NZC - English (Phase 2)

Progress outcome and teaching sequence for Phase 2 (year 4-6) of the English Learning Area. From 1 January 2025 this content is part of the statement of official policy relating to teaching, learning, and assessment of English in all English medium state and state-integrated schools in New Zealand.

NZC – English

Years 0‑6

NZC – English

Phase 1 – Years 0‑3

NZC – English

Phase 2 – Years 4‑6

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English: Phase 2 (Years 4-6)

Progress outcome by the end of year 6

Teaching sequence – Phase 2 (Years 4-6)

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This page provides the progress outcome and teaching sequence for Phase 2 (Year 4-6) of the English learning area of the New Zealand Curriculum, the official document that sets the direction for teaching, learning, and assessment in all English medium state and state-integrated schools in New Zealand. In English, students study, use, and enjoy language and literature communicated orally, visually, or in writing. It comes into effect on 1 January 2025. Other parts of the learning area are provided on companion pages.

We have also provided the English Year 0-6 curriculum in PDF format. There are different versions available for printing (spreads), viewing online (single page), and to view by phase. You can access these using the icons below. Use your mouse and hover over each icon to see the document description.

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Te Mātaiaho | The New Zealand Curriculum

English: Phase 2 – Years 4-6

Expanding horizons of knowledge, and collaborating
Te whakawhānui i ngā pae o te mātauranga me te mahi tahi

Progress outcome by the end of year 6

The critical focus of phase 2 is for all students to expand their horizons of knowledge and their collaboration, while continuing to nurture a positive relationship with oral language, reading, and writing. Throughout this phase there is a greater emphasis on using literacy in all learning areas and increasing students’ overall and subject-specific knowledge.

Through an emphasis on communicating for learning, students enhance their ability to acquire knowledge through communication, in response to frequent opportunities to articulate their thoughts and ideas.

In reading, students consolidate their automatic word-recognition skills and further develop a love of reading. In writing, they explore diverse topics and genres with increasing technical accuracy, fostering creativity and enhancing their communication skills.

Students have opportunities to consolidate their learning through written text, as well as through visual and oral modes, and begin to use a range of digital technologies. As they use their literacy capabilities in increasingly specialised ways, students gain a more nuanced understanding of language codes and conventions, and how their use changes depending on context and purpose. Students deepen their understanding of the role of story in people’s lives and the ability of stories to shape lives. They understand that stories from New Zealand and the wider world are a source of insight into places and people. They also understand the influence of texts on themselves and on those who are represented in and by texts.

The phase 2 progress outcome describes the understanding, knowledge, and practices that students have multiple opportunities to develop over the phase.

The phase 2 progress outcome is found below in the following table.

Understand

Communication depends on shared codes and conventions. | E kore te whakawhiti kōrero e haere ki te kore he kawa, he tikanga e mōhiotia ana e te katoa.

Shared codes and conventions enable us to make sense of what is heard, read, and seen. They change over time and are used differently in different contexts. How we use language in Aotearoa New Zealand (including accuracy, fluency, comprehension, and expression) has been shaped by our histories and linguistic heritages, and the encounters between them.

Language and literature give us insights into ourselves and others. | Mā ō tātou reo me ngā tātai kōrero ka mārama tātou ki a tātou anō, ki tangata kē anō hoki.

Through our encounters with literature and other texts, we learn more about ourselves and come to understand and appreciate more about other people and the world around us. As we grow as text creators, we develop our own voice and identity and make our own unique contributions. This enables us to further understand ourselves and others, and helps others to better understand us.

The stories of Aotearoa New Zealand are unique and special. | He taonga tuku iho ahurei ngā pūrākau o Aotearoa, nō konei taketake.

Through the literatures of New Zealand and the Pacific, we understand where we have come from, who we are, and what it means to live in Aotearoa New Zealand. The stories, authors, and languages of New Zealand represent knowledge and experiences shared across time and place, and connect us to global literary and linguistic traditions.

Stories are a source of joy and nourishment. | Hei puna harikoa, hei puna waiora hoki ō tātou pūrākau.

Reading, hearing, and creating stories provide opportunities to experience different worlds through creativity, imagination, and interaction. Stories may be classic or contemporary, fiction or non-fiction, narrative or non-narrative. They may cross boundaries in relation to mode and medium. Broadening and deepening an intellectual and aesthetic appreciation of classic and contemporary stories makes our lives fuller and richer.

Literature, language, and texts express, influence, and explore perspectives and ideas. | Kei ngā mātatuhi, kei te reo, kei ngā tuhinga hoki te whakaahuatanga o te mana tangata, mana rōpū.

Literature and language have been used throughout history to express, challenge, promote, and influence perspectives and ideas. Recognising and understanding the impact that literature and language can have enables us to explore the development and representation of ideas, events, and relationships in different contexts and at different points in time.

Know

Text purposes and audiences | Ngā whāinga me ngā hunga mā rātou ngā tuhinga

Students know that the purpose of a text can be to generate a specific response (e.g., emotional or intellectual) based on the text creator’s point of view. They also know that audiences may not always respond to a text in ways that the creator intended, and they will not all share the same interpretation.

As text creators, students know that their stories can be powerful and are aware of the responsibility to consider how their stories may affect others.

Ideas within, across, and beyond texts | Ngā ariā

Students know that all texts develop ideas and show different ways of seeing the world, and that they help students consider ethical dilemmas and social issues. They know that elements of texts can have figurative and literal meanings, that sometimes ideas in texts are not directly stated, and that texts rely on shared understandings to get their messages across.

Features and structures of language | Ngā āhuatanga reo

By the end of this phase, students know, recognise, and use the codes, conventions, and features of different types of texts, allowing for a greater degree of precision and clarity of meaning. This includes using less-common codes and conventions for specialised purposes (e.g., for conveying dialogue or showing relationships between ideas).

They know that there are different structures within different types of texts and know that combining a range of these structures helps to make meaning in specialised ways.

Students know that people use language in different ways in different situations, and that this helps to signal social roles and relationships.

Students know some local stories that provide insights into their rohe and community. They also know some stories from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific.

Comprehending and creating texts | Te whakamahi rautaki ki te whai māramatanga

By the end of this phase, students have a strong command of vocabulary and grammar for communication, which supports their learning and ability to present information clearly. Their interpersonal communication skills, including listening and responding, are continuing to strengthen as they engage effectively with those around them. They can evaluate and integrate ideas and information from a variety of sources. They participate in communication for learning and build their language for describing their learning across the curriculum.

Students can use and combine decoding, comprehension, and vocabulary strategies to make, maintain, and restore meaning in written, visual, and multimodal texts. They can evaluate and integrate ideas and information across a small range of texts.

Students can use a range of encoding and composing strategies to create written texts with a variety of sentence structures, text structures, and forms of punctuation (e.g., for dialogue). They can plan and revise so that their work is accurate and clear. They write with ease and automaticity and correctly spell a wide range of words, including those with advanced spelling patterns. They can select the mode (e.g., written text, image, digital, or a combination) that will convey their intended message most effectively.

Critical analysis | Te tātari arohaehae

At the end of this phase, students can discuss different interpretations of a text and justify a position using personal knowledge, evidence from the text, and knowledge of similar texts. They consider the effects of how people, places, objects, and ideas are represented in and across texts and can distinguish facts from opinions. They can also identify how their thinking has changed or solidified as a result of this critical analysis.

Reading for pleasure | Te pānui hei whakangahau, hei whakapārekareka

Students regularly read for pleasure, selecting texts based on their preferences and interests. They participate in reading communities where they listen, read, and make text recommendations.

Connecting through storytelling | Te tūhono mā te whakawhiti kōrero

Students draw on their personal background as a source of inspiration to express themselves creatively. They can create texts in collaboration with others, respecting the contributions everyone brings. By considering audience feedback, they identify and act on areas for improvement.

Teaching sequence – Phase 2 (Years 4-6)

Expanding horizons of knowledge, and collaborating
Te whakawhānui i ngā pae o te mātauranga, me te mahi tahi

This section describes how the components of a comprehensive English teaching and learning programme are used during the second phase of learning at school.

In phase 2, such a programme offers students teaching that inspires the enjoyment of language and texts and provides systematic, explicit teaching of oral language, reading, and writing.

Students will continue to build their skills and knowledge with written texts while also encountering and engaging with texts and text features in a range of other modes (e.g., spoken, visual, and multimodal).

Continuously monitor students’ learning and respond quickly to address any issues and misconceptions. Ensure teaching builds on what students already understand, know, and can do.

Explicit teaching

During phase 2, students’ existing oral language, reading, and writing skills will be consolidated and extended as they are exposed to more complex learning and a broader range of content, text types, and modes. Although explicit teaching of new content, skills, and knowledge is still essential, there will also be a shift towards more guided skill-development and practice, as well as independent practice and application as students combine new learning with prior learning.

Explain and model new learning in manageable steps, with active student engagement.
Use think-alouds and worked examples to model decision making and problem solving – for example, using knowledge of morphology to work out the meaning of new vocabulary.
Guide students’ skill development and practice by prioritising engagement and using techniques that enable every student to participate. For example, every student could use hand gestures to indicate agreement or disagreement at the same time.
Reduce or increase scaffolding and supports in response to what you are noticing and recognising about students’ learning.
Plan for consolidation of students’ learning to build mastery and automaticity through varied independent activities that are designed to provide spaced practice and retrieval.

