Instructional Series
Welcome to the English medium literacy instructional series teaching and learning resources for years 1 to 8.
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School Journal Level 3 August 2017
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 Wild Things Low Tide ✔ Poems Dog Training Plays How Hemi Cleaned His Room Articles The Subantarctic Islands ✔ Te Tiriti o Waitangi ✔ The Possum Problem Look inside this issue
The Subantarctic Islands
written and illustrated by Giselle Clarkson
This visual text uses words and cartoon-style images to provide information about the five groups of islands that are found between New Zealand and Antarctica. The information is presented in a lively way, organised into sections that tell what and where the islands are, the weather they share, and their flora and fauna.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
by Ross Calman
This straightforward article explains what the Treaty of Waitangi is, why it was needed, and what it says. Although most students will have heard of the Treaty, this may be the first time they have read about it for themselves.
The Possum Problem
by Johanna Knox
illustrated by Adele Jackson
"Possums. You hardly ever see them, but they’re all around: in the bush, on farms, in parks. They might even be in your garden. During the day, possums stay in their dens. These are dry, hidden places where they won’t be disturbed. Possums emerge after dark, millions upon millions of them, all across New Zealand. And what do they do? They eat."
Dog Training
by Marty Smith
illustrated by Josh Morgan
"Dad would snap at us if we gave the dogs food: Don’t feed them at the table! It turns them into beggars!"
Wild Things
by Renata Hopkins
illustrated by Daron Parton
"But it wasn’t a mouse that woke us. It was another noise. It sounded as though someone with asthma was choking on a mouthful of cornflakes right outside my window. I froze."
Low Tide
by Tim Jones
illustrated by Elliemay Logan
This short story describes what happens during the hour that Manu and his father have to rescue what they can from their ruined home. A storm accompanied by a high tide has breached a seawall and sent seawater through their house.
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School Journal Level 3 August 2016
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 Helping Henrietta The Duel: The Final Challenge U-Turn Plays Car Games ✔ Articles Michel Mulipola: Superhero Secrets ✔ Six Photos ✔ Look inside this issue
Car Games
by Sarah Delahunty
illustrations by Giselle Clarkson
This play is about the digital devices used by a family on a car trip. While this scenario may be outside the experience of some students, it will resonate with many who have travelled in a car with their family, been involved in sibling squabbles, or been more interested in a device than on interacting with their parents.
Helping Henrietta
"As he eats his breakfast, Joe can't stop grinning. The world is covered in thick white icing."
Michel Mulipola: Superhero Secrets
This article introduces the readers to Michel Mulipola, an Auckland-based Samoan artist. The title refers to Mulipola’s passion for comics and comic-book heroes.
Six Photos
This is an article that gives readers a “peek into history”. It makes a link between what we know about taking photos and what we can find out from photos that show different times and places.
The Duel: The Final Challenge
"The rules are simple. Baron von Spanner has to invent something, and Grandpa Sid has twenty-four hours to counter it with his own creation."
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The Duel: The Inventors Awaken
This light-hearted fantasy story, told through narrative, is the first part of a two-part story. The second part will appear in the School Journal, Level 3, August 2016. The text includes numerous illustrations, which amplify the content and add another layer to the story.
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School Journal Level 3 November 2017
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 No Fangs The Fantail The Matriarch's Tale Play The Village Beach Articles My Name is Rez ✔ New New Zealanders ✔ Stand Up: A History of Protest in New Zealand ✔ Look inside this issue
My Name is Rez
written and illustrated by Toby Morris
Rez Gardi was born in a Kurdish refugee camp in Pakistan and came to New Zealand as a young child, with her family. This graphic text is a memoir, looking back on her life so far. She is now a successful lawyer, a worker for refugees, and was the 2017 Young New Zealander of the year.
New New Zealanders
by Adrienne Jansen
illustrated by Adrian Heke
This article introduces readers to a family who have escaped war-torn countries in the Middle East and have now embraced the freedom and safety that New Zealand offers. However, settling as refugees has its own challenges. We learn about the reasons the Kaka family had to move from Iraq to Syria, on to Lebanon, and then to New Zealand.
No Fangs
by Hera Lindsay Bird
illustrated by Fraser Williamson
"It was midnight in Transylvania, and Madeline was bored. She decided to go for a walk. The night was warm and full of stars, and sitting outside the wrought iron gates was a girl."
Stand Up: A History of Protest in New Zealand
by Dylan Owen
This article looks at a number of important social issues and significant events in New Zealand’s history, thematically linked around the idea of protest. The text is organised in chronological sequence from the passive resistance seen at Parihaka in 1881, through to the anti-TPPA protests in 2016.
The Fantail
by Steph Matuku
illustrated by Daron Parton
"It was the holidays. My sister Jojo and I were at our cousin Piri’s house. We weren’t doing much, just sitting around in Piri’s bedroom listening to music and arguing about everything and nothing – when this thing flew in through the open window."
The Matriarch's Tale
written and illustrated by Meshack Asare
"Once, somewhere in Africa, a small herd of elephants disappeared suddenly, without trace. It was a long time ago, but some people still remember this story. They believe that descendants from those elephants live among us."
The Village Beach
by Tanya Muagututi'a
illustrated by Josh Morgan
"We won't be able to hang out here much longer... There's a new building coming"
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School Journal Level 3 May 2017
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 Kōpūwai and the Clever Girl Who Froze Farrell Flint? ✔ New Boots Poems Thumbprints Memoirs Alvin and Me Articles Becoming a Martian ✔ Designed for Good ✔ Interviews Haritina Mogosanu: Starryteller Look inside this issue
Alvin and Me
by Chris Tse
illustrated by Peter Campbell
"A week before Alvin arrived, I got summoned to the principal’s office. I was a good kid. I never got into trouble. I was sure I’d done nothing wrong. But still, I couldn’t help worrying..."
Becoming a Martian
by Clare Knighton
illustrated by Gavin Mouldey
“Becoming a Martian” is a challenging article that considers the possibility of humans living on Mars. The article begins with the concept “We have exploration in our DNA.” After reminding us of what humans need to survive on Earth (oxygen, water, food, and shelter) the writer explores each of these in relation to Mars, providing factual information about the planet, explaining the challenges of living there, and offering possible solutions.
Designed for Good
by Philip Cleaver
The New Zealand environment has been badly affected by introduced pests such as rats, stoats, and possums. “Designed for Good” follows the process of developing an effective and humane trap to reduce these pest populations. The article tells the story of the project, from the first “That’s it!” moment through to the production of thousands of traps, which are now in use throughout New Zealand.
Kōpūwai and the Clever Girl
retold by Brian Potiki
illustrated by Scott Pearson
This story is from Rapuwai, an ancestral iwi of Ngāi Tahu. It is set on the banks of the Mata-Au/Clutha River, in Otago, and comes from a time long ago when moa roamed the land and giant tuna swam in the rivers.
New Boots
by Tim Jones
illustrated by Andrew Burdan
"Charlie’s own pack was fine, but he was hungry, and his new boots pinched. Plus his mates were way ahead, having a great time – and here he was stuck at the back with Mr Ngaia and the new kid."
Haritina Mogosanu: Starryteller
by Clare Knighton
Meet Haritina Mogosanu: astrobiologist, science communicator, president of the Mars Society in New Zealand, and “starryteller”. In 2012, she was commander of the first New Zealand mission to the Mars Desert Research Station in the United States.
Thumbprints
by Serie Barford
illustrated by Sheyne Tuffery
"Mum left Sāmoa in 1952. To‘ono drove her to the harbour in a jeep abandoned by American marines."
