Instructional Series
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Welcome to the English medium literacy instructional series teaching and learning resources for years 1 to 8.
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- Kākano | Seed
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176 items - Showing 81 - 90
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River Swimming
by Lynley Edmeades
illustrated by Ned Barraud
“River Swimming” is a beautiful poem that captures the imaginative, make-believe world that children inhabit. The setting is a day out at the river. While the adults sit and drink tea on the river bank, the children race each other in an imaginary lane pool and become mermaids, remembering to keep a safe distance from the taniwha upstream. The poem is rich in imagery and movement. It draws on the pleasures of picnics, swimming, and the beauty of the natural world. The poem would be useful for a poetry reading.
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Kākano
by Kelly Joseph
illustrations by Damian Stones
This poem describes a kākano (a seed) as taonga and explains what makes it special. “Kākano” is inspired by the Māori proverb: Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu – although small, it is precious. The poem includes te reo Māori words and phrases that are supported by context, illustrations, sentence structure, and a glossary. This poem provides opportunities for students who are familiar with te reo Māori to share their knowledge.
Gold 2
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Grumpy Hungry
by Joanna Cho; illustrations by Lisa Baudry
This narrative poem, told in the first person, chronicles being hungry, an experience that intensifies as time passes and which is matched by figurative language that does the same. A good model for student writing.
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Huia
by Bill Manhire, illustration by Rachel Walker
This item complements the article about coprolites in the same Journal, providing a more emotive response to the idea that extinction is permanent – and often caused by the actions of people. The poem might be called a mōteatea – a lament.
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Bad Advice
by Tim Upperton
Tim Upperton plays with poetic form, especially the pleasures of a tight rhyme scheme, to give readers some unusual “advice”. His poem is a homage to the nonsense text of Doctor Seuss, with a black-humour twist.
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Big Machine Boogie
by Sally Sutton
illustrations by Jez Tuya
This lively poem captures the excitement and enthusiasm of a class of students who have created their own “big machine boogie”, inspired by the movements of machines at work nearby.
#LFH
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Brave Flower
by Simone Kaho
illustrated by Leilani Isara
The poem “Brave Flower” vividly captures the experience of those who were subjected to the dawn raids that took place in Aotearoa in the 1970's.
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Tukutuku
by Kelly Joseph
images by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White
The poem “Tukutuku” explores how tukutuku panels are made and the symbolism of some of the patterns, through vivid figurative language.
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School Journal Level 4, March 2012
Teacher support materials (TSM) are available for all the following texts in this issue of the School Journal:
TSM Poems The Squash Club ✔ Articles His Own War – The Story of Archibald Baxter ✔ Buttons ✔ Look inside this issue
Buttons
by Iona McNaughton
The students at Moriah School in Wellington collected 1.5 million buttons, which represented the number of children killed in the Holocaust during the Second World War. This article reports on their reasons for doing this and the methods they used to gather the buttons. The students learnt about the personal impact of the Holocaust and designed a memorial to the children who died.
His Own War – The Story of Archibald Baxter
by David Grant
“His Own War” is a biography of Archie Baxter, a New Zealander who refused to join up and fight in the First World War. His objection to fighting was based on strongly held convictions, and he paid dearly for them.
The Squash Club
by Hinemoana Baker
This poem reflects on her childhood memories of waiting for her father while he played squash. In short stanzas, she recalls the sights, feel, and smells of those times.
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Drift
by Denis Glover
This beautiful poem by one of New Zealand’s best-known poets, Denis Glover (most famous for “The Magpies”), describes objects drifting on the ocean.
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