Structured literacy approaches

During phase 2, there is a still a focus on some of the constrained elements of structured literacy approaches. These can usually be mastered in a relatively short time frame and include the following elements:

Fluency is the ability to read text with accuracy, appropriate rate, automaticity, and expression.
Spelling involves segmenting words into sounds and representing them correctly with letters.
Mastering handwriting reduces the cognitive load involved in the constrained skills of writing, freeing up cognitive resources for composition when explicitly taught and practised to automaticity. It also supports the consolidation of grapheme-phoneme relationships.

The focus on unconstrained skills, which are more flexible and continue to develop throughout a person’s life, expands during this phase. These include the following skills.

Explicit teaching of oral language supports students to develop the more advanced skills needed to effectively present ideas and information in ways that engage an audience and take an effective part in collaborative discussions and group work.
Explicit teaching of new abstract and discipline-specific vocabulary to support comprehension.
Comprehension is developed by combining many of the other elements of structured literacy approaches (e.g., phonics, vocabulary development, morphology, syntax, fluency, and text structure), along with activating prior knowledge and building new knowledge.

Inclusive teaching and learning

Students learn best when teachers design inclusive learning environments and experiences that anticipate and value diversity and the open-ended potential of every learner.

Respond to students’ unique strengths, needs, experiences, and interests.
Adjust the explicitness and intensity of teaching based on knowledge of students, using structured literacy approaches.
Hold high expectations for every student and be prepared to accelerate teaching sequences in response to student progress. Formative assessment and observation are important for identifying knowledge gained through implicit learning rather than through explicit teaching.
Provide targeted additional support to students in response to identified needs and strengths sooner rather than later, to prevent progress from stalling or gaps from widening further.
Use the English Language Learning Progressions and ELLP Pathway to plan targeted language support for new learners of English and those that are developing proficiency in the English language.

Some phase 2 students will still be working through a decoding scope and sequence, and this may include English language learners who began attending an English-medium school during phase 2. Use diagnostic assessments to pinpoint needs and strengths, and provide these students with intensive, accelerative, targeted support using age-appropriate materials.

Developing positive identities as communicators, readers, and writers

Select texts to share with students that are fun and that speak to their interests, identities, languages, and cultures.
Provide opportunities for students to experience success in their learning through systematic and explicit teaching of new oral language, reading, and writing knowledge and skills in manageable steps.
Provide opportunities and support for students to select texts based on their preferences and interests and talk about favourite texts. Give students choice and opportunities to collaborate.

Working with texts

Although reading and writing are described in separate strands, they are often used together. Texts that students read are used as models for writing, and writing is often a response to what they have read.
Read rich language texts daily to students to build their vocabulary, content knowledge, knowledge of text structures and features, word knowledge, comprehension skills, and love of books.
Explore a wider range of national and international texts with students during this phase, including oral texts, visual texts, and both fiction and non-fiction written texts in electronic and print media.
Provide age-appropriate materials for students who need intensive, accelerative, targeted support to build their decoding skills. At the same time, scaffold their access to year-level texts so that the development of their content knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension skills is not restricted to the level of their decoding skills.
Provide opportunities to strengthen students’ knowledge and understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand perspectives when making meaning.
See the section in reading that describes the year-level texts that students should be independently reading by the end of each year.

Oral language

	During year 4 Informed by prior learning, teach students to:	During year 5 Informed by prior learning, teach students to:	During year 6 Informed by prior learning, teach students to:	Teaching considerations
Communicating ideas and information Verbal reasoning	give descriptions, recounts, and narrative retellings with specific details to actively engage listeners	narrate stories with intonation and expression to add detail and excitement for listeners	give well-structured descriptions, explanations, presentations, and narratives for different purposes, including for expressing their feelings	Regular, deliberate practice builds confidence and fluency in the use of increasingly complex narrative language. Examples of techniques for teaching recounting, retelling, and generating narratives include: modelling the use of a consistent story-map structure, or other visual support, to help organise thoughts providing opportunities for students to act out stories to help them internalise the story structure and details and improve their ability to retell it later recording students as they tell stories, then playing back the recordings, allowing them to hear their own storytelling and identify areas for improvement organising workshops where students can learn different storytelling techniques to make their stories more engaging (e.g., using voice modulation, gestures, and facial expressions).
Communicating ideas and information Presenting to others	present their ideas clearly, giving an introduction and conclusion when appropriate be aware of audience needs and expectations plan and adapt the content of a presentation for a specific audience and setting draw on knowledge of the world to support their own point of view and explore different perspectives	plan and organise the content and structure a talk so that the audience can make connections between points be aware of audience needs and expectations plan and adapt the content of a presentation for a specific audience and setting give supporting evidence (e.g., citing a text, a previous example, or a historic event)	plan and construct a detailed argument or narrative anticipate and plan for audience needs and expectations, leading to more tailored and effective communication assess different viewpoints and present counter arguments use direct quotes or citations to support an argument or view	Examples of techniques for teaching presenting to others include: developing class discussion guidelines as shared success criteria for use in reflection teaching conventions for different types of talk (e.g., storytelling, persuasive pitches) organising simple debates on age-appropriate topics, supporting students to state their opinions and back them up with reasons.
Communicating ideas and information Taking on roles	develop a role and add their own ideas to develop their position	make relevant contributions in different roles and adapt to evolving scenarios by maintaining a role	move discussion forward in different roles, and make contributions in different roles that keep others on task	Teach taking on roles using techniques such as: assigning collaborative projects that require diverse roles for task completion (e.g., presentations, events) organising structured debates and discussions, assigning specific roles (e.g., moderator, speaker).
Interpersonal communication Non-verbal communication	consider using movement when addressing an audience	consider using body language and movement as they are presenting	use posture and body language to develop a stage presence	Be mindful of cultural differences and unique neurodivergent preferences when teaching about non-verbal communication, as these can influence interpretations and degree of familiarity and comfort. Teach non-verbal communication using techniques such as: watching videos of people communicating so students can identify and interpret the non-verbal cues being used encouraging students to tell stories using expressive body language and facial expressions demonstrating various hand gestures that can be used to emphasise points (e.g., open palms for honesty, pointing for emphasis) facilitating group discussions where students are encouraged to use and observe non-verbal communication.
Interpersonal communication Listening and responding to others	make comments that encourage discussion, and ask clarifying questions give and respond to natural prompts for turn-taking in conversation and consider the impact of their words on others	actively participate in discussions by picking up on others’ contributions and asking relevant questions identify off-topic discussions clarify and paraphrase information	challenge others’ ideas with sensitivity identify similarities in perspectives and consider where collective agreement can be reached ask specific questions to clarify complex information develop an awareness of group dynamics and invite those who haven’t spoken to contribute identify how their thinking has changed or solidified in response to discussion	Teach listening and responding to others through techniques such as: teaching strategies for active listening for an extended period of time (e.g., note-taking with words and symbols, drawing visuals) providing opportunities for students to discuss, problem solve, debate, and critically analyse topics and questions with peers to teach them skills and strategies that allow all students to participate in meaningful discussions using sentence stems to support agreement, citing evidence, asking clarifying and probing questions, and keeping discussions on track – for example: “Can you explain that in a different way?”, “What do you mean by …?”, “It feels a bit like we are going off topic here. Let’s get back to X.”, or “I have a similar opinion because ...”.
Interpersonal communication Controlling voice using tone, volume, and pace	understand how tone, volume, and pace influence meaning and use them effectively to engage listeners	project their voice to a large audience and adjust tone, volume, and pace to suit the purpose and audience	use tone, volume, and pace strategically to influence listeners and achieve communication goals in various informal and formal settings	Be mindful of cultural differences and unique neurodivergent preferences when teaching about tone, volume, and pace, as these can influence interpretations and degree of familiarity and comfort. Teach tone, volume, and pace through techniques such as: providing regular opportunities for guided practice, and opportunities for students to present to peers, adults, small groups, the whole class, and where possible, to larger groups (e.g., at the syndicate or team hui) encouraging students to watch and learn from each other’s presentations, and to provide and respond to feedback explicitly teaching and modelling vocal effects such as tone, pace, pitch, and volume, and how to use them appropriately to help communicate meaning (e.g., increasing volume to emphasise important points or to communicate to a large audience).
Vocabulary and grammar Vocabulary	consider the words and phrasing they use to express their ideas and how this supports the purpose of their talk (e.g., to persuade or entertain)	carefully consider the words and phrasing they use to express their ideas and how this supports the purpose of their talk	understand and use idioms and expressions from their own and others’ cultures	Teaching vocabulary is an essential component of building knowledge; both knowledge of how language works and content knowledge across the curriculum. Students learn and retain new vocabulary most effectively by learning words within thematic units, sustained over time. Introduce abstract and discipline-specific vocabulary by explicitly teaching pronunciation, meaning, spelling, morphology, etymology, related words, and usage in sentences. Connect new vocabulary to students’ existing knowledge to foster deeper understanding. Provide opportunities for deliberate practice and frequent review to solidify students’ grasp of new vocabulary by, for example, using role play to apply new vocabulary in realistic scenarios, and incorporating new vocabulary into their storytelling and personal narratives. Consider using videos, podcasts, and audio recordings that feature new vocabulary, providing diverse opportunities for students to hear and understand words in context.
Vocabulary and grammar Sentence structure	communicate in complete sentences, incorporating a range of conjunctions and connectives, and varying sentence structure and length to create effect and support meaning	communicate using a variety of sentence structures and lengths, employing short sentences for emphasis and longer sentences for detailed descriptions	communicate using a variety of sentence structures, including rhetorical devices such as the rule of three, repetition, and alliteration to enhance the impact and clarity of their message	Teaching sentence structure and morphological awareness explicitly through oral language in all curriculum areas helps students express their thoughts and ideas clearly and precisely, supporting learning across the curriculum. The teaching of specific sentence structures can occur both explicitly and incidentally. Introduce new sentence structures within topics familiar to students. Subsequently, embed speaking and listening practice within learning, throughout all curriculum areas rather than in isolated grammar lessons. Teach these skills through techniques such as: using oral sentence-combining for practice with new structural elements providing sentence stems for the use of new structures (e.g., “Despite living in an arid climate, ____.”) modelling full, accurate responses, to provide clear examples of effective language use.
Communication for learning Metacognition	select, adapt, and use taught strategies to improve their learning use strategies to identify and set goals for their learning	use discussion and self-talk to set specific learning goals and plan steps to achieve them	use discussion and self-talk to monitor their progress and explain how they are adapting their learning strategies and goals in response	Teaching metacognition and self-regulation in this phase involves helping students become aware of their own thinking processes and actions, and how to manage these to improve their learning through discussion and self-talk. Build these skills through techniques such as: using think-alouds to demonstrate the use of internal self-talk to support planning and organisation teaching students strategies to give and receive feedback from their peers, helping them to see different perspectives and learn from each other teaching them strategies to set specific, achievable learning goals, and to track progress towards them.
Communication for learning Self-regulation	use precise vocabulary to describe their emotions and reactions use discussion and self-talk to find solutions for challenges.	use precise, nuanced vocabulary to describe their emotions and reactions use discussion and self-talk to find solutions for challenges.	show empathy by using language to articulate the emotions of others use discussion and self-talk to find solutions for challenges.	Work towards students independently selecting and applying strategies that they have identified as being effective for their own learning. Build these skills through techniques such as: teaching the use of positive language and self-talk that promotes perseverance, self-efficacy, and attribution of success to effort, not luck facilitating discussions to develop students’ awareness of emotions and self-regulation encouraging students to share their experiences and strategies.

