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Activities and examples

The "Say it" activity – example

This example of a "Say it" activity is based on “My Dad's Raw Fish” by Mata Mataio (School Journal 2.4.02).

My Dad's Raw Fish

   A  B  C
 1 Pretend you are Dad. Tell your daughter all the ingredients you need to make raw fish. Tell her something about each ingredient. Pretend you are Mata. Tell your friend the names of all your brothers and sisters. Pretend you are Mum. Tell your children what to do to get ready to eat.
 2 Pretend you are David. Tell your children about the other dishes they will eat with their grandfather’s raw fish. Tell your classmates about your own favourite meal. Tell them the ingredients you need for it. Pretend you are Dad. Explain why you leave the bones in the fish.
 3 Pretend you are Mum. Tell your youngest child why you say grace before you start eating. Pretend you are Denise. Tell your friend all about catching fish yesterday with your Dad. Pretend you are the youngest brother and introduce yourself to the group. Tell them about preparing the fish. Tell them how you feel about your job.


  1. Each cell in the "Say it" table is a little role-play.
  2. Working in small groups of three or four, the students take turns to speak according to the instructions in a cell.
  3. The cells can be chosen at random, by dice or counters in a bag.
  4. To begin with, everyone should be given a cell and have a minute or two to prepare by checking with the story. If you think your students need extra support, ask them to do the preparation in pairs.
  5. Next, the students take turns to speak.
  6. The students assign cells again, and speak again.
  7. The group can do this several times so that each cell has been done more than once by different people.


  1. After a few turns, your students might get so confident with the story that they don’t need to prepare their role-plays but can do them straight away when they’re given a cell number.
  2. They might like to perform some of them for the whole class.
  3. Later, you might like to use some of the cells as a basis for writing, as well.
  4. When students are familiar with doing "Say it" activities, they might like to write their own for texts they have read.

A "Say it" can also be much simpler than this one, with only four cells and very simple instructions. For example: "You are Denise. Say who you are. Say what you did yesterday with your father."

A "Say it" can also be much more difficult, based on senior secondary curriculum material and objectives. For example:

  • "You are a geologist. Explain to the engineers planning a bridge what the rock types are in this area."
  • "You are a geologist. Explain to the engineers planning a bridge whether the rocks in this area present problems for bridge construction."

How "Say it" supports students

The "Say it" activity provides three types of support for student output.

1. Emotional support 
This is an important factor in language learning. 

  • Small audience: The students talk in small groups, not in front of the whole class and teacher.
  • Chance to practise: The students have several turns at speaking, so it doesn't matter if they don't speak very well the first time.
  • Familiar content: The students talk about material they have already become familiar with.

2. Cognitive support 

  • Known content: The students are working with material they understand because they’ve already explored it in class with their teacher.
  • Specific focus: Each speaking task limits the content to one perspective and covers only part of the material.
  • Shifting perspectives: Exploring the material from different perspectives, and having several students do each task, widens comprehension of the material.

3. Linguistic support and guidance 
This type of activity promotes noticing and hypothesis testing

Students notice new language items as they search for words and phrases they need in written material or in what other students say. They try out new language and test their hypotheses by observing whether the other students understand them or not. 

  • Written language items are provided: The students can refer to the written text to find the language they need for their mini role.
  • Spoken language items are provided: The students hear other members of the group, and can use some of the language items they hear them use.
  • Opportunity to reuse items: The students have several turns at speaking and can improve their fluency as they reuse words and phrases several times.
  • Opportunity for feedback: Other group members can ask questions or help out if they don't understand what was said by a student, or want to know more.

