Writer's Toolkit
Te Kete Tuhituhi • Essential Writing Skills for Confident Writers
"He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata."
What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people, it is people.
Our words connect us to others — writing is how we share our stories.
📋 About This Resource
The Writer's Toolkit is an ongoing resource that students and teachers can draw from throughout the year. It provides structured guidance on essential writing skills, strategies, and techniques that build confident, capable writers.
Use these modules to support explicit teaching, independent practice, or as reference materials for students developing their craft.
📚 Core Writing Modules
The Writing Process
Planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Understanding that good writing involves multiple stages.
Finding Your Voice
Developing authentic personal voice, tone, and style. Writing that sounds like you.
Sentence Craft
Building powerful sentences through variety, structure, and deliberate choices. Short. Punchy. Or flowing like a river through varied terrain.
Paragraph Power
Organizing ideas into coherent paragraphs with clear topic sentences, supporting evidence, and transitions.
Show, Don't Tell
Using sensory details, action, and dialogue to bring writing to life instead of simply stating facts.
Genre Exploration
Understanding the conventions and expectations of different text types: narrative, persuasive, expository, and creative.
Editing & Proofreading
Strategies for self-editing, peer feedback, and catching common errors. Polishing your work for publication.
🌿 Te Reo in Writing
Integrate Te Reo Māori vocabulary and concepts into your writing. Whakataukī can provide powerful openings or conclusions.
📖 Telling Our Stories
Māori have always been storytellers. Pūrākau, waiata, and oral traditions inspire rich narrative writing.
✨ Mana Motuhake
Writing gives us the power to share our unique perspectives. Your voice matters — let it be heard.
📋 Quick Reference Tools
✏️ Sentence Starters
- For introducing ideas
- For adding evidence
- For concluding thoughts
🔗 Transition Words
- Firstly, Moreover, However...
- In addition, Consequently...
- In conclusion, Ultimately...
✅ Editing Checklist
- Spelling and punctuation
- Sentence variety
- Clear topic sentences
📋 Curriculum Alignment
NZ Curriculum — English
- Writing: Creating texts for different purposes and audiences
- Language Features: Using a range of vocabulary and sentence structures
- Presenting: Sharing and publishing work in various formats
Key Competencies: Thinking, Using Language, Managing Self