Acquiring and using information and ideas in informational
texts.
Annotation
Salesh makes connections between the text and the diagram to select and evaluate
information that answers his question: “How do you know if you have got asthma?”
He locates an appropriate paragraph on page 19 that provides an explanation of what
happens during an asthma attack and uses the information from that paragraph along
with the diagram information to make sense of this health condition.
Text
“Asthma”
This article explains what happens during an asthma attack, what triggers asthma and
how people can control their asthma. The article describes a young girl’s experiences
of living with asthma. It has an introduction followed by information set out under
three separate subheadings and is well supported by diagrams and photographs.
Task
The students are engaged in a first guided reading of the article “Asthma”. Their
task is to find answers to a number of questions the group has posed about this health
condition.
This task supports a health and safety unit that focuses on identifying risks and using
safe practices.
Student Response
Teacher:
The diagram on these two pages (pages 18 and 19) will help you
understand what the text is telling you. You need to look carefully at it
because it has three linked parts.
Salesh:
I think this bit (pointing to the text on page 19) will answer my
question, because I want to find out how you know if you’ve got
asthma.
Teacher:
Well, when you have read these two pages, we will stop and discuss
what you have found out.
(Students read silently to the end of page 19 and then discuss with a partner.)
Teacher:
Salesh, did you get your answer?
Salesh:
Yes because this part (referring to the paragraph headed “What is
asthma?” on page 19) explains all about what it is like if you have got
it. It says (reading from page 19) “If you have asthma, these airways
sometimes tighten up, making it hard to breathe.” Then the diagram
shows you what that looks like (pointing to the diagram showing an
airway during an asthma attack on page 19). See, it’s all closed up,
and the label tells you that is because the muscles go all tight and that
makes it hard to breathe. And that’s why it says here (locates and reads
the sentence from page 19) “Your chest may feel tight. You might
cough, and your breathing might be wheezy.” So that’s how you know
if you have got it. I think that happens to my brother sometimes, but I
didn’t know it was asthma.
Reference
Silk-Martelli, Denise. 2011. “Asthma”. School Journal, Level 2 October. Wellington:
Learning Media for the Ministry of Education, page 18.
Annotation
Mariama identifies strongly with the main idea of the text that Dame Kāterina is
special because she has helped preserve and tell the stories of the Ngāti Porou people.
Mariama makes a number of connections between ideas and information from
throughout the text to support this view.
Specifically, Mariama uses:

her prior knowledge of the word ‘tīpuna’,

her understanding that ‘we’ refers to the Māori extended family (or whānau)

her koro’s explanation about the importance of learning their stories

information that is close by in the text.
Text
“Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira – Walking on the lands of our tīpuna”
This article about the author Kāterina Mataira is as a form of eulogy after her passing
in July 2011. The article shares aspects of Dame Kāterina’s life and highlights the
importance of her culture. The author writes in the first person. Te reo Māori is used
in a natural way throughout the article, occurring in English sentences and as an
untranslated poroporoaki, or ceremonial farewell, to Dame Kāterina.
Task
The students are learning about people of significance in New Zealand. They have
read the article “Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira – Walking on the lands of our tīpuna”
in a guided reading session. Their task is to use information from the article to
provide evidence for why they think Dame Kāterina was thought of as a very special
New Zealander.
Student Response
Teacher:
Mariama can you share why you think Dame Kāterina is a special New
Zealander?
Mariama:
Well, I think she was special because she wrote lots of books in
English and in Māori for her children and for others to read – because
it says (reads from page 18) “She wrote many books for children, as
well as novels for teenagers and adults.” (Turns to page 22) See, these
are the ones that she wrote in English. (Reads from pages 22 and 23)
Maori Legends for Young New Zealanders and Cry-Baby Moon. You
can Google them and read them on the computer.
Teacher:
That would be a good thing to do.
Mariama:
And she helped her whānau know their stories because she had, like, a
school on their marae so she could help them find out about their
ancestors, because that is what her cousin says she did (reads from
page 17) “Here, we walked over the lands where our tīpuna walked,
and we slept on the lands where they slept. We found out about the
history and stories of our own area.”
And I think if she didn’t help them go where their ancestors had been
and talk about their stories then the stories will be gone … because
when the old people die, nobody will remember them. That is why my
koro says we have to learn our stories. So that is why I think she is
special. You know, because now their families and everyone can read
the stories in Māori and in English, and so they won’t be lost.
Reference
Kaa, Oho. 2012. “Kāterina Te Heikōkō Mataira – Walking on the lands of our
tīpuna”. School Journal, Level 2 February. Wellington: Learning Media for the
Ministry of Education, page 16.
Annotation
Shannon reads through the eight short pages provided on the website and identifies that the
main ideas in the first five pages relate to how polar bears catch their food and that the
remaining three pages describe how the polar bear’s body is suited to the Arctic.
She refers to the task question to help her reject the information from the first few pages as
information unrelated to her purpose for reading.
She then locates the information that supports the task and explains to her peer why that
information will be useful.
Text
National Geographic Kids: Animals: Creature Features: Polar Bears webpage
The National Geographic Kids website is designed to engage children in learning about
animals and countries across the world. It combines informative multimedia and interactive
text from National Geographic resources.
Its “Creature Features” webpage resources provide integrated informative text, maps and
videos about different animals.
Task
The students have been discussing how animals are suited to living in different habitats and
how they adapt to changes in the environment. The teacher has provided them with a range of
different resources to help them in their research. They read these resources independently or
in pairs.
Their task is to find information about how the bodies of different animals help those animals
survive where they live.
Student Response
Peer:
So, what are we looking for again?
Shannon:
We need to find information on the lives of different animals. Actually, it has
to be about how their bodies are suited to where they live.
Peer:
Well, we’re doing polar bears here (chooses an appropriate website from the
range of sites offered by the teacher).
Shannon:
Cool pictures! OK, if we read each of these pages, we can see what bits we’ll
need. (they read through the eight short pages). I don’t think we’re going to
need all this.
Peer:
Yeah, there’re loads. But it’s all really interesting, like the bit about waiting
outside a seal hole until it comes out.
Shannon:
Well, we have to find just the information on its body and how it is adapted to
the cold. That information is here, on the last three pages, so let’s ignore the
first few pages and just read the parts where it talks about his body. Look, it
says that “Polar bears have fur and skin that allow them to absorb sunlight for
warmth. Their blubber, or fat, insulates them in cold water.” So, that tells us
that its body is really suited to living in such a cold place. I hadn’t really
thought about why they were white! And there’s more information about the
front paws, the pads on its feet and the way its fur and skin help keep it warm.
Reference
National Geographic Kids: Animals: Creature Features: Polar Bears. Retrieved February
2013 from: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/polar-bear/