Survival Through Story

Overview

Students use Moriori: A Story of Survival as a model text for planning and drafting a short informative response about how Moriori survived and maintained their identity. They will synthesise key notes, organise ideas into cohesive paragraphs, and select transitions suited to an informative purpose.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify and prioritise important information in a journal article.
• WALT choose a planning strategy that helps organise ideas for an informative response.
• WALT structure ideas into connected paragraphs using topic sentences and transitions.
• WALT use evidence from a source to explain how Moriori demonstrated survival and resilience.

Success criteria

• I can record key words and phrases rather than copying whole sentences.
• I can group related notes under clear headings.
• I can write a focused paragraph with a topic sentence, evidence, explanation and linking words.
• I can explain how my writing shows respect for Moriori identity and history.

Curriculum links

• Writing Processes / Planning / Practices: selecting and adapting planning and note-taking strategies for a purpose, form or genre.
• Writing Processes / Planning: using graphic organisers, outlines or mind maps to organise ideas clearly.
• Writing Processes / Planning / Practices: synthesising and prioritising notes using key words, phrases and annotations.
• Writing Processes / Planning / Practices: structuring ideas into cohesive sections with transitions and paragraph organisation suited to an informative purpose.

Lesson structure (35 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Activate prior knowledge. Teacher displays the opening question in the introduction and hook slides: “What might help a people survive when others misunderstand or mistreat them?” Establish that students should listen for evidence rather than make assumptions about Moriori. Students briefly think, pair and share one possible factor, such as community, knowledge, leadership, place or culture.

2. 4–10 min · Read and notice. Teacher reads a selected section of Moriori: A Story of Survival aloud while students follow their copy; pause to clarify unfamiliar words and model a respectful response to historical information. Students underline or annotate two details that show survival, identity or resilience. Students who need support may listen without writing during the first reading.

3. 10–16 min · Model note-making. Teacher uses the note-making model slides and demonstrates changing a sentence into brief notes. For example: “Moriori maintained peaceful practices despite pressure” becomes “peaceful practices / maintained identity / pressure”. Think aloud: “I keep the idea, remove unnecessary words, and place it under a useful heading.” Students suggest a second example and identify which words are essential.

4. 16–24 min · Plan collaboratively. Teacher distributes the Moriori evidence and paragraph planner. In groups of four, students pool their annotations and complete three sections: “What happened?”, “How did Moriori survive or maintain identity?”, and “Why is this significant?” They must use key words, add the page or paragraph location of evidence where available, and draw arrows or annotations to show connections. Teacher circulates, checks that notes are prioritised rather than copied, and prompts groups to combine similar ideas.

5. 24–31 min · Draft one paragraph. Teacher displays the paragraph structure in the drafting and transition slides: topic sentence, evidence, explanation, link. Model a concise topic sentence and demonstrate transitions such as “For example”, “This shows”, “In addition” and “As a result”. Students independently write one paragraph answering: “How did Moriori show survival and resilience?” They use their group plan but write in their own words.

6. 31–35 min · Share and assess. Teacher displays the final checklist in the peer-check and plenary slides and asks students to swap writing with a partner. Partners identify the topic sentence, underline evidence, circle one transition and give one specific improvement. Students complete a brief exit response on the bottom of the Moriori evidence and paragraph planner: “The most useful planning choice I made was… because…”

Resources

• Copies or teacher extract of Moriori: A Story of Survival
• the complete introduction, modelling, drafting and plenary slide deck
• the Moriori evidence and paragraph planner
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Exercise books or writing devices
• Board and markers

Assessment

• During reading and group planning, check whether students select relevant evidence and convert sentences into key words or phrases.
• Confer with groups: ask students to explain why they placed a note under a particular heading and what connection it has to another note.
• Review the drafted paragraph and exit response for a clear focus, relevant evidence, explanation, purposeful transitions and respectful language.

Differentiation

• Provide a pre-highlighted extract, a reduced choice of headings and a word bank including survival, identity, community, culture, pressure, maintain, protect and resilience.
• Offer sentence starters: “Moriori showed survival by…”, “For example, the article explains…”, “This is significant because…”
• Allow students to orally rehearse their paragraph with a partner or teacher before writing; use speech-to-text or scribing where appropriate.
• Extend confident writers by asking them to connect two pieces of evidence, acknowledge a change or challenge, and write a second paragraph with a contrasting transition.
• For multilingual learners, preview key vocabulary with simple explanations and visuals, and accept labelled notes or bilingual planning before the English draft.