School Journal, Level 3 September 2011
Teacher support materials (TSM) are available for all the following texts in this issue of the School Journal:
| TSM | ||
| Stories | The Journey | ✔ |
| Articles | Kūaka | ✔ |
| The Biggest Snake in History | ✔ |
Look inside this issue
Kūaka
by Bronwen Wall
Every September, the kūaka, or bar-tailed godwit, flies more than 11 600 kilometres from Alaska to New Zealand, and each March to June it flies back again. This engaging article explores its remarkable migration – its departure and arrival periods, how fast it flies, where and on what it feeds in New Zealand, and how it manages to fly for long distances without eating. The article also offers a traditional Māori perspective on kūaka.
The Biggest Snake in History
by Norman Bilbrough
Imagine a snake longer than a bus and big enough to swallow a cow. That was Titanoboa, one of the most ferocious predators on Earth some sixty million years ago – five million years after the dinosaurs died out.
The Journey
as told to Kiwa Hammond by Tumanako Taurima
Young Wilfred can be a rebellious godwit, but news that his family will soon embark on “the Journey” takes the wind out of his wings. After his family explain what “the Journey” is – their annual migration from Alaska to New Zealand – and a godwit elder recounts his heroic journey, Wilfred reassesses his attitude.
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