot potato activity being used in a primary classroom and in a secondary classroom

Primary

 

Secondary

 

Teaching and learning sequence planning examples:

Secondary level:

Learning grids

Learning grids help students to focus on the content and language learning outcomes of a unit and to monitor their own progress. They also provide immediate feedback to teachers on student learning, enabling teachers to plan teaching to meet the students' identified learning needs.

Teachers prepare a grid which lists the content and language outcomes of a unit or work. At the start of the unit or work the students tick the boxes beside the items they know/ can do, they then discuss with a partner the outcomes they have not ticked. This is repeated during the unit and at the end of the unit. The teacher can use the responses to inform the next teaching and learning steps.

Watch this short video to see a year 12 science class using learning grids

Teaching and learning sequence planning examples:

Secondary level:

Learning logs/Reflection journals

Learning logs are a way to help students integrate content, process, and personal feelings. Their use encourages students to be independent in reflecting on what they learn and how they learn. They also provide the teacher with valuable information on student learning and any gaps that may need to be addressed.

Students make entries in their logs/journals at the end of the lesson or sequence of work by reflecting on their learning by answering questions about their own learning.

Some possible reflective questions are:

  • What did I learn in class today and why?
  • What did I find interesting?
  • What questions do I have about what I learned?
  • What do I need help with?
  • What helped the learning to happen?
  • What connections did I make to previous ideas of lessons?

Rather than a logbook, some teachers will use an alternative way of recording student answers such as an exit form or Post-It note responses, follow up to learning grids, or even just oral discussion. The questions may be answered individually, as a pair, or as a group dependent upon the nature of the learning activity. RIQ is another metacognitive strategy that is closely related to learning logs.

Primary

Learning logs/Reflection journals in a year 7/8 science class

 

Secondary

Learning logs/Reflection journals in a year 9 maths class

 

Teaching and learning sequence planning examples:

Primary level:

Secondary level:




Footer: