Fiji and Niue
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Approach:  Team
Level: Year 4 and year 8
Focus: Finding and comparing information in similar texts    
Resources:
2 books: Fiji and Niue, 2 pair answer sheets, 1 team answer sheet
848Kb
Questions/instructions:  


In this activity you will be finding and sharing information about a Pacific Island. To start off, you will work in pairs. [Students 1 and 2] will be finding information on Fiji. [Students 3 and 4] will be finding information on Niue.

Hand Students 1 and 2 book on Fiji, and Students 3 and 4 book on Niue. Hand students pair answer sheets.
Your book tells you about a Pacific Island. Use the book to make notes that will help you to answer the questions written on this sheet. Write your notes in the boxes.

Allow time.
 
% responses
2009 ('05)
y4
y8
FIJIFIJI:
Make notes in the boxes [of answer sheet] to help you answer the questions.
[Click on graphic to enlarge.]
1. What does Fiji look like?  
  Number mentioned:
[volcanoes, lots of islands, thick forests, some islands are coral atolls]
    
4
4 (0)
8 (3)
3
5 (5)
16 (17)
2
16 (13)
28 (27)
1
36 (42)
39 (42)
0
39 (40)
8 (10)
2. What is the weather like?
Number mentioned:
[warm and moist; rains a lot; east side gets more rain than west side; cyclones/hurricanes cause damage]
    
4
2 (5)
7 (10)
3
13 (5)
35 (31)
2
42 (40)
46 (48)
1
37 (40)
12 (10)
0
6 (10)
0 (2)
3. What types of sea creatures can be found?    
Number mentioned:
[fish, corals, lobsters, turtles, starfish]
5
54 (42)
78 (75)
4
12 (17)
17 (15)
3
3 (8)
1 (3)
2
4 (5)
1 (2)
1
22 (18)
2 (3)
0
6 (10)
2 (2)
4. What types of food do they grow?
Number mentioned:
[taro, yams, bananas, coconuts]
4
46 (47)
84 (85)
3
9 (17)
4 (7)
2
16 (8)
1 (3)
1
18 (12)
4 (2)
0
12 (17)
8 (3)
Number mentioned:
[chillies, cucumbers, mangoes]
   
3
27 (20)
30 (15)
2
4 (2)
2 (3)
1
9 (8)
5 (3)
0
60 (70)
63 (78)
5. What special ceremonies do they have?
Mentioned:
kava drinking ceremony
72 (73)
90 (98)
firewalking
52 (42)
65 (78)
niueNIUE:
Make notes in the boxes [of answer sheet] to help you answer the questions.
[Click on graphic to enlarge.]
1. What does Niue look like?
y4
y8
Number mentioned:
[world’s biggest atoll; coastline rises straight up/no beaches; lots of coconut palms]
  
3
2 (0)
6 (0)
2
12 (18)
52 (46)
1
36 (37)
19 (32)
0
52 (45)
22 (22)
2. What is the weather like?
Number mentioned:
[sunny and warm; cyclones/ hurricanes cause damage]
 
2
55 (48)
90 (76)
1
42 (48)
9 (24)
0
4 (3)
1 (0)
3. What types of sea creatures can be found?     
Number mentioned:
[poisonous snakes, poisonous
coral fish, shellfish, fish]
4
5 (3)
6 (3)
3
4 (8)
12 (7)
2
49 (48)
64 (76)
1
34 (30)
9 (9)
0
9 (10)
9 (5)
4. What types of food do they grow?
Number mentioned:
[talo (taro), bananas, coconuts]
3
20 (15)
24 (29)
2
43 (40)
42 (41)
1
36 (33)
30 (31)
0
1 (12)
4 (0)
5. What special ceremonies do they have?    
Ear piercing ceremony for girls:
mentioned and says it’s for girls
43 (53)
71 (71)
mentioned ear piercing (not girls)
14 (10)
9 (9)
mentioned coming-of-age ceremony for girls
(not ear piercing)
16 (15)
11 (10)
Haircutting ceremony for boys:
mentioned and says it’s for boys
29 (33)
50 (56)
mentioned hair cutting (not boys)
7 (12)
8 (7)
mentioned coming-of-age ceremony for boys
(not haircutting)
16 (13)
21 (12)
Now it’s time for you to work as a team. Start off by sharing your notes on each question. As you share your notes think about the things that are the same and the things that are different about Fiji and Niue.
Allow time. Hand students team answer sheet.
Use your pair answer sheets and talk together to fill out this team answer sheet. Decide which things are the same and different about Fiji and Niue. Write how they are the same and different in the boxes. When you have finished filling out the answer sheet, I’ll ask you to share your ideas with me.
Allow about 10 minutes.
Now tell me your ideas about what is the same and different about Fiji and Niue.
    
Things that are the same:    
 
both have coral atolls
10 (13)
22 (22)
 
temperature similar (warm)
74 (58)
72 (81)
 
cyclones (cause a lot of damage)
12 (23)
24 (32)
 
fish common to both countries
55 (55)
55 (53)
Number of same crops mentioned:
[both islands grow taro (talo), bananas, coconuts]
3
9 (13)
19 (17)
2
31 (23)
27 (25)
1
35 (23)
22 (32)
0
26 (40)
32 (25)
Things that are different:
    
Mentioned:
geographical features (physical features e.g. beaches):
two or more differences
6 (8)
22 (22)
one difference
41 (45)
43 (53)
weather (more rain in Fiji)
30 (17)
38 (34)
difference in food grown
(yams in Fiji, not mentioned for Niue)
36 (22)
34 (20)
ceremonies
75 (63)
78 (90)
difference in sea creatures
(e.g. turtles and starfish in Fiji; poisonous
snakes and poisonous coral fish in Niue)
46 (40)
57 (48)

Total score:
41–50
4 (3)
14 (5)
31–40
25 (15)
57 (59)
21–30
50 (48)
20 (32)
11–20
17 (27)
7 (2)
0–10
5 (7)
1 (2)
Commentary:
Working in pairs and then in teams, students were somewhat successful in gathering, comparing and contrasting information about Fiji and Niue. They were typically more successful in responding to questions for which answers could be readily located but were challenged by a variety of text features. Moderate growth was seen in year 8 students compared to the year 4 students.