Measuring readability

Extracts for analysis

A is an academic text for school students working up to level 2 of the New Zealand Curriculum

"Kinleith Forest is a very busy place. During the day, forestry workers hack and saw noisily. Big trees crash to the ground. And logging trucks thunder along wide roads through the forest. At the same time, other workers are busy planting new trees. But when the sun goes down, things are just as busy. It is then that the night animals wake up. One of these is the long-tailed bat. I'm a scientist who studies long-tailed bats. There aren't many of these bats around. We're worried that they might all die out. To help save these bats we need to … [100 words]"
(Moore, 2002, pages 20–21.)

B is intended for up to level 4 of the curriculum

"Ferns are usually very easy to identify from their leaves. Known as fronds, fern leaves tend to be very long. They're often divided into leaflets that are attached along a central stalk. Each leaflet is sometimes divided into even smaller leaflets. … In their leaves ferns harness the energy in sunlight to make simple sugars from carbon dioxide and water. Well, that's hardly big news in the plant world, but let's look more closely at the back of those fern leaves. There we often find sporangia, which are reproductive organs. In fact sporangia are so interesting that they deserve their own article. [100 words]"
(Alchin, 2002, pages 10–11.)

C is intended for students in years 9 and 10

"Vitamin D is essential for bone growth and health at all ages because it helps the body to absorb ingested calcium and to deposit calcium, with phosphate, into the skeleton. One natural source of vitamin D is exposure to sunshine. Vitamin D deficiency occurs in many regions of the world, including the northern European countries, northern Canada, and the Arctic. People who stay inside a lot (for example, elderly people) may also suffer from it.

Any calcium supplements should also contain vitamin D to ensure maximum absorption.

What is the influence of physical activity?

Young bones respond more to physical … [100 words]"
(Osteoporosis New Zealand, 2001, pages 35–36.)

D is an academic text for university students and graduate teachers

"Orientation refers to how learners view a task, the nature of the goals they form in order to perform it and the operations they use to carry it out. The particular orientation learners adopt determines the kind of activity that results. In part, how they orient to the task will reflect their previous experiences not just with similar tasks but with the kind of activity they associate with the particular setting in which they are communicating. In this way, how learners orientate to a task is socio-historically determined. Hall describes how the linguistic resources participants bring to an interaction and… [100 words]

(Ellis, 2003, page 187)

Materials for vocabulary analysis

1. From the level 1 writing exemplar, Stories along the River

So we can remember people who die and thing that happened by the Waikato river a long time ago. So people don't forget things that happened at places. 

Telling Story 
people write story so the person who read them can remember about the waikato river and what people used to do on the river. 

People can find important places to go to and find there and so we do not get lost. It could lead you to something that belongs in the Waikato river. It might be a taniwha. 

You can sing about the waikato River. You make up songs to do with the River to tell other people about Special Places, and why they are special. 

photos tell you about the olden days at the Waikato river so We can see the changes of the river and the places along the river 

2. From the level 5 social studies exemplar, Water Woes

In third-world or developing countries such as Ethiopia, Cambodia and Jordan, there are often many issues over gaining and maintaining access to safe water and sanitation. However there are some successes. Some of the issues that restrict people's access are harmful chemicals from factories, financial issues, the location and landscape of where people live, and last of all, people using most of the water in a river before it gets down to villages lower down so that the lower villages have none left …

The location and landscape of where people live can be a big issue of how much water someone gets. The amount of rainfall and fresh water available may determine how much daily safe water they get, as there are not many pipes, taps, pumps or wells that people can look to for help. In Cambodia, if a village is not near fresh water, it is almost impossible for the women to fetch fresh water. Although there is not much poorer countries can do to change nature, Jordan is thinking of building a canal to the ocean to get more water, and also building pipes from lakes in Israel, with financial assistance from Israel …

3. From the level 5 social studies exemplar, Parihaka, Past and Present

A: My whanau return to Parihaka regularly for the kohi mate on 18–19 of the month. People come by the busload to remember and help us young ones learn what occurred in the past. The grief of losing our land in 1881 is like an open wound which continues to weep. On 5 November each year when Pakeha celebrate Guy Fawkes, we remember our tupuna who lost their lives and their land at Parihaka.

