How do I prepare students for Junior Cycle Classroom-Based Assessments?
How do I prepare students for Junior Cycle Classroom-Based Assessments?
Resources that fit
Units that build CBA skills
Research, source-handling and structured-writing units that are useful in the terms before a CBA; tap any cover for the full preview, contents and price.
Daily Life of Medieval Peasants – Complete History Unit (Grades 7–9)
World History Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for Middle School History
Martin Luther & the Reformation – Teaching Resources for Grades 7–9
Natural Resource Extraction & Processing – Global Supply Chains, Sustainability & Resource Management
Industrialization & Labor Movements – History Unit Grades 7–9
Step by step
How to run it in the classroom
- Start the language earlyUse the features of quality to describe ordinary classwork long before the CBA window opens.
- Run a rehearsal CBASet a shorter version of the task a term ahead so students learn the format without the stakes.
- Feed back in descriptorsSay where the work sits and what would move it up, instead of putting a percentage on it.
- Prepare for the SLARBring two or three pieces per descriptor to the review meeting so the discussion has evidence behind it.
What's covered
What each download contains
Each unit is a complete sequence you can teach in the weeks before a CBA window.
- Four levels of written tasks
- Editable slides for modelling
- Full answer keys
- Lesson plan with timings
- Printable and digital versions
Make it work for everyone
Differentiation and evidence
A single class usually contains students who will land in two or three different descriptors, and four levels let you set the same research question with different degrees of scaffolding. Keep the drafts. A folder of dated work is what makes the SLAR conversation about progression rather than about one rushed final piece.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Are these NCCA or State Examinations Commission materials?
No. Nothing here is produced, approved or endorsed by the NCCA, the SEC or the Department of Education. The units are written to the concepts and skills subject specifications cover, so they map onto the learning outcomes you teach towards. For the task itself, always work from the official specification and CBA guidelines.
When should CBA1 and CBA2 actually happen?
Most subjects place CBA1 in second year and CBA2 in third year, but the windows are set by the subject specification and your school's assessment calendar. Plan backwards from the SLAR date rather than the submission deadline, because the review meeting needs completed work already in hand.
What about the written Assessment Task?
In subjects that have one, the Assessment Task is completed after CBA2, sent to the State Examinations Commission and marked alongside the final examination. It draws directly on the CBA experience, so real engagement with the CBA is better preparation than a separate revision exercise late in third year.
How do I explain the descriptors to students?
Show rather than tell. Put two anonymised pieces side by side and ask the class which is in line with expectations and which is above, then make them justify it using the wording of the features of quality. Students who can apply that language to someone else's work start applying it to their own.
Get the term before the CBA planned
Pick a unit that builds research and structured writing, and keep the editable files for next year's group.
Browse the resources →