Who Froze Farrell Flint?
by Johanna Knox
illustrated by Toby Morris
Minnie Sharp, detective, is the narrator of this science-fiction story. The setting is a futuristic research centre on Mars. Minnie has a mystery to solve following the discovery of a frozen scientist in the Cryogenic Storage Room. As she interviews the other scientists working in the laboratory, Minnie is gradually able to build a picture of what might have happened.
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School Journal Level 2 August 2017
PDFs of all the texts in this issue of the School Journal are available online as well as teacher support materials (TSM) and audio for the following:
TSM Audio Stories Up the Guts ✔ ✔ Poems A Gust of Wind ✔ Plays The Best Team Ever Articles The Mysterious Stones of Tonga ✔ ✔ Score! Look inside this issue
The Mysterious Stones of Tonga
by 'Ana Maui Taufe'ulungaki
illustrated by Scott Pearson
In this article, Dr ‘Ana Maui Taufe‘ulungaki describes and discusses an unusual stone monument, Ha‘amonga ‘a Maui (the Burden of Maui), which stands near the village of Niutōua in Tonga. The monument is special because there are very few stone structures to be found anywhere in the Pacific.
Score!
by Bronwen Wall
"Tiana tucks the ball under her arm and races up the field. It’s three tackles down – there’s only one more play left in this set. The other team is waiting for her."
The Best Team Ever
by Philippa Werry
illustrated by Fraser Williamson
This play follows 6 students grouped together to make a wearable arts costume. The students are forced to improvise after their original idea doesn't go as planned.
A Gust of Wind
by Sarah Penwarden
illustrated by Rachel Walker and Adam Pryor
In this four-stanza, illustrated poem, Sarah Penwarden uses rich imagery to describe the four seasons. The first-person narrator is a child, and the poem also reflects his or her relationship with grandparents.
Up the Guts
by Paora Tibble
illustrated by Munro Te Whata
This fast-paced story follows Para (the narrator) and her older brother, Shane, as they practise their rugby league skills in their backyard, then play a game of league with the rest of their team.
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School Journal Level 3 August 2015
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 Spirit of the Bird ✔ Thirst ✔ The Leather Satchel Boost Poems No Rhyme Articles Clowning Around Richard Owen’s Giant Mystery ✔ Look inside this issue
Spirit of the Bird
by Ben Brown
illustrations by Tom Simpson
The bird of the title is the moa, and this fictional story is set in the time of the early Māori moa hunters. Little is known of this era, but the author conveys (often indirectly) the hardships of a subsistence lifestyle and the impact of human settlement on the moa.
Thirst
by Paul Mason
illustrations by Andrew Burdan
In a realistic story set in the not-too-distant future, Paul Mason conveys a message that has increasing relevance today. The plot involves a family that cannot afford to buy water during a severe drought. Through implication, it appears that a single company owns the water and employs the parents of the family. When their neighbours receive a delivery of water, Ryder decides to take matters into his own hands.
Richard Owen’s Giant Mystery
by Quinn Berentson
illustrations by Spike Wademan
Richard Owen was a British scientist of the early nineteenth century, most famous for his identification and naming of dinosaurs. This article reports on the role he played in unravelling the mystery of the moa and in identifying it as the largest bird ever known to humans. The nature of scientific endeavour is conveyed well, from the initial presentation of a bone fragment and through the research needed to have a new species recognised.
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School Journal Level 3 August 2013
Teacher support materials (TSM) are available for all the following texts in this issue of the School Journal:
TSM Stories Egbert and the Princess ✔ Poems Drift ✔ Articles 59.5 Degrees South ✔ Look inside this issue
59.5 Degrees South
by Sarah Wilcox
59.5 degrees south is the GPS position where the author dropped an Argo float into the Southern Ocean. This article is a recount of her journey on the NIWA ship, Kaharoa.
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.
Egbert and the Princess
by Katie Furze
This amusing story takes standard fairy tale characters and turns them on their heads. The author uses the readers’ prior knowledge of Western dragon–princess stories to create humour by changing the stereotypes, which in turn upsets the readers’ expectations of events and reactions.
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