Text studies#

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will focus on supporting your teen to:

• strengthen their skills in identifying what audiences want and need from texts in different literary traditions
• compare and contrast the features writers use if they want to inform, persuade, or be creative
• know how the choices made about character, setting and action, in visual, print and digital texts work together to create meaning and engage audiences
• understand the context in which a text was created such as the time period, culture, or events happening at the time, and how this helps analyse the ideas in the text.

By the end of the year, your teen will be able to, for example:

• know that people can respond to texts differently based on their own experiences
• identify how authors and speakers make deliberate choices in story elements and common ideas in texts to place them in literary traditions
• understand that texts by authors in New Zealand explore our unique way of storytelling and may also draw on and connect to global literary traditions
• know how to identify and interpret evidence from written, digital or visual texts to form opinions about the author’s purpose in creating the work
• question, analyse and compare digital information to consider whether it is unreliable, false, misleading or factually correct.

Language studies#

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will focus on supporting your teen to:

• adjust voice and pace based on the purpose of a speech
• know the features of oral presentations and different types of texts to persuade, explain, and creatively express ideas
• know the ways to communicate ideas through presenting and writing to persuade, inform, and entertain
• develop and organise ideas for presentations and writing including a speech, debate or persuasive text by using an introduction, paragraphs and clear conclusions
• strengthen their position in an argument by anticipating why people may disagree with their view and then disputing others' ideas to improve their main argument
• know how to summarise and organise ideas for a range of forms using introductions, paragraphs, and clear conclusions
• use a range of skills, such as constructive feedback, to review their own and others' work to make sure it meets its goal
• identify how to responsibly use and create digital media texts by correctly checking information, respecting viewpoints and respectfully communicating ideas.

By the end of the year, your teen will be able to, for example:

• consider the needs and expectations of an audience for a speech, piece of writing, or visual text
• combine ideas from a range of sources to develop strong arguments in oral presentations and texts, using evidence and facts to support viewpoints
• use ideas from different sources to back up their arguments with facts and evidence
• use critical listening and questioning skills to develop personal judgements on speeches or presentations
• know how to present ideas, experiences and characters in creative ways using the senses, time changes, and descriptive language
• use grammar and sentence structures to create stylistic effects for readers.