Reading for Pleasure

Achievement Standard 90854 (V2):

Form personal responses to independently
read texts, supported by evidence

4 credits

Achievement

Achievement with Merit

Form personal responses to Form convincing personal

independently read texts,
responses to independently
supported by evidence.
read texts, supported by
evidence.

Achievement with
Excellence
Form perceptive
personal responses to
independently read
texts, supported by
evidence.

Introduction
This assessment activity requires you to form and present personal responses to at least six
independently read texts, sharing what you felt about them and providing evidence to support your
responses. Your responses may be presented in written and/or oral form.
This activity will take place during the school year and will use a combination of class time and homework
time.
You will be assessed on the perceptiveness of your responses to your chosen texts.

Task 1: Choosing your texts

Select six texts:

Include at least four written texts, two of which must be extended texts, such as novels or
biographies. All written texts must be selected and read by you they may not be read aloud to you.

Your other two texts may be visual, oral, or written.

You may not use texts studied in class.

Your teacher will approve your selection of texts. They will need to be complex enough for Level 1 English
and, if visual, may not be used with an inappropriate rating (i.e. you cannot hand in a response to an R16
film if you are only 15).
You will read your texts at home. You may be given some reading time in class.

Task 2: Plan the responses to your selected texts

For each text, give your response.
Say which parts or aspects made you feel this way, and try to explain why, supporting your views with
quotations and/or by referring to specific, relevant details from the text.
A convincing and perceptive response will express your viewpoint in a reasoned way, showing some insight
in thought or reflection. This might involve:

discussing how and/or why the text has affected your ideas or views

explaining why a particular feature of the structure or style of the text caught your attention and
the effect that had on your understanding

discussing how the text made you think about connections with your own life, the
world, or other texts.
Your teacher will give you the dates when each response is due and your final response
will be written in class over 1 period.

Response Planning Template

Title
Author
Text Type
Personal Response
Answer

Relevant evidence in
the text to support your
answer

How has it affected

your ideas/why was it
effective/what does it
make you think about?

What appealed
to you in this
text?

What do you
think the
message is?

What, in your
own opinion, is
the author
trying to
convey in this
text?

Judgement Statements for Assessment

Evidence/Judgements for
Achievement

Evidence/Judgements for
Achievement with Merit

Evidence/Judgements for
Achievement with Excellence

Written and/or oral personal

responses for at least six
independently selected and read
texts must be submitted.
Responses must demonstrate
evidence of personal
understandings of, engagement
with, and/or viewpoints on the
texts.
At least four written texts must be
included, two of which must be
extended texts.

Written and/or oral convincing

personal responses for at least six
independently selected and read
texts must be submitted.
Responses must demonstrate
evidence of personal
understandings of, engagement
with, and/or viewpoints on the
texts which are generally
meaningful.
At least four written texts must be
included, two of which must be
extended texts.

Written and/or oral perceptive

personal responses for at least six
independently selected and read
texts must be submitted.
Responses must demonstrate
evidence of personal
understandings of, engagement
with, and/or viewpoints on the
texts which shows some insight
in thought or reflection.
At least four written texts must be
included, two of which must be
extended texts.

Supporting evidence (either quotations or specific details) that is directly relevant to the opinion must be provided
for each text. This may also include responding to links between:
- text and self (e.g. personal contexts and prior knowledge)
- text and world (e.g. connections with knowledge, experience, ideas and imagination from social, cultural,
literary, political or historical contexts).
What appealed to you in this novel?
A: Basically, what appealed to me
in this novel would have to be the
fact that it is written in a modern
format from the perspectives of
three teenage girls who are at high
school.
Q: What do you think the msg is?
A: I really liked how it had text
conversations just like real teenage
girls have. It was about how friends
are important.

Q: What, in your own opinion, is the

author trying to convey in this novel?
A: I think the author was trying to
convey the idea that being a
teenager is hard.

A: I really liked how it reflected

what real teenage girls go through
and found that the authors
portrayal of the challenges that
friends of all ages and genders go
through was accurate and realistic
at the same time.

Q: What, in your own opinion, is the

author trying to convey in this novel?
A: I think the author was trying to
convey the idea that all friendships
may be tested by different things
through life but real friendships
can make it through the hard
yards and stay strong, even when
you think that no one else
understands what you are going
through.

