Sharpening Together

Skills Needed

• Ability to draft structured essays or presentations.
• Skills in giving and receiving constructive feedback respectfully.
• Basic understanding of Tikanga and wairuatanga concepts.
• Critical thinking to evaluate and improve peer work.
• Collaboration and communication skills for group work.

Overview

This lesson helps students prepare for their assessment by drafting their essay or presentation and using a structured peer review process grounded in Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Students work in writing/presentation workshops, then complete peer feedback circles and teacher conferences.

Teaching Strategies

• Use of collaborative peer review to foster mutual learning.
• Modeling respectful communication grounded in Tikanga.
• Guided practice with teacher support during drafting.
• Structured feedback sheets to focus peer review.
• Immediate application of feedback through revision sprint.

Learning intentions

• WALT use the unit resources to strengthen a draft (essay or presentation) with clear structure and relevant ideas.
• WALT apply Tikanga and respectful communication practices when giving and receiving feedback.
• WALT use feedback to make specific revisions, explaining what changed and why.
• WALT reflect on how peer learning can strengthen belief, understanding, and wairuatanga.

Success criteria

• I can follow the assessment structure and include an introduction, main points, and conclusion (or clear presentation sections).
• I can cite/describe relevant ideas from unit resources accurately and respectfully.
• I can give peer feedback using agreed criteria and respectful language.
• I can revise my draft after feedback and show at least two improvements.

Curriculum links

• Religious education focuses on learning about, understanding, and responding to beliefs and values, including wairuatanga and tikanga.
• Communication skills: students organise ideas logically and use appropriate language for an audience.
• Critical thinking: students compare perspectives and justify choices using evidence from texts/resources.
• Social participation: students work collaboratively and communicate respectfully, including giving constructive feedback.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

0–5 mins: ### DO NOW — Quick starter activity

• Students note one strength and one improvement area in their draft.
• Share briefly with a partner.

5–10 mins: Opening and proverb link Students settle and read Proverbs 27:17 together. Teacher briefly connects “iron sharpens iron” to peer review: feedback is a form of care that helps everyone improve.

10–15 mins: Assessment task structure recap Teacher revisits the assessment expectations using a simple checklist (for essays and for presentations). Students identify which section they are drafting today and what “quality” looks like in their own words.

15–25 mins: Workshop—planning templates and next steps Students choose the template that matches their format (essay planning grid or presentation flow chart). Teacher circulates with quick prompts: purpose of the piece, key claim/central idea, where tikanga/wairuatanga ideas appear, and where examples from Aotearoa resources are used.

25–40 mins: Writing/presentation drafting (teacher-supported) Students draft independently using unit resources already studied. Teacher provides targeted support to groups:

• If writing: strengthen paragraph topic sentences and links between ideas.
• If presenting: strengthen the sequence, transitions, and a clear explanation of how each point supports the main idea.

40–53 mins: Peer review circles (structured feedback) In groups of 4, students use a feedback sheet with three criteria: clarity/structure, accuracy and relevance of ideas (including tikanga), and improvement suggestions. Teacher models respectful phrases and reminds students to “sharpen” not “score.” Each student receives feedback and records notes for revisions.

53–60 mins: Revision sprint (apply one feedback cycle) Students revise immediately for 6–8 minutes. They must make at least one change based on peer feedback and one based on their own self-check (e.g., adding a clearer link to tikanga or strengthening a concluding statement).

60 mins: Quick teacher conference booking + exit reflection Teacher confirms who will meet in the next session and collects a brief exit ticket: “One change I made today is…” and “One question I still have is…”

Resources

• Assessment task overview sheet (essay and presentation options)
• Planning templates (essay grid / presentation flow chart)
• Unit resource texts for reference: Tikanga Whakaaro, Discovering Diversity in Aotearoa, Te Paepera Tapu, Tikanga Māori
• Drafting materials: notebooks, laptops/tablets (if available), pens
• Peer feedback sheet with agreed criteria and sentence starters
• Teacher conferencing prompts (question stems for guidance)
• Timer and group roles (facilitator, reader, feedback giver, writer of revision notes)
• Display of respectful feedback norms grounded in tikanga

Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation of drafting choices and peer feedback quality.
• Review of student draft and revision notes against the agreed success criteria.
• Teacher conference notes capturing next learning steps and targeted guidance for improvement.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters, paragraph frames, or presentation script scaffolds; allow audio recording or typed drafts for students who need it.
• Support: offer a “must-include” checklist for tikanga and wairuatanga references to reduce cognitive load.
• Extension: require an additional perspective comparison (e.g., how two resources approach tikanga or belief) and a more precise justification for revisions.
• EAL/SEN: pre-teach key wording for feedback (e.g., “I suggest… because…”, “A clearer link would be…”), and provide models of strong responses; allow visual planning aids.