Instructional Series
Welcome to the English medium literacy instructional series teaching and learning resources for years 1 to 8.
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13 items - Showing 11 - 13
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The Story of the Ventnor
by Kirsten Wong
In 1902, thirteen lives were lost when the SS Ventnor sank off the Hokianga coast in Northland. The ship was carrying the carefully packaged bones of almost five hundred Chinese goldminers on their way home for burial. Despite immediate efforts to retrieve the bones, the ship and its precious cargo were lost. Over the following months, some of the bones washed up on Hokianga beaches. Most of these bones were collected and cared for by local iwi, with the stories of the shipwreck and the Chinese kōiwi passed down across generations of Māori. Over one hundred years later, some of the decendants of the goldminers discovered the fate of the bones and the kindness that iwi had shown and travelled north to learn more. A shared respect for the ancestors has since drawn together Chinese New Zealand communities and the iwi who are now kaitiaki of the goldminers’ remains.
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Barney Whiterats
by Glenn Colquhoun
“Barney Whiterats” is a text in three parts. Students have to consider: a poem by one of New Zealand’s most respected poets, a musical setting of the poem as a lullaby, and an explanation of the poet’s inspiration that includes an old black-and-white photograph of a swagman.
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Where's Toki?
by André Ngāpō
illustrations by Phillip Paea
Cousins Hoani, Leilani, and Mitch are searching for their dog, Toki. When they realise he is trapped in a cave, they think about going in to rescue him. However, the potential danger and the possibility that the cave might be tapu stops them. Hoani, the narrator, shows particular sensitivity towards, and respect for, tikanga Māori. The story includes a retelling of a traditional story about Ruakuri Cave at Waitomo (Tainui/Ngāti Maniapoto). “Where’s Toki?” has a happy ending, with Toki escaping the cave from another exit and bounding back to rejoin the delighted children.
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