English Units:Years 4-6
Oral Language Units
Insects
An integrated English/Science unit in which students are involved in a study of insects in their environment. Students will be encouraged to observe, investigate, question and share experiences relating to insects.
(Explanations, Reports)
Moving toys
In this integrated English/Technology unit, students will investigate a collection of moving toys, then plan, design and make a moving toy based on previously discussed criteria. At the end of the unit students will present their toy to the class as a seminar.
(Explanations)
Tell me a story
An oral language unit in which students use story telling techniques to share experiences and retell a range of stories on to audio tape. This unit could be adapted for any level.
(Recounts)
Through your ears and eyes
In this unit students learn to identify and apply interpersonal listening strategies in group and class discussion times. It could be used for a block of focused teaching and learning, or as an on-going unit, revisited many times during the year.
To Matou Wahi - Our place
An integrated English/Social Studies unit in which students are encouraged to investigate and explore the history of their local community. Local dignitaries and kaumatua are invited to talk about early settlers and the development of the area.
(Recounts, Reports)
Who? What? When? Where?
A unit designed to help students develop the skills to explore the structure and content of a range of narrative texts.
(Narratives, Recounts)
Visual Language Units
A journey through space
A unit in which students are taken through the resource-based learning/inquiry process. Students will be encouraged to explore a variety of resources, to find out about the solar system and history of space travel.
(Explanations, Reports)
Communicating with cards
This unit introduces students to static images and the use of figurative language in their writing of a Mother's Day card. The unit could be adapted to generate cards for other occasions, eg. birthdays, farewells.
Margaret Mahy
Margaret Mahy has won many awards throughout her career as an author. This unit is designed for students to find out more about this popular author, using the Internet as another research tool to gather information.
(Narratives, Recounts)
Persuading others
In this unit students explore television advertisements, looking at who they target, their verbal and visual features and stererotypes. Students use this understanding to produce their own TV advertisement using a video camera.(Arguments)
Postcards from my planet
This unit provides opportunities for students to share their holiday activities by creating their own postcards. The unit lends itself to creative illustrations using a range of visual media. Electronic postcards are also introduced.
(Descriptions, Recounts)
Read all about it!
In this unit students analyse the structure and style of news writing, editorials, letters to the editor and editorial cartoons before creating and publishing their own group newspaper.
(Reports)
Sound advice
In this unit students compare different media, along with several English Moving Image Exemplars, to foster thinking about the visual and spoken aspects of storyboarding prior to filming. They are encouraged to create narratives that enhance the visuals and/or lead to thinking about what shots best support the narrative.
Taking good care of ourselves
This is an integrated English/Health unit. The teaching and learning activities are designed for an Education Outside The Classroom programme. Students will, through active participation, identify and use safe practices and basic risk strategies in orienteering, cycling, water safety, and first aid.
(Instructions, Reports)
Telling a Story with Photography
A visual language unit in which students need to learn to use images effectively as part of visual language learning and to complement their written and oral language activities in the classroom.
Through the lens
A visual language unit in which students analyse and interpret a variety of photographs. Students explore the combination of visual and verbal features of photographs, headlines and captions to communicate information.
Written Language Units
Ahoy! Matey
This unit explores ways in which students will be able to create characters to use in narrative writing. Through close reading, students will gain an understanding of the structure and language features for narrative writing.
(Narratives)
A journey through space
A unit in which students are taken through the resource-based learning/inquiry process. Students will be encouraged to explore a variety of resources, to find out about the solar system and history of space travel.
(Explanations, Reports)
Antarctica
In this unit students take part in discussions on issues facing Antarctica and write a personal viewpoint on the future of tourism in Antarctica.
(Arguments)
Anzacs and us
In this unit students will look at New Zealanders at Gallipoli and the effect this had on our nation. Students are involved in close reading, poetry, music, and diary writing.
(Recounts)
Camp thrills, chills and spills
A unit designed to capture the joys, excitement and challenges of school camp through personal recount. This unit could easily be adapted to other contexts where students have a personal experience to share.
(Recounts)
Civil defence
In this unit, students will explore the purpose of the Civil Defence organisation and come to an understanding of how the organisation works to help people in need. Students will also develop an awareness of the need for a survival kit which could be used in time of civil emergency.
(Instructions)
Come fly a kite
This unit gives students the opportunity to use and become familiar with procedural text. They read, write and follow directions, learning how to make and fly a kite in the process.
(Instructions, Recounts)
Communicating with cards
This unit introduces students to static images and the use of figurative language in their writing of a Mother's Day card. The unit could be adapted to generate cards for other occasions, eg. birthdays, farewells.
