Thinking as a Whānau

Overview

In this twelfth lesson of the Matariki Reading and Writing unit, ākonga explore a shared text about whānau hopes and dreams. They use pictures and text clues to identify the main idea, ask and answer questions, and record one hope for their own whānau.

Learning intentions

• WALT read and discuss ideas about whānau hopes and dreams.
• WALT identify the main idea in a text.
• WALT ask and answer questions about what we read.
• WALT record one hope for our whānau.

Success criteria

• I can identify the main idea.
• I can ask or answer a question about the text.
• I can record one hope for my whānau.
• I can listen respectfully to other people’s ideas.

Curriculum links

• English — reading, comprehension, questioning and responding to ideas in a text.
• English — creating and sharing a short written response for a familiar purpose.
• Te Mātaiaho English — reading, creating and sharing texts to build connection, understanding and a love of language.
• Key competencies — thinking; relating to others; participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Picture walk and prediction. Teacher displays the illustrations and title from the picture-walk slides and invites students to notice people, places, actions and feelings without reading the text yet. Students turn and talk, then share predictions using the stems “I notice…” and “I think this might be about…”.

Ask: “What might this whānau hope for?” Record children’s ideas on the board. Explain that hopes can be big or small, and that every whānau may have different hopes.

2. 10–30 min · Shared reading. Teacher reads the story excerpts and response page aloud, pausing to model how to use the words and pictures to understand meaning. Re-read selected parts, tracking print and briefly clarifying important vocabulary such as whānau, hope, dream and together.

Students join in with repeated phrases, listen for what the whānau wants or hopes for, and think-pair-share answers to prompts shown on the shared-reading prompt slides. Model a think-aloud: “I think the main idea is… I know this because…”

3. 30–45 min · Question circle. Teacher places students in a circle and uses the question-circle slides to model question words: who, what, where, when and why. Demonstrate asking a question about the text and answering it with evidence from a picture or sentence.

Students rehearse with a partner before contributing to the circle. Invite students to ask or answer one question, using visual question stems such as “Who…?”, “What happened…?” and “Why did…?”. Classmates show respectful listening by looking towards the speaker and waiting for their turn.

4. 45–55 min · Whānau hope journal response. Teacher models a simple response on the story excerpts and response page: “I hope my whānau can spend time together.” Think aloud about choosing a hope that is safe and meaningful to share. Students draw and write one hope for their whānau in their journals or on the response page.

Encourage students to say their sentence aloud to a partner before writing. Scribe students’ ideas where needed, while prompting independent attempts at sounds, known words and a capital letter and full stop.

5. 55–60 min · Share and reflect. Teacher displays the sharing and reflection slide and invites several volunteers to share their hope, with the option to share only their picture or show it privately to the teacher. Students listen for similarities and differences between hopes and complete the sentence: “One idea I heard was…”

Resources

• the Matariki whānau reading and discussion deck
• the story excerpts and response page
• Class journals or writing books
• Whiteboard and markers
• Pencils, crayons or coloured pencils
• Prepared visual question stems
• Teacher-selected shared text excerpt, “Thinking as a Whānau”

Assessment

• During the picture walk and shared reading, note whether each student can make a relevant prediction and identify an idea supported by the text or illustrations.
• During the question circle, record students who can ask a relevant question, answer a question, or refer to a picture or sentence as evidence.
• Review the journal response for a recorded hope connected to whānau; accept drawing with oral explanation as evidence of understanding.

Differentiation

• Use explicit modelling, repeated reading, gestures, picture clues and short oral sentences for students developing comprehension or oral language.
• Provide partner rehearsal and visual question stems; offer choices such as “I hope my whānau can…”, “My whānau dreams of…” and “We can…”.
• Support EAL learners by pre-teaching key words with images, inviting home-language discussion, and accepting drawing, oral response or dictated writing.
• For students requiring additional support, work in a teacher-led group, scribe their ideas, reduce the writing demand and focus on one clear hope.
• Students ready for extension write two linked hopes and explain their relationship, for example, “I hope we have a garden so we can grow food together.”