Read Between Lines

Overview

Students practise responding to the non-fiction section of the unfamiliar-text assessment by analysing how a writer creates meaning and effects. They begin with a fast “headline detective” challenge using a short Aotearoa New Zealand text, then apply the same reading process to the article extract about manta rays in the Hauraki Gulf.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify significant aspects of a non-fiction text, including purpose, audience, ideas, language features and structure.
• WALT explain how specific words and details create meaning and effects.
• WALT support ideas with relevant evidence from the text.
• WALT connect a writer’s choices with purpose and wider Aotearoa New Zealand context.

Success criteria

• I can identify what the writer wants readers to think, feel or understand.
• I can select short, specific evidence from the text.
• I can explain how a language feature or structural choice affects the reader.
• I can link the writer’s choices to the text’s purpose and context.

Curriculum links

• Demonstrate understanding of significant aspects of unfamiliar texts: describe how meanings and effects are created using supporting evidence.
• Explain how significant aspects work together to create meaning and effects.
• Discuss the relationship between text features, writer’s purpose and wider context.
• New Zealand Curriculum Refresh: strengthen literacy through close reading, critical thinking, communication, and making meaning from written texts.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook: Headline detective. Display the short NZ-focused practice paragraph in the headline detective challenge and ask students to predict the writer’s purpose from the headline, image idea and first sentence; students make a silent prediction, then justify it to a partner using one word or phrase from the paragraph.

Practice paragraph: At dawn, volunteers carried buckets of native seedlings up the steep track above Ōhope Beach. The wind pushed salt into their faces, but nobody stopped. Each plant would help hold the dunes together and give tūī and korimako more shelter. “It feels small,” said Mere, “until you see the hill covered in green.”

2. 5–12 min · Share and teach the reading routine. Use the five-question reading routine to model the questions “What is the purpose?”, “Who is the audience?”, “What ideas matter?”, “Which choices create an effect?” and “What wider context is present?”; students annotate the practice paragraph with P for purpose, I for idea, L for language and C for context.

3. 12–18 min · Build an evidence explanation. Model one response using the paragraph: “The writer creates a hopeful mood through the image of the hill ‘covered in green’. This helps readers understand that small conservation actions can create a visible change.” Students improve a weaker explanation by adding a feature, effect and purpose link, using the unfamiliar-text analysis worksheet.

4. 18–30 min · First reading: unfamiliar non-fiction. Distribute the 2025 resource-booklet extract, “’Giant batmobiles’: In search of the manta rays of the Hauraki Gulf”, and display the manta-ray article and first-read prompts; students read independently once for overall meaning, circle unfamiliar words, underline striking details, and write a six-word summary.

5. 30–42 min · Pair analysis and paragraph planning. Students work in pairs with the unfamiliar-text analysis worksheet to record the article’s purpose and audience, two observations about the environment or manta rays, one idea about protecting animals, and two language features with quoted evidence. They then plan a paragraph answering: “How does the writer help us understand the experience of Manta Watch?” using the structure feature → evidence → effect → purpose/context. Circulate, checking that students explain evidence rather than simply naming it.

6. 42–50 min · Share, write and exit check. Use the paragraph challenge and plenary to show a choice of two evidence examples; students independently write one developed paragraph, then complete the worksheet exit check: “The writer’s purpose is… One important choice is… This affects the reader by…”. Invite two students to read responses and identify where evidence and explanation are strongest.

Resources

• the complete reading and analysis slide deck
• the unfamiliar-text analysis worksheet
• Printed or digital copy of the 2025 non-fiction resource-booklet extract
• Highlighters or coloured pens
• Whiteboard and markers
• Timer
• Headphones or teacher-read audio recording of the article, if available

Assessment

• Listen to partner explanations during the headline challenge and check whether students distinguish purpose from topic.
• Review annotations and the worksheet planning grid for specific evidence and a clear feature–effect explanation.
• Collect the final paragraph or photograph it for formative feedback. Check for a relevant answer, accurate evidence, explanation of effect, and a connection to purpose or context.

Differentiation

• Provide a dyslexia-friendly worksheet with a clear sans-serif font, generous spacing, short instructions, and the article split into manageable sections. Allow students to use a ruler or reading window.
• For students with audio-processing needs, provide the article in advance where possible, read it aloud in short sections, pause after each paragraph, and display written instructions rather than relying only on oral explanation.
• Support students needing more structure with sentence frames: “The writer uses ___ in the words ‘___’ to create ___, which helps the audience understand ___.”
• Challenge confident readers to discuss how the title, scientific information and energetic descriptions work together to shape the audience’s attitude towards manta rays and conservation.