About SCHWA

SCHWA resources are developed by practising classroom teachers to support high-quality structured literacy instruction. The lead content developer, Simon, is a current primary teacher with nearly 20 years' experience teaching Year 5-8 students. He has completed professional development in structured literacy and has extensively trialled and refined every SCHWA resource in his own classroom to ensure it is practical, effective, and ready to use.

Reading Texts

Each SCHWA text is deliberately aligned to structured literacy concepts and includes a minimum of 15 targeted list words. The texts feature rich, engaging language, integrated comprehension support, and a glossary to extend vocabulary - all written with New Zealand learners in mind, suitable for Levels 3 and 4 of the New Zealand Curriculum. Extension activities including crosswords and word finds reinforce each concept.

Writing Units & TWITS

The writing units cover informative, persuasive, and entertaining text types, along with film studies, and align with the refreshed curriculum to reduce planning demands for teachers. TWITS (This Week in Time) provides a weekly shared reading resource exploring people, events, and moments from New Zealand and world history, supporting collaborative discussion and critical thinking.

Novel Studies

Sixteen novel studies - many featuring New Zealand authors - are aimed at Years 6-8 and provide chapter questions, character exploration, themes, language features, and creative activities designed to deepen understanding and foster a love of reading.

WordQuest

WordQuest is an interactive spelling game where students master structured literacy concepts by earning gems, completing challenges, and collecting cards. It brings the same curriculum-aligned approach into a motivating digital environment that reinforces spelling knowledge through play.

All resources are designed for flexible classroom use - whether across reading groups, whole-class shared reading, guided novel study, or independent practice - supporting students who are working towards, meeting, or exceeding curriculum expectations.