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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- English
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- Nature of science
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- Planet Earth and beyond
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- Number and Algebra
- Technological practice
- Gather and interpret data
- Use evidence
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- Interpret representations
- Articles
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- Kākano | Seed
- Tupu | Seedling
- Māhuri | Sapling
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- Consonant digraphs
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- Initial and final blends
- Long vowels
- Short vowels
- Single consonants
- Complex morphemes
- Tense
- Vowel digraphs
- Contractions
- Syllable types
Search results
1187 items - Showing 1101 - 1110
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Out of the Wild
by Matt Comeskey
When did the chicken cross the road? Probably about eight thousand years ago – no joke! That’s when some scientists think chickens were first domesticated. What about dogs, cats, and other animals? When did they start living with people. And why?
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Piki Kōtuku
by Ariana Tikao
Taku piki kōtuku e, ka tau mai koe i hea? I rere mai i tūārangi, i Rangiātea. Ehara i te mea poka noa tō taenga mokorea.
My rare feather plume, where are you from? You flew in from far away, from Rangiātea. Your arrival at this time is not by chance.
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My Poppa
by Nathan Swain, year 3, Puni School; illustration by Leilani Isara
My Poppa is special to me. We share the same middle name, and it is Murray. I am the third generation to have the name Murray — it is my uncle’s middle name, too.
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Hidden Talent
by Maria Samuela
Annie is feeling envious of her siblings – they each have a special talent. (Kana is artistic, Juanita can sing, and rugby-playing Jackson has been made props manager for the upcoming talent quest.) The family says their talents must be inherited from their ancestors. Annie doesn’t think she has any special talents. However, on the night of the talent quest, disaster looms when the power supply goes out.
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Best in Show
by Simon Cooke
Bentley had the same nightmare every night: he was in the Perfect Pedigree Pooch Show. He sat proudly on the stage. His coat shone. His teeth gleamed.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” said the judge. “Winner of best in show is …”
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Sapasui: It’s hard to get wrong!
by Susan Paris
Carlos Vakalaloma has lots of interests. He likes playing rugby (he’s a prop) and doing jigsaw puzzles (the old-school kind with up to a thousand pieces). During lockdown, he also spent a lot of time cooking. Carlos really likes Italian food. But if he was forced to choose his favourite meal, to both cook and eat, he’d say sapasui. Sapasui is eaten all across the Pacific. The dish is a version of chop suey, which originally comes from China.
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The Pā That Matawhero Built
by Mark Peters
When people visit Pakeke o Whirikoka, the pā Matawhero Lloyd built, they enter a world that existed hundreds of years ago … Pakeke o Whirikoka is in Whatatutu, a small kāinga north of Gisborne. The original pā, which overlooked the Waipaoa and Mangatū rivers, was once home to Ngāi Tamatea. Matawhero’s tīpuna lived on this land. He wanted to reclaim his people’s heritage by building a living memorial to the past.
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The Great-great-greatest
by Cassandra Tse; illustrations by Jez Tuya
Confusion reigns in the storage room at the Chinese Association. Benny, Lily, Angus and Grace are hiding out in the storage room avoiding kitchen duties, and begin debating which of their great-great grandfathers was the coolest.
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Grandad’s Couch
by Lucas Yee, year 5, Russley School; illustration by Lisa Baudry
Our grandad adores his new couch. The old, red, torn one goes out, the brand-new, avocado-green one comes in wrapped in plastic, slippery like arctic ice, not coming off for a week.
You hear a lion-like roar from him, his face a shade of red as the cat tries to strike when the plastic comes off. Protective blankets engulf the couch from head to toe like a warm campfire on a cold winter’s night.
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Princess Iwa
by Angela Skerrett Tainui
Meet the young woman from Bluff who shared her culture on the world stage.
One day, many years ago, I was visiting my pōua when I noticed a photo of a beautiful wahine on the wall. She had long, wavy hair and wore a kākahu around her shoulders and a hei tiki around her neck. She looked to be about eighteen.