B: My family have leased this land since 1935. We have had a long term lease but our rentals have gone up a lot lately. We have worked hard to make this land productive. This is where my family belongs. How is the government going to sort out this mess? This is my home, but Te Ati Awa say it is still their land. These issues go on and on and need to be settled for New Zealand to move into the future.

C: My ancestor Te Whiti has long been called a peacemaker. When the English constabulary started storming Parihaka, he knew that he and his people were greatly outnumbered. It was a wise move that he took in getting the adults to lay down their arms and encourage his people, even the tamariki, to welcome and offer hospitality to the invaders. But despite that, Te Whiti and Tohu were taken prisoner and spent 18 months being taken from gaol to gaol in the South Island. The anguish on the faces of the people in the photos we saw remind us of the grief of Parihaka and why Māori continue to fight for justice over land and seabed issues.

4. All words used in student texts in level 1 and level 2 social studies curriculum exemplars (not including people's names)

Level 1: Spoken 
(two exemplars) 
Level 1: Written 
(four exemplars) 
Level 2: Spoken 
(two exemplars) 
Level 2: Written 
(three exemplars) 
a am after ages and at bark born bowl called came catch climbs coconut dad dancing do does drinking drum eating family fish fishtrap for from fruit got grandmother great-grandfather hammer has he his I in is it keep kept know like list listens lunch lunchbox make me mum music my New Zealand not of on our out of parents people photos pick plastic playing pound roots school ship so socks stuff tape recorder that the them they tree to toes uses war warm was we well were when while who with a about after ago all along am and any apron are at baker bakes be because belongs book bread bumpy busy by can changes children clothes come cookies could cut dad die do don't each other enough family find flowers food for forget fun gardener get glue go grass happened hat have have to he help helped her his house I important in is it ka pai keep lead learn like like listening little live long look after lost love make make up maps me meet might moko monuments mum my need not of office old olden days on or other our people pepe person photos pies place poem production properly put on read related remember river safe says school see she sing so something somewhere else songs sort of special staffs (stuff) story survive taniwha teacher teaches teina tell telling that the their them there they thing this time to together tuakana used to very waiata Waikato River watching water we wear whaea whānau what when who why with without work would wouldn't write you yukky a aboriginal about according all ancestors and art bag barbecue beautiful because began being big brochures but can careful carvings cave change chopping down come cool (=good) cough council Cox's Bay day did dig do drawing drawings Dreamtime drop everyone flax for from get go Grey Lynn hands he heaps helping hole hot how hundred hungry I important in in case is it kowhai legends letterbox like live lots mail make making me men model my native neighbours newspaper nice nicer of off on other paint pass on people person photos pink places planting plants put putting rather red respect rock sacred said Saturday see shook should show sign smooth sneeze so some started stories stuff teach tell thank you that the their then there they think to told tour tourist tree trees truck Uluru use usually want wanted was weedy what where why women working world would writing yes youngsters yucky a affect also am and another Arabic are around arrival as at awesome basics because before behind being boys bring built bullocks bush busier by can can't cars cart change Christchurch city class come community computer could culture cut down dad Darfield did don't drive easier engines entertainment ever farmers farms fast faster feel fly food for forward from front future gidday go got grew had haere mai he hello help hongi horse how I in influenced is it job just kaumatua less like living lots machinery magnets main make making malo e lelei manuhiri many Māori means meet month more motor movies Mr much mum my new not numbers of often old on once one onto or paddocks passed peace people per petrol plough pollution powhiri print remember replies roads room 21 rows rugby say saying shopping sing skiing skills slowly so special sport stand started starting stuff supplies takes talk taught teach tena koe tena koutou katoa thanks that the their then there they this through to today together town traction tutira mai nga iwi uncle us used vehicles visit walking was way we welcomes went West Coast what when when wildlife will winter with Yemen you