Reading

Working with year-level texts

The texts that students read become increasingly complex over time, supporting them to succeed both in English and in all other learning areas at each year level. For this to occur, when the purpose for reading is other than learning decoding or reading for pleasure, students need opportunities to engage with texts at or above the complexity described for each year level. Although fluent readers may still work with simple texts, particularly to reduce cognitive load when new skills and concepts are being introduced, they will be working predominantly with texts that are at least at their year level. This does not mean you should prevent able readers from reading more complex texts; most texts will be at their year level or above.

Noticing, recognising, and responding to students’ strengths and needs

Except when they are specifically learning to decode text or reading for pleasure, students who are still consolidating their decoding skills need to access year-level texts to develop skills and knowledge (including vocabulary, comprehension, and content knowledge) alongside their peers. Help students do this by adapting the supports and scaffolds for students, rather than by simplifying or modifying texts. An effective way to accelerate students’ learning is to explicitly teach the features of year-level texts that carry meaning. This will enable them to make sense of texts that are above their traditional ‘instructional level’. When this is not possible, remove barriers and provide alternative ways to access year-level texts, for example, by using audio versions or print-to-speech software. Students who need to accelerate their decoding skills will continue to require frequent, intensive, and explicit teaching and practice in flexible small groups, targeting their decoding needs.

Students who reach fluency and comprehension mastery at an accelerated rate of progress need opportunities for enrichment and extension, and ample opportunity to read increasingly challenging texts.

Selecting text

During this phase, texts will include oral, visual, and written texts (fiction and nonfiction) in print and electronic media. Texts across this phase of learning will also:

use appropriate text features, structures, and language to support students’ growing understanding about reading and writing texts across the learning areas, building knowledge of content-specific literacy
offer opportunities for students to critically analyse and discuss interpretations.

Factors that affect the level of text difficulty include:

age appropriateness
complexity of ideas
structure and coherence of the text
syntactic structure of the text
difficulty of vocabulary.

Year 4 level texts

The texts that students use to meet the reading demands of the curriculum at this level will be of varying lengths and often include:

some abstract ideas that are clearly supported by concrete examples in the text, or easily linked to students’ prior knowledge
some texts where information and ideas are implicit, and where students need to make inferences based on information that is easy to find (because it is nearby in the text and there is little or no competing information)
a straightforward text structure, such as one that follows a recognisable and clear text form, with some compound and complex sentences consisting of two or three clauses
some words and phrases that are ambiguous or unfamiliar to students, but whose meaning is supported by the context or clarified by visual features, such as photographs, illustrations, diagrams, or written explanations
text that may have visual features that support the ideas and information (e.g., text boxes or maps) or figurative language, such as metaphors, similes, or personification.

Year 5 and 6 level texts

The texts that students use to meet the reading demands of the curriculum at this level will be of varying lengths and will often include:

abstract ideas, in greater numbers than in texts at earlier levels, accompanied by concrete examples in the text that help support the students’ understanding
some ideas and information that are conveyed indirectly and that require students to infer by drawing on related pieces of information in the text, and some information that is irrelevant to the identified purpose for reading (i.e., competing information) which students need to identify and reject as they integrate information in order to answer questions
mixed text types (e.g., a complex explanation within a report) with sentences that vary in length and structure (e.g., sentences that begin in different ways, and different kinds of complex sentences with subordinate clauses).

Deciding if a text is at a year 5 or year 6 level involves considering a range of different factors relating to text difficulty, including readability levels, length and complexity of the sentences, and the sophistication of the vocabulary, ideas, concepts, and storylines. School Journals contain items that have been allocated reading year levels; these can be helpful for building a sense of text level to apply to other texts of varying lengths, including books.

