On this page is a full list of the keys found in the Try This book, along with a brief description. Click on key 2, key 4, key 6 and key 9 for free samples.

Every key in the book is illustrated with two contrasting examples. For acknowledgements, details and further resources for the examples, click on the titles (in red) in the table below.

		Key	Description	Example 1	Example 2
GETTING STARTED	1	Tackle a problem	Bringing picture books to life by exploring the tension in the story	Treasures based on Taniwha by Robyn Kahukiwa	‘Zoo’ by Anthony Browne
	2	Experience the action	Getting inside the action of a story and adding something new	‘Where the Wild Things are’ by Maurice Sendak	‘City Dog Country Frog’ by Mo Willems
	3	Solve a clue	Creating a story using a mysterious object or sign	The mysterious egg	A monster in the house
	4	Step into history	Exploring a moment from the past from the point of view of someone who was there	Children working in 19th Century coalmines	Charles Kettle arriving at Ahimate
	5	Start a story	Hooking interest in a real-world or imagined situation through storytelling	Dinosaur Island	Fossil hunters
	6	Step into a moment	Stepping into a real-world or imagined situation and representing someone’s point of view	Haunui-a-Nanaia	Lady Macbeth
WORKING VISUALLY	7	Watch a drawing	Drawing an image to introduce something new and intriguing in an inquiry	The dinosaur footprint	The school house
	8	Create a drawing	Collaborating to create a visual image of something important to an inquiry	The wolf	The space station
	9	Study an image	Using an image to stimulate discussion, introduce new content, and generate inquiry questions.	Native Land Court	Evacuees
	10	Assemble an image	Assembling an image of a place out of a series of component parts	The old manor house	Wild bird hospital
	11	Watch a film clip	Watching the teacher enact something as if it were a piece of film	News Footage: Bastion Point	CCTV: The injured elephant
	12	Enact a film clip	Creating an enactment of an event as if it were a piece of film	Feature film: Henry VIII	Tik Tok: critical literacy
	13	Enact a photograph	Creating imagined photographs of moments from an inquiry	Titanic	Springbok tour
	14	Enact a portrait	Representing a portrait of an important person	Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotu	Rosa Parks
WORKING WITH PLACE	15	Create a place	Collaborating to create a three dimensional representation of a real or imagined setting	Te Āpiti – Manawatū gorge	Volcano island
	16	Create a settlement	Creating a representation of a human settlement from a specific time in history and imagining the lives of the inhabitants	An iron age Settlement	Puketōtara settlement
	17	Enact a statue	Examining a real-world statue, learning about the person represented, and exploring ideas for how other influential people could be commemorated	William Wallace	Te Peeti Te Awe Awe
	18	Enact an image	Responding to an existing image, and coming up with new images related to the same area of inquiry	The Great Fire of London	Relief camp
	19	Create an object	Imagining and drawing the things that might be found in a real-world or imagined setting	The Egyptian tomb	What’s on the beach?
ENGAGING WITH PEOPLE	20	Interact with someone	Observing someone in role as a real-world figure or imagined character, and engaging in a conversation with them	Fairy tale problem solvers	Cecil’s signage
	21	Encounter someone	Watching someone in role as a real-world figure or imagined character, and overhearing their thoughts to find out more about them	Cook’s Cook	The fairy tale queen’s problem
	22	Describe someone	Scrutinising someone in role as a real-world figure or imagined character, and describing in detail what they are doing	The princess in the tower	The pioneer farmer
	23	Study someone	Studying the body language and facial expressions of someone in role as a real-world figure or imagined character, and moving into role to interact with them	The coronation of the young pharaoh	The platinum prospector
	24	Study someone’s clothing	Using an item of clothing as the starting point for engaging with a real-world figure or imagined character, speculating about their life, and creating a narrative.	The soldier’s scarf	Suffragist’s skirt and bodice
GENERATING WRITING	25	Write some words	Generating uncomplicated pieces of writing, such as lists, labels and signs in response to an imagined situation	The fallen tree	Rescuing Jack from the giant
	26	Take some notes	Carrying out careful listening and note taking in response to an scenario where complex information is shared	The exhibition designers	He Ara Kotahi bridge
	27	Draw a plan	Creating a plan for a structed piece of writing, based on a team response to a challenging task	Transporting an elephant to an animal reserve	Planning a birthday party
	28	Overhear someone writing	Overhearing someone in role as a real-world figure or imagined character, as they compose a piece of writing, and offering assistance and advice	Florence Nightingale	Writing to a relative overseas
	29	Write a newspaper article	Creating a quality piece of written work for a specific audience, through a process of research, drafting, review, and editing.	Titanic, a newspaper report	Sports scandal
	30	Describe an event	Collaborating on a piece of writing to describe a real world or imagined event	The Roman legion	The flood
USING THE SENSES	31	Examine some clothing	Observing and speculating about an item of clothing related to a real-world figure or imagined character, and generating a story about them	The runaway	The injured soldier
	32	Create a diorama	Retelling a story by representing a setting, characters, objects and events on a diorama	Origin story	Rama and Sita
	33	Read a sign	Pondering the possible meanings for a mysterious sign as part of real-world inquiry or creative storytelling	Footprints	The protest march
	34	Engage with an artwork	Using the six dimensions of dramatic imagination to explore a work of art	Music: Wai by Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns	A painting: Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump by the Artist Joseph Wright of Derby
	35	Take different viewpoints	Looking at a real-world or imagined event from multiple points of view over time	Train crash	Fireworks
	36	Listen to something	Using a pre-recorded voice or sound as the starting point for creating a story	Wiretap	The island at night
OPEN ENDED EXPLORATION	37	Explore a hole	Practising the skills needed to explore imagined worlds with other people	The cavers and the tunnels
	38	Give a gift	Practising saying yes to ideas and giving and receiving offers	Just what I always wanted!
	39	Occupy a chair	Practising improvisation and creative thinking.	What’s their story?
	40	Help someone understand	Practising ‘flipping’ traditional power dynamics in teaching, learning and assessment	The Palaeontologist