Instructional Series
Welcome to the English medium literacy instructional series teaching and learning resources for years 1 to 8.
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Search results
27 items - Showing 21 - 27
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Bird of the Year
by Iona McNaughton
In this interview, Megan Hubscher of Forest & Bird talks to Iona McNaughton about the Bird of the Year competition – why it started and how it helps keep New Zealand native birds safe. Students can read about some of the past winners of the competition in an accompanying article, “And the Winner Is ...”
Gold 1
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The Great Barrier Reef
by Sarah Wilcox
The Great Barrier Reef is very beautiful – and threatened. This report describes the Great Barrier Reef and explains what coral is. It also outlines the threats to the reef from climate change and its “evil twin”, ocean acidification.
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Listening to the Land
Pauline Harris, a scientist of Rongomaiwahine and Ngāti Kahungunu descent, is working with a team of researchers to collect and record mātauranga from iwi and hapū about plants and animals in Aotearoa. The team is using a computer program to record the mātauranga and connect it to particular times and places in history. They hope that this information will help us understand how climate change is affecting Aotearoa’s wildlife and ecosystems, knowledge that we can then use to plan for the change.
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School Journal Level 4 June 2018
PDFs of all the texts in this issue of the School Journal are available online as well as teacher support materials (TSM) for the following:
TSM Stories Kāhuipani Something Alive ✔ The Village Poems Giving my Father Frights Articles Ben Hawke, Mosgiel's Meteorologist Climate Change: Our Biggest Challenge ✔ Pandemic: The Deadly Flu of 1918 ✔ Look inside this issue
Climate Change: Our Biggest Challenge
by Tricia Glensor
Climate change isn’t only about warmer weather. A rise in the temperature means more extreme weather, including wild storms and heatwaves. Climate change also means more frequent droughts and wildfires, melting ice sheets, melting glaciers, and flooding.
Dive
by Gina Cole
illustrated by Elspeth Alix Batt
Shelly is forced to brave sea snake infested waters when she drops her phone in the river. As it is Shelly's only way of contacting her Dad back in New Zealand, she has no other option.
Ben Hawke, Mosgiel's Meteorologist
by Claire Finlayson
When thirteen-year-old Ben Hawke says things like “precipitation” and “atmospheric pressure”, his friends groan and say, “Speak English!” Ben uses technical weather terms a lot. He finds them useful, which isn’t surprising given he writes his own weather forecasts. He even has a column in the Otago Daily Times. You could say Ben’s something of a meteorological star.
Giving my Father Frights
by Ashleigh Young
illustrated by Donna Cross
We discover no end of windows of opportunity for giving my father frights. Our house is for hiding in. We crouch in the porch, waiting for the bend of his shadow.
Kāhuipani
by Anahera Gildea
illustrated by Andrew Burdan
Based on a true story, Kāhuipani details the journey of two children to the Tuakau bridge to find Te Puea, a young woman who cared for more than 100 orphans during the influenza epidemic of 1918.
Pandemic: The Deadly Flu of 1918
by Renata Hopkins
Most students are aware of New Zealand’s participation in the First World War, but few will know of the flu pandemic that swept across the world in its aftermath. In New Zealand, the epidemic took over nine thousand lives in under two months – an appalling number, especially if compared with the eighteen thousand soldiers whose lives were lost to the war. This article conveys the horror of the event while imparting factual information about how the virus spread and how the government and communities tried to deal with it.
Something Alive
written and illustrated by Jem Yoshioka
Jem Yoshioka was born and bred in New Zealand to New Zealand-born parents, so technically she only belongs to one place. But her Japanese ancestry is a living part of her. This graphic novel, written and drawn by Jem, explores a struggle we are all familiar with: that of seeking to understand who we are and where we belong. Rich in both written and visual imagery, this text invites multiple readings.
Information and tips for using comics in the classroom:
The Village
by Paul Mason
illustrated by Kimberly Andrews
Looking for adventure on a family holiday with her parents, Ava wonders off to explore some nearby ruins.
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Hui Te Rangiora: The Navigator
by Sandy Morrison
Long before the tūpuna of Māori settled in Aotearoa, people sailed across the Pacific Ocean using their knowledge of the stars and nature to find their way. One of those people was Hui Te Rangiora. Nearly 1,500 years ago, he made an amazing journey deep into Te Tai Uka a Pia (the Southern Ocean), where nobody had ever been before.
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Trees, Seas, and Soil
This article examines how different processes combine to affect the balance of carbon in the atmosphere. It explains that the increased level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is having a huge effect on climate – an effect that can be reduced, as carbon is finite. Carbon sinks, in the form of forests, the ocean, and soils, could help to balance the carbon levels in the atmosphere. However, each form has its own complications. The article concludes that human use of fossil fuels needs to be reduced to protect the carbon sinks around us.
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Lighting the Way with Solar Energy
by Andrew & Anna Dickson
When Tokelau decided to switch to renewable energy, they thought critically about all the options. They decided that solar energy was a cost-effective option suited to the sunny Tokelaun climate. Over four thousand solar panels were installed on Tokelau, making them the first country in the world to use 100 percent renewable energy. Now they hope to inspire others to make the switch.
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