	During year 4 Informed by prior learning, teach students to:	During year 5 Informed by prior learning, teach students to:	During year 6 Informed by prior learning, teach students to:	Teaching considerations
Word recognition and reading enrichment Decoding	decode multi-syllable words by applying their knowledge of the alphabetic code, morphology, and syllables develop reading stamina and read longer texts independently			Explicitly teach students to use their learned knowledge of grapheme-phoneme correspondence, morphemes, syllables, and words to decode and orthographically map multi-syllable and more complex new words. Some phase 2 students will still be working through a decoding scope and sequence, so it is important that they receive the explicit teaching they need to become proficient readers and writers. Use diagnostic formative assessment to identify their needs and strengths and to design accelerative and intensive targeted teaching, using age-appropriate materials. While these students continue to build their foundational skills in reading and writing, scaffold their access to year-level texts so that they can continue to build vocabulary, content knowledge, and comprehension skills at their year level. Refer to the Ministry’s online guidance on targeted teaching. The guides on the Ministry’s Inclusive Education website include details of effective teaching strategies for responding to a range of learning needs. For emergent bilingual and multilingual students, use the Ministry’s English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) and ELLP Pathway and Pacific dual language books to support your teaching. For Deaf or hard-of-hearing students, make use of the Ministry’s New Zealand Sign Language resources and e-books to support your teaching.
Word recognition and reading enrichment Fluency	read year-level texts accurately and expressively, reflecting understanding of the text while maintaining a natural pace of reading, at oral-reading fluency rates appropriate for year 4 students	read year-level texts accurately and expressively, reflecting understanding of the text while maintaining a natural pace of reading, at oral fluency rates appropriate for year 5 students	read year-level texts accurately and expressively, reflecting understanding of the text while maintaining a natural pace of reading, at oral fluency rates appropriate for year 6 students	Fluent reading – with accuracy, appropriate rate, automaticity, and expression – is necessary for reading comprehension. Use an Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessment to identify students needing more targeted teaching support and to monitor progress and acceleration regularly over time. If students are not reading with sufficient fluency at phase 2, this may indicate difficulty with foundational decoding skills. Fluency teaching and interventions should target reading accuracy, phrasing, and expression. ‘Fast’ reading is not the aim. Support students to develop their fluency through evidence-based strategies such as: modelling and explicitly teaching reading aloud using phrasing and expression, in response to punctuation, sentence structure, and language features providing multiple opportunities to practise accurate, expressive reading including year-level texts with sophisticated, multisyllabic words and complex sentence structures teaching students to adapt their pace to accommodate text complexities.
Word recognition and reading enrichment Developing reader identity	use strategies for identifying and selecting texts based on their interests identify their strengths and successes			Provide opportunities for students to select texts based on their preferences and interests. These may include texts that are above or below their year level. Establish a reading community where students listen, read, and make text recommendations. Positively influence students’ relationships with reading by providing positive learning experiences. Set relevant and meaningful learning objectives and offer high-interest texts. Give students choice, opportunities to collaborate, and challenging tasks, and recognise success. Model a positive reader identity by sharing your own relationship with reading in a positive way. For example, regularly share your reading with students as a way of modelling curiosity, enjoyment, and how to overcome reading challenges. Help students recognise that stories can be a source of joy and nourishment.
Comprehension Vocabulary	infer from context clues and use a developing knowledge of morphology (root words, affixes, prefixes, and suffixes) to determine the meaning of words in a text with an affix (e.g., the suffix ‘-ful’ in ‘helpful’ changes the verb ‘help’ into an adjective to describe a person or thing ready to give help) use knowledge from other year 4 learning areas and topics to determine the meaning of base words, whole words, and phrases in a text	infer from context clues and use an increasing knowledge of morphology to independently determine the meaning of words with more than one affix (e.g., ‘exportable’ is made up of ‘ex’ (out of) , ‘port’ (to carry), and ‘able’, turning it into an adjective describing an item that can be carried out of a place) use knowledge from other year 5 learning areas and topics to determine the meaning of base words, whole words, and phrases in a text	independently infer from context clues and use morphology to understand challenging words use knowledge from other year 6 learning areas and topics to determine the meaning of base words, whole words, and phrases in a text understand and use idioms and expressions from their own and others’ cultures	Vocabulary knowledge is vital for reading comprehension. Develop students’ vocabulary by immersing them in sophisticated language across learning areas throughout the school day. Provide multiple opportunities for students to hear new words, in conversations and through engaging with increasingly complex texts, and to practise pronouncing them correctly. Provide opportunities to make connections with the vocabulary and linguistic knowledge that students bring with them. For some students, new vocabulary learning will centre on less-common words and words that express abstract concepts. In addition, ELLs and students with language-related learning challenges will benefit from explicit teaching and incidental support for more common, everyday vocabulary. Teach students about the meanings of word parts and their origins to help them work out the meaning of unknown words. This may include teaching students to break down words into their base words, prefixes, and suffixes when helpful and relevant (e.g., understanding that ‘unhappy’ means ‘not happy’ because of the prefix ‘un-’). Teach students to use context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words. Model how to use context clues by thinking aloud while reading (e.g., “I don’t know this word, but the sentence says the creature lives in trees, so ‘arboreal’ must mean something related to trees.”). Context clues should only be used to work out the meaning of words. They are not used to work out what the word is, although they may sometimes alert the reader that they have made a decoding error when meaning is lost.
Comprehension Text forms and genre	identify the audience and purpose of texts that entertain, inform, and persuade identify the audience and purpose of cultural texts from their own and others’ cultures	recognise and describe the main differences between types of text, including cultural texts from their own and others’ cultures	compare and contrast different text forms and genres across a topic, including cultural texts from their own and others’ cultures, and discuss how they are written for different audiences	Whole-text comprehension is largely dependent on both general knowledge and vocabulary knowledge, so teach these throughout the school day. Provide opportunities for students to read often and widely so they engage with a range of texts for enjoyment and to build knowledge. Provide examples of a range of genres and forms. For example, explore the differences between different poetic forms, including language choices and structure. Students need to have exposure to texts specific to Aotearoa New Zealand and global texts to expand their horizons of knowledge. By comparing and contrasting these texts, paying particular attention to texts valuing te ao Māori and Māori perspectives, they identify what makes Aotearoa New Zealand unique. To further their understanding of what it means to live in the Pacific, they need to engage with texts by Pacific authors and others who have made New Zealand their home. Explicitly teach the different purposes for writing and the features and structures of texts through, for example, the use of exemplar texts. Ensure that the complexity of the text is appropriate.
Comprehension Text structure, style, and features	determine the structure of texts and how ideas are conveyed through text features and visual elements determine the structure of texts and how ideas are conveyed through text features and visual elements in texts from their own and others’ cultures explore how language is used for effect within texts, including the use of figurative and literal language to convey meaning	identify and discuss how authors use text features, language features, and structures in purposeful ways identity and discuss how authors use text features, language features, and structures in purposeful ways in texts from their own and others’ cultures explore how language is used to effect within texts, including the use of figurative and literal language to convey meaning	compare and contrast the features and style of texts written for different purposes to explore the use of text, language, and visual features that are purposefully selected compare and contrast the features and style of texts written for different purposes to explore the use of text, language, and visual features that are purposefully selected in texts from their own and others’ cultures explore how language is used to effect within texts, including the use of figurative and literal language to convey meaning
Comprehension Comprehension monitoring	monitor and confirm their understanding across a range of texts by annotating, rereading, asking and answering questions, and visualising	monitor and confirm their understanding across a range of texts by annotating, rereading, adjusting their reading rate, asking and answering questions, and visualising	monitor and confirm their understanding across a range of texts and sources of information by annotating, rereading, adjusting their reading rate, asking and answering questions, and visualising	Talk through your own thought processes to model what students should do when they find problems in texts (e.g., unknown words, conflicts with prior knowledge, and inconsistencies). Demonstrate what they can do to solve those problems. For example, ask questions during and after reading or listening to a text such as, “Does that make sense?”, “Why did ...?”, “How does that connect with ...?”, or “How does this information fit with what I already know about this topic?”. Support students to visualise a story as a series of mental images. This helps some students remember details more accurately, supports the integration of information across the text, and helps them to detect inconsistencies.
Comprehension Summarising and drawing conclusions	identify the central message or main idea in a text and provide the key details in sequence, explaining how the details support the main idea or message	identify the central theme or main idea of a text, summarise the key details that support the theme or idea, and draw a conclusion	identify the central theme or main idea of a text, summarise how it is developed through the key details, and draw a supported conclusion	Summarising and drawing conclusions are powerful skills to teach because they improve students’ memory of what they have read and can also be used as a comprehension check. Explicitly teach summarising and drawing conclusions with a range of different texts, across the curriculum. Teach these skills through techniques such as: modelling and using think-alouds to identify main ideas, crucial details, irrelevant details, and keywords and phrases using question frames with the 5 Ws and H, then either saying or writing the sentence practising with students to write summaries of what they read, at a sentence level (with ‘gist’ type sentences) and at a paragraph level providing opportunities for students to share summaries with peers, compare, and give feedback teaching students to back up their conclusions with specific evidence from the text.
Comprehension Inferring using evidence	make use of stated and implied information or ideas to make predictions and inferences, using prior knowledge and making connections within the text	make inferences, using explicit and implicit evidence from the text (including quotes or references to images) and prior knowledge, to extend the understanding of a text and the author's purpose	make inferences using explicit and implicit evidence, justify the inferences using evidence from the text, and compare their inferences with the interpretations of others	During read-aloud sessions, pause to ask students what is happening and why. Encourage them to use evidence from the text to support their answers. Model the process of making inferences by thinking aloud. Show students how you use your knowledge and clues from the text to draw conclusions. Encourage students to ask questions about the text. Questions such as “Why did the character do that?” or “What might happen next?” can lead to deeper understanding and help students practise making inferences. You may want to organise group discussions or debates on a text. Encourage students to present their inferences and defend them with textual evidence. This promotes critical thinking and deeper engagement with the material.
Critical analysis Identifying perspectives	identify explicit and implicit perspectives and portrayals of groups of people in texts discuss the effect of how these perspectives are shown through the text creator’s choice of language or visual features, such as text layout, image size and choice, and decisions about what is and is not included	identify explicit and implicit perspectives and portrayals of groups of people in a range of texts, explaining how these perspectives are shown through the text creator’s choice of language and visual elements, textual features, and decisions about what is and is not included, and the effect of these decisions	explain how groups of people are constructed or portrayed in texts, providing evidence, and discuss what world views and perspectives are presented or omitted by the text creator, and the effects of these decisions	Provide students with a wide range of texts, including information texts, stories, poems, and plays that provide them with the opportunity to form opinions, make connections and inferences, and identify perspectives. Develop critical analysis skills by helping students uncover the perspectives and positions that underpin texts, including their own, and the impact of these. Teach students to understand the difference between fact and opinion, and information and disinformation. Equip students with the skills to identify and affirm, or resist, the positions and perspectives put forward in texts, in both print and digital formats. Explicitly teach students: to understand the specific kinds of language used in discussions, (e.g., bias, stereotypes, inclusion, and exclusion) how to listen to others’ viewpoints how to use content from the text to elaborate and justify their opinions how other elements in a text can be used to give effect to the meaning (e.g., colour, graphics, choice of people or places) to consider who is most likely to read or engage with this text and why how to consider the perspectives that they want to include when they are creating texts. Ask questions to prompt students to share their perspectives: Why are we interacting with this text? (purpose and structure) What does the text creator want us to know and understand? Whose views are excluded here?
Critical analysis Making connections and interpretations	make connections within and between texts, and with their own knowledge, experiences, and cultural understandings, to discuss differences and similarities in how the texts are interpreted or viewed	make connections within and between texts, describing how the ideas in texts connect with their own topic knowledge, lived experiences, cultural knowledge, values, and practices	make connections within and between texts, explaining how the ideas in texts connect with their own knowledge, lived experiences, cultural knowledge, values, and practices, considering the interpretations and ideas of others	The different kinds of knowledge that students bring to text, including topic, disciplinary, cultural, and general knowledge, all contribute to their understanding of texts. Explicitly teach students not only to use their existing knowledge, but also to refine it by seeking new information. Classroom environments need to be safe places where students feel comfortable sharing their knowledge, so that different perspectives can be heard and understood. Teachers need to deliberately build knowledge through complex, rich texts and experiences and discussions that build depth and breadth of this knowledge. Using questioning before, during, and after reading can provide opportunities to check your understanding of the knowledge that students have, and are developing, as they read. This approach can also be applied when students are creating their own texts.
	respond to texts by sharing opinions and personal thoughts and feelings about ideas in texts acknowledge others’ responses and respond respectfully to differences.	respond to texts by sharing opinions and personal thoughts and feelings about ideas in texts acknowledge and extend others’ contribution to text discussion, noting similarities and differences.	share opinions about how topics are addressed in texts and how messages are conveyed, providing evidence from the text and their prior knowledge to support their opinions acknowledge and extend others’ contributions to text discussions, noting the similarities and differences in the ways texts are interpreted and considering instances where collective agreement can be reached.

