Trees, Leaves, Seeds – Fact Finders Follow-Up Activities

Description

These activities support Years 4 to 6 students working through the Fact Finders text “Trees, Leaves, Seeds”. Students practise reading and hearing the long /ē/ sound, spelled ee and ea. The book covers why trees matter, what they need to grow and some of our best-known native trees, from Tāne Mahuta to the tī kōuka.

Inside this pack:

1. Activity sheet (two pages)

• Word Reading: ten words from the text to practise, like bees, leash and weave, plus a Quick Draw challenge.
• Comprehension Questions: four questions based on the question types in the Fact Finders Teacher Support Materials. Students can talk them through or write their answers.
• Comprehension Activity: students draw lines to match the kauri, cabbage tree, beech tree and kahikatea to the right fact.
• Vocabulary: a closer look at “seedling”, covering its sounds, syllables, spelling and meaning.
• Literacy Skills: students choose ee or ea to finish words in five sentences from the book.
• Fun Fact: learn why kererū are so important for our forests.
• Creative Task: students draw a native tree with a creature that calls it home, and label three parts.
• Apply Your Knowledge: QR codes link to a screened video and a Ministry of Education journal all about trees.

2. Lesson plan: guided reading questions for each double page, along with phonics focus words and key vocabulary.

3. Answers included

4. Phonological awareness slides (for PowerPoint or Google Slides)

• Students take away, add, change and count the sounds in words like clean, teeth, breathe and seedling, then finish with rhyming words from the book.

Why it’s designed this way:
These sheets follow the same layout as my Year 3+ reading resources. Older students who are still building their reading skills get work that looks like what their classmates have.

Use it for: small groups, literacy rotations, reading with a buddy, contract work or relief days.