Lesson at a Glance | He Tirohanga Whakamua
Ngā Whāinga Ako | Learning Intentions
Carry the Lesson 1 choice forward. Section 1 is identity work, and tamariki were told there it could stay private. That still holds here: a learner may celebrate Sections 2–5 and keep Section 1 to themselves, or share it with you alone. Assess the goal-setting and the feedback quality, never how much of a portfolio a child was willing to show.
Tamariki will know
- What Student Agency (Rangatiratanga) means: Taking responsibility for your own learning choices, goals, and actions.
- How to formulate clear, realistic personal learning goals for the term ahead.
- How to give constructive and encouraging peer feedback using Two Stars and a Wish.
Tamariki will demonstrate
- By completing Section 5 of their Y4–6 Learning Portfolio and sharing their 5-section work.
- By participating in the class portfolio celebration.
Do Now | Tīmatanga Whakaaro (10 min)
Rangatiratanga (Leadership & Agency) Prompt:
"A rangatira (leader) doesn't wait for others to tell them what to do—they take charge of their own path! How can you be the rangatira of your own learning this term?"
Unpack: By setting personal goals, choosing strategies when stuck, asking for help when needed, and supporting your peers!
Setting Personal Term Goals (15 min)
Two goals each, written by the tamaiti: one academic, one wellbeing. Written in the first person and specific enough that they will know at the end of term whether it happened. Two worked examples to put on the board first:
e.g. "I want to improve my paragraph writing by using descriptive adjectives in every story I write."
e.g. "I want to strengthen my Taha Whānau wall by inviting someone new to play handball every Friday."
"Get better at reading" cannot be checked. "Finish a chapter book and tell someone about it" can. Push every goal until it names a thing that either happened or did not.
It may be about friendships, sleep, worry or asking for help. A tamaiti may mark it private, and a private goal still counts as complete — do not require it to be read out in the peer review that follows.
Kaiako note: write the goals somewhere they will actually be revisited. A goal set in week 1 and never reopened teaches that goal-setting is a ritual.
Peer Review: Two Stars & A Wish (15 min)
Now each tamaiti reads one other person's work and writes feedback into it. Pair everyone with a portfolio buddy. The feedback is written on the three lines in Section 5 headed "Two Stars and a Wish — from my partner" — one line per star, one for the wish — so what is said out loud and what is written down are the same three sentences. Feedback is on the thinking, not on the personal detail, and never on how much of a portfolio someone chose to show.
Not "it's good". Find the actual words and say why they work: "Star — your learning goal says 'finish a chapter book and tell someone about it'. I can tell exactly when you have done that." A star nobody can point at is a compliment, not feedback.
One only, and it starts with "I wish": "I wish your 'how I will know' said who would notice." A wish is about the work in front of you, never about the person. If you cannot think of one, ask your buddy what part they found hardest and wish about that.
How the 15 minutes run:
- Choose and swap (3 min). Each tamaiti decides which sections they are handing over, closes or folds back anything they are keeping private, and swaps portfolios with their buddy. A goal marked private stays shut — your buddy gives feedback on what is in front of them.
- Read and write (5 min). Silent. Read your buddy's learning goal and the sections they showed you, then write two stars and one wish onto the three lines in their Section 5. Full sentences.
- Say it face to face (5 min). Hand the portfolio back and read your three sentences to your buddy — star, star, wish — then swap over so both people have said theirs out loud. Sitting knee to knee, not shouting across a table.
- Read what you got (2 min). Back in your own portfolio, read your buddy's three sentences and underline the one you are going to act on before the celebration.
Kaiako note: model one full round yourself before they swap — put your own term goal on the board and have the class give you two stars and a wish. Twenty seconds of demonstration prevents the whole class writing "good work" three times. Buddies do not have to be friends, and a tamaiti who has kept most of their portfolio private is still reviewing and still being reviewed on the goals page. If numbers are odd, take the spare buddy yourself.
📁 Y4–6 Learning Portfolio — Section 5: Master Portfolio & Goals
Tamariki open Section 5 of their Y4–6 Learning Portfolio:
Section 5 Requirements:
1. My 2 Term Goals: Write 1 Learning Goal and 1 Hauora Goal for the term ahead.
2. How I will know I got there: For each goal, write what someone else would be able to notice when you have reached it. "I got better at maths" is not noticeable; "I finish the warm-up without asking for help" is. Do this BEFORE the swap — it is the part your buddy will give you a wish about.
3. Peer Feedback Note: Receive a "Two Stars and a Wish" comment from your portfolio buddy!
4. Master Assembly: Check all 5 sections (Pepeha, Whare Tapa Whā, Kawenata, Growth Mindset, Goals) are complete. The one signing act in the portfolio is the handprint signature in Section 3 — there is no signature line in the other sections, so do not ask for one.
Exit Verification | Ka Mutu Hoki (5 min)
Exit Check:
"My completed 5-section Y4–6 Learning Portfolio is finished, checked, and ready to share."
Teacher Planning & Curriculum Links
Curriculum: the one Phase 2 statement this unit teaches is quoted in full, with its curriculum ID, in the unit's Curriculum Links. No Phase 2 statement is claimed for this lesson. The two term goals are deliberately personal — the wellbeing goal is the tamaiti's alone and may be kept private — so the Social Sciences statement about acting for the wellbeing of the community and country is not earned here; that would need a consequential community-facing action. What this lesson does teach is goal-setting and giving a buddy feedback that is specific enough to act on.
Vocabulary: Rangatiratanga, student agency, goal setting, two stars and a wish, peer review, celebration.