Writing

	During year 4 Informed by prior learning, teach students to:	During year 5 Informed by prior learning, teach students to:	During year 6 Informed by prior learning, teach students to:	Teaching considerations
Transcription skills Handwriting	handwrite with increasing stamina and fluency while maintaining legibility when writing multi-paragraph texts	handwrite with ease and automaticity when writing longer texts	handwrite with ease and automaticity when writing for multiple purposes throughout the school day	Using a consistent, school-wide approach, teach handwriting explicitly, every day. In phase 2, it is expected that most students will be forming letters correctly. Focus now on automaticity and building increased handwriting stamina. Support students with their handwriting during writing time, and encourage them to practise their best handwriting every time they write. If handwriting difficulties persist after an extended period of appropriate instruction, consider using assistive technologies to support composition.
Transcription skills Handwriting	organise their writing environment, including their seating position and the position of their book	consistently maintain a comfortable writing posture	consistently maintain a comfortable writing posture when handwriting and using a keyboard
Transcription skills Keyboarding			use efficient keyboarding to develop speed and accuracy	Ensure students are explicitly shown how to use a keyboard, including the use of the shift key to access capital letters and additional punctuation.
Transcription skills Spelling	spell words with: <ea>, <ey> representing /long a/ <y>, <ey> representing /long e/ <igh>, <y>, <ie> representing /long i/ <oe> representing /long o/ <ew>, <ue> representing /oo/ as in mood	spell words with: <eigh> representing /long a/ <ie> representing /long e/ <ough> representing /long o/ <ue> representing /long u/	spell words with less-common vowel and consonant graphemes (e.g., <ough>, <eigh>, <aigh>, <augh>, <kn>, <mb>, <sc> as /s/, <wr> as /r/), noting the unusual correspondences and where these occur in the word	Symbols used in the sequence: the content within <> is the grapheme and within // is the phoneme. Teach spelling every day. While most phase 2 students will be fluent decoders, all will still require explicit instruction in spelling. Spelling is a more complex process, which requires deep knowledge of the ways in which the same phonemes can be represented by different graphemes. Students need to learn which are the correct graphemes to use for any particular word. Provide multiple, spaced opportunities for deliberate practice and review. Explicitly teach students: to segment words into phonemes and identify syllables within words to spell irregular high-frequency words by connecting phonemes and graphemes, attending carefully to the ‘irregular’ parts review and practise the irregularly-spelled words they have learned until they are orthographically mapped and automatic groups of words that share the same phoneme-grapheme correspondences or morphological elements spelling patterns and spelling conventions to use print and digital spelling resources, such as dictionaries and spellcheckers. Support students to apply their spelling knowledge and skills during writing composition, providing prompt feedback and positive error corrections.
	spell words with: soft c: <c> representing /s/ soft g: <g> representing /j/ (both usually followed by the letter e, i, or y)	spell words with <aw> and <au> representing /or/	use the three different spellings for the /air/ phoneme: <air>, <are>, <ear>
	spell words with prefixes (un-, dis-, re-) and suffixes (-est, -ful, -less)	spell words with prefixes (semi-, sub-, mis-, multi-, pre-) and suffixes (-tion, -sion, -cion)	spell words with prefixes indicating number (e.g., uni-, bi-, tri-, dec-) and suffixes that change words into a noun (e.g., -logy, -ism, -ment), and demonstrate understanding of their meanings
	spell contractions for two-word phrases ending with have, would (e.g., I’ve, they’d)	spell contractions correctly
	add an apostrophe to show singular possession (e.g., the dog’s bowl)	spell words with apostrophes to show singular and plural possession, adding a possessive apostrophe after the s if a plural noun ends in s (e.g., the boys' sister)	spell words with apostrophes to show possession
	use common homophones correctly (e.g., correctly distinguishing between their, there, and they’re; your and you’re; and we’re and where)	use less-common homophones correctly, distinguishing between queue, cue; minor, miner; you, ewe
	add a vowel suffix to one-syllable CVC words by doubling the final consonant (e.g., hop ➝ hopping)	either keep the y or change to an i when adding a suffix	spell plurals of words ending in ‘f ‘or ‘fe’ by changing the ‘f’ or ‘fe’ to ‘ves’ (e.g., leaf – leaves, knife – knives)
	use the correct spelling pattern for words ending with consonant -le (e.g., table).
Composition Audience, purpose, and task	identify the audience and purpose for a text plan and write with the audience in mind, selecting the appropriate genre, language register, and word choice to best communicate the intended meaning understand that different audiences may have a very different response to the same text	plan and write with an audience and purpose in mind so that their writing is in the most appropriate genre and style justify their use of language register and word choices that best communicate the intended meaning to the identified audience consider how different audiences may be affected by the text they are creating	plan and write for an audience and purpose, making careful choices of the most appropriate genre and style, with language register and word choices selected, and justified, to communicate meaning to the identified audience make deliberate choices about what content to include or leave out in the texts they create, based on their understanding of how the writing may affect others	When analysing model texts for writing, and during shared reading, explicitly teach students: the different features and purposes of genres, language used, and sentence structures to consider whether the text is entertaining, informing, or persuading to consider the audience for their writing and how that can influence the style and tone used to question whether their own writing meets the purpose during the planning/drafting and revising stages of writing the different vocabulary associated with different genres (e.g., summarise, explain, describe) so that they understand what the task is asking for. Provide opportunities for students to share their writing with different audiences and in different forms.
Composition Sentence structures and punctuation	demonstrate understanding of incomplete (fragment) and run-on sentences	demonstrate understanding of a dependent clause and an independent clause	demonstrate an understanding of the difference between a clause and an adverbial phrase, and identify these in sentences within a range of structures	Explicitly teach sentence structures and punctuation using sentence-combining, explanations, and modelling. Students who can write well-constructed sentences with ease free up their working memory to focus on content. Teach sentence structures and punctuation through activities such as: oral sentence-combining – do this first so students can experiment with changing the order of phrases and conjunctions frequent review of previously learned sentence structures – this is essential, especially as students begin to engage with and write more complex texts identifying parts of a sentence, which will help students to learn and use the correct terms for different sentence structures identifying errors, as it is helpful for students to be able to identify incomplete sentences (fragments) and run-on sentences and why they embody errors, so they can know how to fix them showing correct punctuation in context. Some students will benefit from scaffolding and supports such as colour coding, graphics, and manipulatives to identify the different parts of a sentence.
	combine sentences orally, inserting phrases and varying the position of the phrase	combine sentences orally to create a range of structures, and identify the impact of the different structures	combine sentences orally to create a range of structures, choosing their preferred structure and justifying their choice
	use a range of sentence structures and types, to suit the purpose of the writing and enhance its impact	use a range of sentence structures and types to suit the purpose of the writing and avoiding repetition of certain structures	use a range of sentence structures and types, rearranging the order of clauses and phrases for optimal effect
	expand sentences using adverbial phrases	expand sentences using adverbial phrases and appositives	expand sentences using adverbial and adjectival phrases and appositives
	use beginning and ending sentence punctuation correctly and consistently throughout multi-paragraph texts	use beginning and ending sentence punctuation correctly and consistently when writing throughout the school day
	use commas correctly, for certain complex sentences, when using phrases, and when using transition words, with some support	use commas correctly, for certain complex sentences, when using phrases, when using transition words, and when adding appositives, with some support	use commas correctly, for certain complex sentences, when using phrases, when using transition words, and when adding appositives, independently
	use speech marks and commas correctly for direct speech, with some support	use speech marks, commas, and other associated punctuation correctly for direct speech, with some support	use speech marks, commas, and other associated punctuation correctly for direct speech, independently
Composition Writing to entertain	draw on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as acquired knowledge, to write texts to entertain that: contain narrative elements: character, setting, problem/ purpose, plan, action, resolution, and conclusion begin to use paragraphs to organise events use time connectives begin to use dialogue describe characters’ thoughts and feelings provide a sense of closure	draw on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as acquired knowledge, to write texts to entertain that: contain narrative elements: character, setting, problem/ purpose, plan, action, resolution, and conclusion are organised into paragraphs use time connectives use sensory details to make their writing vivid and build the characters use dialogue provide a conclusion that follows naturally from the preceding events	draw on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as acquired knowledge, to write texts to entertain that: contain narrative elements: character, setting, problem/ purpose, plan, action, resolution, and conclusion are well structured into paragraphs develop the plot using transitional words or phrases develop characters by including actions and feelings may use shifts in time and several settings use sensory details provide a sense of closure that ends the story effectively	Writing should always have a purpose – for example: texts to entertain include stories, fairy tales, diaries, and traditional tales texts to inform include reports, newspaper articles, biographies, and explanations texts to persuade include letters, advertisements, reviews, speeches, discussions, and arguments, and often explore social issues that are topical for students. Students’ awareness of text structures and purposes begins during reading. Explicitly teach students how to recognise text structures as they read. This supports their reading comprehension as well as their writing composition. Use exemplar texts to explicitly teach students to recognise the structures and key features (titles, headings, diagrams, illustrations, order of events, and language used) of different text types during reading and writing. As students move through this phase and write more, use specific text-type planning templates to support students to include essential elements of the text type (e.g., a persuasive piece would use a different planning template from a fairy tale). For each text type, students will need explicit teaching for: the language to be used features to include tense/s to use the way sentences are to be organised.