Q: Is it realistic?
A: . The texting format makes the
characters real because this is
exactly the way that I
communicate with my own friends.
I can relate to how the girls
problems are happening in the
moment and how they need to
share with their closest friends to
help them sort out their problems.
Q: What do you think the msg is?
A: I really liked how it made the girls
so real. Her message is about how
being a teenager is challenging
because its about a whole lot of
new experiences and becoming
part of a more adult world. By
being so realistic I could relate to
how having friends who are
sharing your experiences is really
important.
Its about how talking (or msging)
about whats going on in your life (
is so important for yourself and
your friends. True friends are
those who listen and support, and
help you figure out who you really
are and want in life. she was true
to herself because by
communicating her problems and
hearing her friends issues shed
manage to sort it out in her own
head. It just goes to show how
important friends are.

Task 3: Present the responses to your selected texts

Take your notes and put them together. The following are the NZQA exemplars:
Low Excellence:

The student forms a personal response by demonstrating a generally perceptive

personal understanding of the selected text: James Camerons film Avatar. Insight into
the nature of the human character (1) is demonstrated within the context of the text,
and is linked to issues in the wider world. Relevant textual references and some
perceptive reflection of issues beyond the text are given (2).
To meet this standard with Excellence more securely, the student could further reflect
on the conflict between money and the environment, or develop further insight into
the appeal of the 'alternative' lifestyle as chosen by Jake in the film.
Low Merit

The student forms a personal response by demonstrating a sufficiently convincing

personal engagement with the difficult challenges faced by the characters in the
chosen text: Jodi Picoults novel My Sisters Keeper (1). Supporting references to show
understanding of the 'struggles some people have to face' are generally meaningful
(2).

To meet the standard with Merit more securely, the student could further
respond, for example, to the characters' behaviours, the genetic issue or social
attitudes and values.

High Merit

The student forms a personal response by demonstrating a convincing personal

engagement with the chosen text: Lauren Myracles novel ttyl (1). The student's own
ideas about 'real teenage girls' and school age friendships have been successfully
integrated with the author's viewpoint, all supported with relevant textual references
(2).
To meet the standard with Excellence, the student could, for example, further develop
the comments about the appeal of the 'modern format' of the three narrative
perspectives. Further insight and reflection on the nature and significance of
friendship, both within the novel itself and in the wider social context, could also be
demonstrated.

High Achieved

The student forms a personal response by demonstrating a personal engagement with

the chosen text: Ruth Laugesens article about Facebook (1). Specific and relevant
examples from the article connect the student's prior knowledge with the new
understanding that the article has generated (2).
To meet the standard with Merit, the student could demonstrate a more
meaningful response to both the benefits and dangers of Facebook as described in the
article. This could be either from a personal or a social networking perspective.
Low Achieved

This student responded to Li Cunxins novel Maos Last Dancer, forming a personal
response by just sufficiently demonstrating a personal engagement in the statement
"I realized that it was really hard for him" (1). Supporting evidence includes a direct
quotation and references to relevant incidents in the text (2).
To meet this standard more securely, the student could demonstrate more
understanding of, for example, Li's courage, challenges, confusion or conflicting
emotions.
High Not Achieved

However this personal response to the text has insufficient supporting evidence for the
Achieved grade.

To meet this standard, the student needs to support the personal engagement with specific
examples, references and/or details from the text itself. Examples could be given of the
'simple language' used and of the reader's feelings when Napoleon's exploitation of the other
animals is described by the author.

10

Task 4: Submitting the responses to your selected texts

During the year:
You will have be given dates to submit responses through the year. Exact dates will be negotiated with your
teacher but indicative dates are on the assessment calendar. (Your progress in meeting these submission
dates will be commented on in your mid-year report)
At the end:
In the week before the final submission of all responses, you will have the opportunity to review all
responses and amend them. During this process all work must remain in the class.
Please note that your responses will not be graded until all six are submitted. Each response handed in will
receive brief feedback that may include questions that will indicate possible areas for development.
Your final grade will be based on a holistic judgement on all six responses.

11