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This webpage has been archived to prepare for transfer to the new NESA website. Reference to syllabus outcomes and content on this webpage may not be current. Teachers are encouraged to visit the Key Learning Area page for recent student work samples on the NESA website.

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Work samples - Teacher Commentaries
Early Stage 1

Picture of teachers grade aligning work samples

Where did the work samples and activities come from?

The work samples are all authentic pieces of work from real students. The activities and work samples on the site have come from Board of Studies publications, and from practising teachers in New South Wales. Further activities and work samples will be added to this website over time.

What is the purpose of providing a commentary with the work sample?

Work samples with written commentaries assist teachers to have a clear understanding of the standards. A 'commentary' with a work sample describes aspects of student performance and makes reference to the assessment criteria of the activity and the relevant strands of the Foundation Statements. The related Foundation Statement strands (K-6) are shown below the commentaries.

The samples of work with the commentaries, when taken collectively, help teachers to clearly see the quality of work typically produced by students who are midway through Kindergarten, or at the end of Kindergarten.

Teachers can use this information to understand the progress and achievements of their students in Kindergarten.

Who provided the commentaries?

This project is coordinated by the Office of the Board of Studies in conjunction with the Department of Education and Training, the Catholic Education Commission and the Association of Independent Schools. Practising teachers, nominated by these sectors, have participated in the process and worked together in groups or online. The teachers represented a range of different types of schools and locations.

What is the process?

Practising teachers have made a professional judgement about each work sample, based on their knowledge and their experience of teaching students in that subject area in Kindergarten.

In making their judgements, the teachers carefully considered the types of knowledge, skills and understandings in the subject area that students in Kindergarten typically demonstrate. In doing this, they looked closely at the syllabus outcomes and content for Kindergarten, and at the descriptions in the Foundation Statements (K-6) of the nature and scope of learning in that subject area.

They looked at the activity, and considered what it asks students to do, especially the criteria for assessing learning. They then thought about how students in Kindergarten would respond to the task and the types of work they would produce midway through or at the end of Kindergarten. The teachers then looked in detail at the work sample, and made a judgement based on what a student midway through or at the end of Kindergarten would be expected to produce on that activity.

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