Composition Writing to inform	draw on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as acquired knowledge to write texts to inform that: introduce a topic, and group information together using simple paragraphs begin to use linking words and phrases (also, another, together with) use topic-related vocabulary have a concluding statement	draw on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as acquired knowledge to write texts to inform that: begin to use some simple visuals to support meaning (drawings, photos) develop the topic with facts and related examples use precise and domain-specific vocabulary provide concluding sentences related to the information	draw on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as acquired knowledge to write texts to inform that: introduce a topic clearly, and group related information logically into paragraphs include headings and visual elements to support the meaning of their writing develop the topic with facts, definitions, details, and examples that support the main idea use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary begin to use words and phrases to clarify, illustrate, or compare ideas (e.g., especially, for example, in contrast) provide concluding sentences related to the information or explanation
Composition Writing to persuade	draw on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as acquired knowledge, to write texts to persuade that: introduce a topic and state their opinion organise writing into one or more paragraphs, with supporting reasons for their opinion begin to use some linking words and phrases (e.g., because, for example, also) to connect their opinions with the reasons provide a concluding statement	draw on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as acquired knowledge, to write texts to persuade that: introduce a topic and state an opinion on it, using the first person organise writing into two or more paragraphs, grouping related opinions and reasons support opinions with facts and details use linking words and phrases (e.g., in addition, for instance) to connect the opinion with the reasons provide concluding sentences related to the opinion	draw on their own experiences and knowledge, as well as acquired knowledge, to write texts to persuade that: introduce a topic and clearly state a position taken on it organise writing into three or more paragraphs that have logically grouped ideas order ideas/paragraphs that are supported by facts/details from strongest to weakest use emotive words and phrases to persuade the reader to adopt their position use a range of linking words (e.g., consequently, specifically) to link the opinion and reasons provide a concluding paragraph related to the position taken on the topic
Composition Digital texts		begin to use digital tools, including word-processing programs, to create and edit texts with a mixture of print, visual, and audio content	use a range of digital tools to create and edit texts with a mixture of print, visual, and audio content	Scaffold the creation of digital texts by explicitly teaching and modelling how to access and use word processing programs, including their editing tools. Support students to develop critical analysis skills and to use these to make decisions about selecting content for their digital texts (e.g., when selecting from the internet).
Writing craft Word choice	select and use words and phrases that clearly express where and when things happen	select and use words and phrases that clearly express actions, feelings, situations, or conditions	select and use words and phrases that clearly express differences, additions, and other logical connections	When teaching word choice: build word knowledge, through the texts that students read and during information gathering, by explicitly teaching and recording words that students could use in their writing (e.g., topic-specific words or descriptive words) model the use of identified words in the planning, drafting, and revising stages of writing model choosing the best word to convey an exact meaning (e.g., freezing, frosty, chilly, or cool) use model texts to show author word choice. Poetry is a rich source of vivid and imaginative word choice. Reading and writing poetry gives students the chance to encounter a rich store of words and use them in innovative and creative ways. During this phase, word choice should become a more deliberate act, and this needs to be modelled by the teacher.
Writing craft Language features and devices	use figurative language such as simile and metaphor to purposefully create vivid images and effects to engage the reader	deliberately and carefully select and use literary devices, including simile, metaphor, and personification, to create vivid images and effects to engage the reader explain how the devices they have used help create meaning for the intended audience	deliberately select and use a range of literary techniques, including imagery, personification, figurative language, alliteration, and idioms, to meet the purpose of the writing and engage the reader explain how the devices they have used help create meaning for the intended audience	Introduce the language feature or literary device by giving its name, a definition suitable for the year level, examples of its use, and the effect it has. Teach language features and devices through such activities as: analysing model texts to notice how authors use language features to enhance writing or to convey meaning using quality poetry and narratives as exemplar texts to highlight language features and devices and discuss how they have been used reading and writing poetry which provides opportunities to use language features and devices in a variety of ways modelling writing showing students how to use language features and devices, deliberately and discerningly, to enhance their writing.
Writing processes Planning	use organisers (e.g., graphic organisers or mnemonics) to organise and plan writing	use organisers (e.g., graphic organisers or mnemonics), suitable to the text structure, to organise and plan writing	choose and use the most appropriate graphic organiser or mnemonic for the writing task	Ensure students are writing daily and are encouraged to write across the curriculum. This may be done independently or collaboratively. When collaborating, students need to respect the contributions everyone brings. The writing process is recursive. Effective writers continually revisit and repeat the stages in the process as they write. Build students’ knowledge about the topics they are going to plan and write about through reading to, reading with, research, experiences, and discussion. Explicitly teach the components of the writing process using think-alouds, modelling, and exemplar texts. Use planning templates that promote a clear paragraph and multi-paragraph structure (introductions, body, and conclusions) to support students to write using these structures. Explicitly teach students how to organise content by grouping it into relevant paragraphs during planning. Teach writing processes through focusing on: note-taking and planning – model note-taking and using key words and phrases during planning to promote students writing information in their own words modelling writing in sentences – during the drafting phase, model using keywords, notes, and phrases from planning then turning them into complete and varied sentences with cohesive ties between paragraphs checking for sense – model checking that sentences and paragraphs make sense and have the necessary punctuation improving word choice – explicitly teach students to improve word choice and to combine and expand sentences correcting errors – support students to recognise fragment and run-on sentences so they can identify and fix them in their own work. modelling how to notice and fix errors providing exemplar writing – it can be helpful for students to practise revising and editing collaboratively on exemplars Giving and receiving feedback will be part of both revising for message and purpose and editing for conventions such as spelling and punctuation. It will also help identify areas for goal setting.
	make notes, reducing information into key words and phrases	make notes, organising key information into categories	make notes by gathering key information from a range of print and digital sources and organising it into categories
	set and work towards specific writing goals based on reflection on their own writing content and processes	set and work towards specific writing goals based on reflection on their own writing content and processes	set and work towards specific writing goals based on reflection on their own writing content and processes
Writing processes Drafting	transfer ideas from planning organisers or mnemonics into sentences	transfer organised information from planning into draft paragraphs for each category or idea	transfer organised information from planning, and ensure there are links between paragraphs and cohesion across the text
	write non-fiction paragraphs that have a topic sentence, detail sentences, and a concluding sentence	write multi-paragraph non-fiction texts which include an introduction, sub-topics, and a conclusion	write multi-paragraph texts for a range of purposes, organising the information and ideas to best suit their intended purpose, using headings and subheadings appropriately
	use layout conventions to indicate paragraphs (each begins on a new line and is indented from the margin)
Writing processes Revising	reread to check at the sentence, paragraph, and whole-text level	read and check continuously while writing	independently read and check continuously while writing, throughout the school day across all learning areas
	make simple revisions to their texts to improve the clarity for the intended audience and purpose (e.g., replacing words, adding sentences, and using audience and peer feedback)	make revisions to the content of draft texts to improve clarity and focus for the intended audience and purpose (e.g., seeking audience and peer feedback and deleting or improving words, phrases, or sentences)	make revisions at the word, sentence, and text structure levels, with the purpose and audience in mind
		notice errors in grammar and meaning and make corrections as they write, with support from the teacher	notice errors in grammar and meaning and independently make corrections as they write
Writing processes Editing	make edits to draft paragraphs using known punctuation	make edits to draft, multi-paragraph texts using known punctuation and layout conventions	make edits to improve the clarity of a range of texts using known punctuation and layout conventions
	use a word card or simple dictionary to find the spellings of unknown words	use a simple or online dictionary to find the spellings of unknown words	use a physical or online dictionary to find or confirm the spellings of unknown words
	give feedback to and receive feedback from peers.	seek and respond to audience and peer feedback.	selectively accept or reject audience and peer feedback and justify their decision.

