Whole Class School Journal Resource Year 4 – The Sons of Ma’afu

Description

• Simply display the School Journal PDF on your projector or TV screen and distribute copies of the text between 2-3 students. With the slides in Presenter View, you’ll have everything you need for a successful lesson—just click and go!
• The resource divides the text into two manageable chunks to be read over three sessions, allowing plenty of time to dive deep into the vocabulary and content of the article.
• Along with the text, we’ve included a set of discussion prompts to get your students talking and thinking critically about what they’re reading.

• A GIST summarising activity
• A text structure analysis graphic organiser (story plot mountain)
• Critical thinking questions to encourage deeper connections and inferences.

• This traditional tale tells the story of two brothers with a reputation for trouble try to redeem themselves by carrying out some perilous tasks. Tongan students will relate to a traditional story from their culture. Some students may also be able to make connections to the importance of stars for navigation.

• Focus on monitoring comprehension, summarising, drawing conclusions, and using evidence.
• Comprehension activities that require students to do more than recall specific information.
• Literacy activities that link to key writing skills (sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, descriptive language)
• A GIST summarising activity, helping students condense the text into a 20-word summary, improving both their understanding and memory.
• A story plot mountain text structure graphic organiser to analyse the structure of this text.
• Explicit vocabulary instruction with definitions, examples, and semantic activities such as synonyms and antonyms.
• Activities that tie directly to the New Zealand English Curriculum for Year 4 students, with a focus on comprehension, summarising, and using evidence to make inferences.

• Promotes active learning and student engagement with a combination of reading, discussion, and critical thinking activities.
• Designed to build vocabulary and improve comprehension strategies, making it ideal for a wide range of learners, including low-performing readers.
• Helps students make connections between the text and their own experiences, deepening their understanding of the material.

• Monitor and confirm comprehension by annotating, rereading, asking, answering questions, and visualising.
• Summarise and draw conclusions, identifying key details supporting the text’s main message.
• Make inferences using stated and implied ideas, drawing from prior knowledge.
• Analyse text structure and the language used for effect with a text
• Think critically about a text by analysing perspectives and making connections.

• Use the PowerPoint in presentation mode for easy, seamless delivery.
• Display the text on the screen and give students a copy to read together in pairs or small groups.
• Follow the suggested activities over three sessions, with additional follow-up activities on days four and five to extend learning.