Lesson Plan: Describing Holidays in New Zealand

Subject: English

Year Level: Year 5

Duration: 50 Minutes

Class Size: 25 Students

Curriculum Area and Level

• Curriculum Area: English
• Curriculum Level: Level 2 / Level 3 (New Zealand Curriculum)
• Strand: Listening, Reading, and Viewing
• Achievement Objectives:
  • Purposes and audiences: Show some understanding of how to shape texts for a purpose and an audience.
  • Ideas: Create texts by integrating sources of information and processing strategies with developing confidence.
  • Language features: Use language features appropriately, showing some understanding of their effects.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Describe different ways people spend their holidays in New Zealand, focussing on a variety of cultural and regional practices.
2. Write a personal recount of a favourite holiday experience, using descriptive language and detail.
3. Share and discuss their writing with peers, providing constructive feedback.

Resources

• Whiteboard and markers
• Example texts about New Zealand holidays (provided in class)
• Writing notebooks or sheets of paper
• Laptops or tablets (optional for research)
• Link to articles on New Zealand holidays

Lesson Outline

Introduction (10 minutes)

1. Warm-up Discussion: Ask students to share what they did during their last school holiday. Write their activities on the board.
2. Introduction to the Topic: Explain that today’s lesson will focus on how to describe holidays. Discuss the importance of using descriptive words and phrases to make stories interesting.

Main Activity (30 minutes)

1. Group Reading and Discussion:
   • Divide students into small groups.
   • Provide each group with different example texts describing holidays in New Zealand (e.g., Matariki, Christmas in summer, ANZAC Day, school holidays at the beach).
   • Students read the texts and discuss the main ideas and descriptive language used.
2. Writing Activity:
   • Each student writes a short paragraph about their favourite holiday experience in New Zealand. Prompt them to think about the senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste).
   • Encourage them to use adjectives and vivid descriptions to bring their holiday to life for the reader.

Conclusion (10 minutes)

1. Sharing Session:
   • Invite students to share their writings with the class or in small groups.
   • Discuss the use of descriptive language and how it enhances the narrative.
2. Feedback and Reflection:
   • Provide feedback on their use of language and ideas.
   • Students reflect on what they learned about writing and describing holidays.

Assessment

• Formative Assessment: Observe students during the group discussions and writing activity. Provide immediate feedback and guidance.
• Peer Review: Students give and receive feedback on the use of descriptive words in their written paragraphs.
• Teacher Review: Collect the written paragraphs and provide written feedback focusing on the use of language features and clarity of ideas.

Extensions

• Students can turn their paragraph into a full story as homework.
• Incorporate ICT by having students create a digital storyboard of their holiday using a tool like StoryJumper.

Links to New Zealand Curriculum

The lesson aligns with the New Zealand Curriculum, specifically focusing on the capability to think critically about text and express thoughts clearly. For detailed curriculum links, refer to The New Zealand Curriculum Online – English.

This lesson plan provides a structured approach to teaching Year 5 students in New Zealand how to use descriptive language in English, centered around the context of holidays, contributing to their development in the Listening, Reading, and Viewing strand of the English curriculum.