English Learning Area Years 0–6 glossary

Abstract nouns	Nouns that represent ideas, qualities, or states rather than concrete objects. For example, ‘love’, ‘freedom’, ‘happiness’.
Accountable talk	A way of speaking and interacting that allows all students to participate in meaningful discussions. It supports students to: share their ideas, respond to the ideas of others respectfully, support their opinions with evidence and engage in sophisticated conversations.
Adverbial clause (adverbial phrase)	A group of words that function as an adverb, modifying a verb, adjective, or another adverb. For example, “She sings because she loves music.”
Alphabetic principle	The idea or understanding that letters of the alphabet represent specific sounds in speech.
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)	Refers to various methods used to help individuals with speech or language difficulties communicate effectively. AAC includes both augmentative communication, which supplements existing speech, and alternative communication, which replaces speech when it is not possible.
Automaticity	The automatic processing of information as, for example, when a reader or writer does not need to pause to work out words as they read or write. The outcome is being a fluent reader, writer and communicator.
Chameleon prefixes	Prefixes meaning the same things that can sound or be spelled differently, depending on the first letter of the root word. For example, the prefix ad- (meaning to/toward) changes to ac- when used in the word ‘accept’, or at- in the word ‘attract’.
Choral reading	The teacher and the students read the same passage at the same time.
Clause	A group of words that includes a subject and a verb. For example, in the sentence, “The baby cries when it is hungry”, “The baby cries” and “when it is hungry” are both clauses. The first one could stand alone as a sentence, so it’s an independent clause. The second one couldn’t stand alone, so it’s a dependent clause.
Code	An agreed upon system of signs or symbols used to create meaning within a mode. For example, the code of written language and facial expressions or body language in the gestural mode.
Complex sentences	Complex sentences contain one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. Dependent clauses often begin with subordinating conjunctions like ‘because’, ‘since’, ‘if’, ‘when’, or ‘although’. For example: “I stayed home because it was raining.” Independent clause: “I stayed home.” Dependent clause: “because it was raining.”
Compound sentences	Created when two or more independent clauses are joined using a conjunction (such as ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘or’, ‘nor’, ‘for’, ‘so’, or ‘yet’) or a punctuation mark (a semi-colon) to show a connection between two more ideas. Each independent clause in a compound sentence can stand alone as a complete sentence. For example: “I wanted to go for a walk, but it started to rain.” Independent clause one: “I wanted to go for a walk.” Independent clause two: “It started to rain.” Coordinating conjunction: “but”
Compound-complex sentence	These are the most complicated type of sentences. They consist of: at least two independent clauses (which can each stand alone as a complete sentence) and at least one dependent clause (which cannot stand alone as a complete sentence). These sentences enable us to articulate more elaborate and detailed thoughts, making them excellent tools for explaining complex ideas or describing extended sequences of events.
Comprehension monitoring	Occurs when the reader (or listener) actively monitors and confirms their understanding. They use their prior knowledge of a topic or concept, along with their knowledge of vocabulary, to monitor their understanding of what they are reading or listening to. There are a range of strategies that are used to support meaning making. Students do this from an early age.
Connective	Words or phrases that join sentences, clauses, or words together. Connectives can be conjunctions, prepositions, or adverbs. They help to show the relationship between different parts of a sentence or between sentences, helping to make text and spoken language more coherent. There are many connectives to learn about which enhance comprehension and expression of spoken and written language. For example: Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or Subordinating conjunctions: because, since Time & order connectives: first, after that, previously, suddenly, subsequently, finally, in previous years Addition: also, in addition, furthermore Illustration: for example, for instance, such as Contrast: but, however, alternatively, on the other hand, in contrast
Consonant letters	Words are written using letters which are either vowels or consonants. English consonant letters are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y (sometimes), Z.
Consonant phonemes	A phoneme (speech sound) in which the breath is at least partly obstructed. Consonants are produced by blocking or restricting airflow using the vocal cords and parts of the mouth such as the tongue, lips, or teeth. For example, /s/, /p/, /ch/, and /m/. Aotearoa New Zealand English has 24 consonant phonemes, and te reo Māori has 10 consonant phonemes. Consonant phonemes may be voiced, or voiceless. Consonants need vowels to make up syllables and words.
Consonant digraph	A grapheme written with two or more consonant letters that, together, represent one phoneme. For example, ch- as in ‘chair’ or ph- as in ‘phone’.
Constrained knowledge and skills	“Constrained knowledge and skills consist of a limited number of items, such as learning the letters of the alphabet, thus can be mastered through systematic teaching within a relatively short time frame.” - Scott P. (2005). Reinterpreting the Development of Reading Skills. Reading Research Quarterly, 40/2, 184 -2022
Convention	A rule followed by a particular type or mode of language (e.g., for volume when speaking) or a particular type of text (e.g., detective fiction).
Decodable texts	Specially designed reading materials used in early literacy instruction. These texts are composed of words that align with the phonics skills students have been taught, allowing them to practice decoding words using their knowledge of letter-sound relationships.
Decoding strategies	Strategies used by readers to work out (decode) unfamiliar words. For example, looking for known chunks, using knowledge of grapheme–phoneme relationships. These strategies are essential for developing reading fluency and comprehension.
Digraph	Two letters representing one phoneme. This sound is different from the individual sounds of the letters when they are pronounced separately. Digraphs can be composed of either consonants or vowels. For example, -er in ‘her’, -ch in ‘chips’.
Diphthong	A sound made by combining two vowels, specifically when it starts as one vowel sound and goes to another, like the ‘oy’ sound in oil. Diphthongs are sometimes called ‘gliding vowels’.
Echo reading	First, the teacher reads aloud while students follow along silently. Then students read aloud the same part of the text back to the teacher, echoing the fluency, expression and tone the teacher used. Echo reading can be used for phrases, sentences and paragraphs.
Emergent bilingual/multilingual	Students who are developing proficiency in English while continuing to develop their home language(s).
Explanatory text	A type of non-fiction writing that explains how or why something happens. It provides a detailed description of a process, event, or concept, often answering questions like “How does this work?” or “Why does this happen?”
Fluency	Refers to the ability to express oneself easily and articulately. The ability to speak, read, or write rapidly and accurately, focusing on meaning and phrasing and without having to give attention to individual words or common forms and sequences of language. Fluency is essential in communication as it allows for clear and effective expression, whether in speaking, writing, and reading.
Fragment	A fragment is a collection of words that doesn’t form a grammatically complete sentence. Typically, it is missing a subject, a verb, or both, or it is a dependent clause that is not linked to an independent clause.
Gerunds	Verb forms ending in -ing that function as nouns. For example, “Swimming is fun.”
Gist statement	Summarises the main idea or ‘gist’ of a section of text.
Global coherence inferences	Inferences that make the text form a consistent and meaningful whole, so that we can build a mental picture. Common global coherence inferences include ones that suggest the setting of a text or a character’s emotion or goals from key words.
Grapheme	The smallest unit of a written language, each usually represents one phoneme. In English, graphemes have one, two, three or four letters. For example, ‘f’, ‘th’, ‘o’, ‘ee’. ‘X’ is an exception, as it represents two phonemes /k//s/.
High-frequency words	Words that appear frequently in written and spoken language and include at least one grapheme-phoneme correspondence that students haven’t been explicitly taught yet or that is so unusual that it is considered irregular.
Indirect objects	The recipient of the direct object. For example, “He gave her a gift.”
Inference	Inference when reading a text is the process of drawing conclusions or making educated guesses based on the information provided in the text, combined with the reader’s own knowledge and experiences. This process, often described as “reading between the lines” helps readers understand implied meanings, predict outcomes, and grasp deeper insights that are not explicitly stated.
Interpretation	The process of assigning meaning or significance to elements within a text based on a student’s understanding, analysis, and personal insights. It involves making connections between various aspects such as characters, events, dialogue, and symbolism to uncover deeper meanings and themes.
Language features	Specific techniques used in writing and speech to create or support meaning. These features help convey ideas, evoke emotions, and enhance the overall effectiveness of communication. For example, figurative language and imagery.
Literacy	Literacy knowledge and skills underpin and contribute to developing the complex language needed for advanced interpretation and expression of meaning across an increasingly diverse range of oral, visual, written and digital texts. There are literacy skills and knowledge necessary for each curriculum learning area. This includes the technical and specialist language of those areas, as well as the different approaches and ways of using language across learning areas. Literacy skills include the ability to critically interpret, manage and create meaning through a range of digital communication channels.
Literary texts	Written works that are valued for their artistic and aesthetic qualities. These texts often explore complex themes, emotions, and human experiences through creative language and storytelling. Literary texts can include various genres, such as: Novels: Extended fictional works that explore characters, plots, and settings in depth. Short Stories: Brief fictional narratives that focus on a single event or character. Poetry: Verses and poems that use rhythm, rhyme, and imagery to evoke emotions and ideas. Plays: Dramatic works intended for performance on stage, exploring dialogue and action. Essays: Prose works that reflect the author’s personal views on a particular subject.
Local or lexical inference	The reader understands the meaning of words and phrases by connecting them to other words and phrases in the text. This is called a lexical inference because it relies on links between lexical items (i.e. words) and is a type of local cohesion inference.