Creative writing
A unit designed for students to explore creative writing ideas, selected from journal entries, through to the publication of a piece of poetic writing.(Descriptions)
Dick King-Smith
In this author study unit, students will learn about the life and books of Dick King-Smith. It encourages reading and writing through many varied activities.(Narratives)
Extra! Extra!
This unit looks at the development of skills in writing a report suitable for newspaper publication.
(Explanations, Reports)
Fab-fiction: Close reading
This close reading unit uses short fiction to engage younger readers in the key features of narrative. The aim is for students to read, enjoy and respond to a range of fiction, exploring how the writer has constructed the text to tell an interesting story.
(Narratives)
Fairy tales
Students study the features of narrative by looking at fairy tales and write a piece of narrative for publication in a class book of fairy tales.
(Narratives)
Fools and tricksters in literature
Trickster tales are great favourites in many cultures. These often feature an animal, representing the underdog, who uses skill and cunning to outwit a superior.
(Narratives)
Future community
This unit, combining transactional writing with interpersonal speaking, requires students to adopt a role in a fictional community. Children learn to work together to make appropriate decisions affecting the community.
(Arguments, Explanations)
Have you ever wondered?
An integrated English/Science unit based on students' "spider" experiences. Through observation and close reading of a range of texts, students identify the specific features of an explanation. Students write an explanation using information from observations and research.
(Explanations)
Investigating weather patterns
In this unit students investigate major factors and patterns associated with weather and are encouraged to explore relevant Web sites collecting, analysing, predicting, hypothesising and presenting data.
(Explanations)
Journeys
This unit explores ways in which students can recount personal experiences. The activities encourage students to become keen observers. This unit could be adapted to other contexts where students have a memorable personal experience to share.
(Recounts)
Journeys in books and pictures
In this unit students will look at journeys shown in a range of picture books, identify and compare special features of the books, and try a range of presentations including calligrams.
(Narratives, Recounts)
Leap! Frog
An integrated English/Science unit based on students experiences, observation and close reading of a variety of "frog" texts. Students write a report based on their observations, experiences, and investigations to share with their peers
(Reports)
Myths and legends
A unit in which students can explore, through close reading, the origins of stories that have been passed down through the generations to explain natural phenomena, the creation of our world and the adventures of fictional or story book characters.
(Explanations, Recounts)
Pathways
This unit gives students an opportunity to write and follow instructions in sequence through the construction of flow diagrams. They plan and record a variety of tasks with a range of options that involve decision making.
(Instructions)
Postcards from my planet
This unit provides opportunities for students to share their holiday activities by creating their own postcards. The unit lends itself to creative illustrations using a range of visual media. Electronic postcards are also introduced.
(Descriptions, Recounts)
Puppets
An integrated English/Technology unit in which students design a puppet and write a set of instructions to use in the construction of a puppet.
(Explanations, Instructions)
Read all about it!
In this unit students analyse the structure and style of news writing, editorials, letters to the editor and editorial cartoons before creating and publishing their own group newspaper.
(Reports)
Reading for meaning
This unit focuses on the skills and strategies needed for close reading to support the current topic or theme. Students choose non-fiction texts, use specific reading strategies to gather information to share and discuss with a group.
(Explanations, Reports)
Taha Moana - The Sea
Within the context of whales and whaling, students practise and extend their understanding and use of language through close reading and transactional writing.
(Arguments)
Taking good care of ourselves
This is an integrated English/Health unit. The teaching and learning activities are designed for an Education Outside The Classroom programme. Students will, through active participation, identify and use safe practices and basic risk strategies in orienteering, cycling, water safety, and first aid.
Tales of the Grimm brothers
This unit is a language unit, focusing on close reading and innovation of the Grimm Brothers' fairytales.
(Narratives)
The story of our lives
This unit is in two parts. In part one students are introduced to autobiographies with opportunities to select and read autobiographies of their choice and to talk and write about their own experiences. In part two students discuss, read and write a biography.
(Recounts)
Titanic
This unit is designed for students to listen to, read, research and explore the Internet find information about the sinking of the Titanic. The students respond by writing their own diary of events including a personal viewpoint.
(Recounts, Reports)
What a character!
In this unit students will explore strategies for creating and analysing characters. The character sketch is a component of a story and may be developed in a variety of ways through the reading and writing programme.
(Descriptions)
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
This unit will introduce students to oral and written arguments. Students will use oral and written language to persuade a target audience through a variety of activities.
(Arguments)
Who? What? When? Where?
A unit designed to help students develop the skills to explore the structure and content of a range of narrative texts.
(Narratives, Recounts)