Meaning making	Using personal and cultural knowledge, experiences, strategies, and awareness to derive or convey meaning when listening, speaking, reading, writing or viewing; this requires language comprehension, background knowledge, an understanding of the forms and purposes of different text types and an awareness that texts are intended for an audience.
Metacognition	Involves being aware of and understanding their own thought processes, which helps them plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning strategies. Linked to the science of learning, this self-awareness enhances their ability to retain information and solve problems.
Mode	A system of signs and symbols with agreed upon meanings. Refers to the various forms and methods through which literacy is expressed and communicated. They are essential for developing comprehensive literacy skills, enabling individuals to effectively communicate and understand information in various contexts. Modes of meaning include: Oral Language: live or recorded speech Written Language: writing, reading Visual Mode: still or moving image, sculpture Audio Mode: music, ambient sounds, noises Gestural Mode: movements of the hands and arms, facial expressions, eye movements and gaze, dance Spatial Mode: proximity, spacing, layout, interpersonal distance
Morphological knowledge	An understanding of morphemes, the smallest units of meaning in a language, which can be prefixes, suffixes, or root words. This knowledge is crucial for reading, spelling, and vocabulary development.
Multimodal text	Multimodal texts combine two or more modes of communication to convey a message. These modes can include oral language, written language, audio, gestural, spatial and visual modes. Examples of multimodal texts include picture books, websites, performance poetry, films, news reports, infographics, videos, and digital presentations.
Narrative text	A type of writing that tells a story or describes a sequence of events. The primary purpose of narrative texts is to entertain or inform the reader by presenting a coherent and engaging story. Organised around events and literary elements such as setting, characters, and a problem and solution. For example, diary, biography, autobiography, personal narrative, fable, myth, legend, fairytale, poem, play.
Orthographic mapping	The cognitive process through which a word is permanently stored in memory for instant and effortless recall. Orthographic mapping is crucial for developing fluent reading skills. It enables readers to recognise words automatically without needing to sound them out each time, which frees up cognitive resources for comprehension and higher-order thinking. Key aspects of orthographic mapping include: Letter-sound connections: Readers map the sounds they hear in a word to the letters they see. Pronunciation and spelling: The pronunciation of a word is linked to its spelling, allowing for quick recognition. Meaning: The meaning of the word is also stored, making it easier to understand and use in context.
Participles	Verb forms used as adjectives. Present participles end in -ing, and past participles often end in -ed or -en. For example: Present participle: “the running water” Past participle: “the broken vase”
Partner reading	One student reads to another, and then they swap roles. Students are taught a simple routine to coach each other through reading errors.
Phoneme	The smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another. When combined with other sounds, they form a meaningful unit. For example, the sounds represented by the letters, ‘p’ ‘b’ ‘d’ and ‘t’ are phonemes because they differentiate words like ‘pad,’ ‘bad’ and ‘bat’.
Phoneme-grapheme correspondence	The relationships between spoken sound units and the written symbols that represent them. Refers to the relationship between phonemes (the smallest units of sound in a language) and graphemes (the letters or groups of letters that represent those phonemes in written form). This concept (the alphabetic principle) is fundamental in phonics, developing students’ ability to identify and manipulate phonemes and link them to their corresponding graphemes to read and spell words.
Phonemic awareness	The ability to hear, differentiate, and attend to the individual sounds within words. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a spoken word. For example, ‘frog’ has four sounds as does the word ‘box’.
Phonics	An approach to teaching reading that focuses on the sounds represented by letters in words (see also decoding skills).
Phonological awareness	An overall understanding of the sound systems of a language. For example, an awareness that words are made up of combinations of sounds.
Phrase	A small group of words within a sentence. It does not make sense on its own. This is because it does not contain a complete verb or a subject.
Predicate	The predicate is the part of a sentence (or clause) that states what the subject does or is. For example, in the sentence “Native short-tailed pekapeka hunt insects on the forest floor,” the predicate is “hunt insects on the forest floor”.
Predicate adjectives	An adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject. For example, “The sky looks blue.”
Predicate nouns	A noun that follows a linking verb and renames the subject. For example, “She is a teacher.”
R-controlled vowel pattern	Graphemes which represent the phonemes /ar/, /er/, /or/, /eer/, /air/, and /ure/. Note: in the general Aotearoa New Zealand English accent, /eer/ and /air/ are now pronounced as the same phoneme by many speakers over recent decades. For example, ‘hear’ and ‘hair’ are pronounced the same.
Repeated reading	Students re-read texts multiple times, focusing on improving accuracy and expression.
Schwa	The schwa is the vowel sound in an unstressed syllable. It can be represented by many different letters and often sounds like the short ‘u’ sound ‘uh’ or the short ‘i' sound ‘ih’, like the sound for ‘er’ in letter, or the sound for ‘o’ in police.
Scope and sequence	‘Scope’ refers to the concepts or skills that need to be taught. ‘Sequence’ refers to the order in which the concepts and skills are introduced. This ensures that foundational knowledge is built before introducing more complex concepts. This structured approach helps students make connections, facilitating deeper understanding and retention of information.
Simple sentence	A simple sentence must: contain a subject (noun or noun phrase) and a predicate (verb and any elements telling what the subject does or is) make complete sense or represent a complete thought on its own. Simple sentences are the building blocks of more complex sentence structures and are essential for clear and concise communication. Sentences not containing a subject or predicate are ‘incomplete sentences’ or ‘fragments’.
Self-regulation	The ability to understand and manage behaviour, emotions, and reactions to various situations. This skill helps children focus on tasks, control impulses, and interact positively with others, all of which are essential for learning and social development.
Sentence combining	Sentence combining is an evidence-based instructional technique which is effective for teaching syntax and grammar to children, and improves sentence quality, complexity and variety.
Split digraph	A vowel digraph which has been split up by a consonant letter between the two vowel letters. For example: a-e as in ‘cake’ i-e as in ‘five’ o-e as in ‘code’ e-e as in ‘sphere’ u-e as in ‘rule’
Statistical learning	In the context of reading, statistical learning is the ability to recognise patterns and regularities in written language. It is a form of implicit learning and includes becoming aware of the probability that a particular grapheme will correspond to a particular phoneme.
Subject	The person or thing (noun, pronoun, or noun phrase) that a sentence or clause is about. For example, “braided rivers” is the subject in the sentence “braided rivers form many channels”.
Summarising texts	Involves condensing the main ideas and key points of a longer text into a shorter version, using your own words. This process helps to provide a clear and concise overview of the original content without including unnecessary details.
Syllable	A single, unbroken vowel sound within a spoken word. They typically contain a vowel sound and perhaps one or more accompanying consonants. All words contain at least one syllable. Syllables are sometimes referred to as the 'beats' of a word that form its rhythm, and breaking a word into syllables can help learners with phonetic spelling.
Syntax	The rules followed to arrange words and phrases to create logical and grammatically correct clauses, and sentences. It involves the rules that govern the structure of sentences, including word order, sentence structure, and the relationship between words.
Systematic synthetic phonics	A method of teaching reading that emphasises the relationship between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) in a structured and sequential manner. The term ‘synthetic’ comes from the synthesising or blending of sounds to make a word and enable children to read.
Taonga tuku iho	Something handed down, a cultural property or heritage.
Text	Texts are constructed from one or more of the modes of meaning (oral language, written language, audio, gestural, spatial and visual modes). They are a language event that we require language skills to understand. Creators construct texts to convey meaning to an audience. For example, a speech, poem, poster, video clip, advertisement.
Text type	A particular kind of text with features and conventions linked to its purpose. For example, oral texts are spoken forms of communication, like speeches and conversations, while written texts are conveyed through writing, such as books and articles. Digital texts, created and accessed using technology, often include interactive elements like audio and video.
Text creator	An individual or group who creates texts in any mode and using any technology.
Think-alouds	A teaching strategy where teachers verbalise their thought processes.
Transcription	Describes the act of converting spoken language into written form on the page or screen.
Trigraph	A cluster of three letters that collectively produce a specific single sound. It can be composed entirely of consonants or vowels, or it can be a mix of both. For example, sigh, catch
Unconstrained knowledge and skills	“Unconstrained meaning-making knowledge and skills are learned across a lifetime and are broad in scope.” - Scott P. (2005). Reinterpreting the Development of Reading Skills. Reading Research Quarterly, 40/2, 184-202
Unstressed syllable	The part of the word that doesn't receive emphasis or stress.
Vowel	Words are built from letters which are either vowels or consonants. Vowels are A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y. All syllables include vowels.
Vowel team	A spelling pattern where two or more letters are used to represent a single vowel sound. This includes vowel digraphs but also combinations of two or more letters (e.g., -igh for /ī/). For example, the -ea- in ‘teach’ or the -ai- in ‘rain’
Worked examples	A teaching strategy that provides students with step-by-step demonstrations or examples of how to solve a problem or complete a task.

NZC - English (Phase 2)

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Teaching sequence – Phase 2 (Years 4-6)

Explicit teaching

Structured literacy approaches

Inclusive teaching and learning

Developing positive identities as communicators, readers, and writers

Working with texts

Oral language

Reading

Working with year-level texts

Noticing, recognising, and responding to students’ strengths and needs

Selecting text

Year 4 level texts

Year 5 and 6 level texts

Writing