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
32 items - Showing 21 - 30
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Living the Dream
an interview with Mana Vautier
Living the Dream is an interview with Māori aerospace engineer and NASA employee Mana Vautier. The account explores where Mana’s love of space came from and how he got his job at NASA.
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Wind Chimes
by Paul Mason
illustrated by Mat Tait
Wind Chimes is set in a dystopian future, in which children from “regions” are taken from their homes and forced to live in city “pens”. The children are trained to think alike and act submissively, with any sign of creativity or dissent quickly “hushed”.
Information and tips for using comics in the classroom:
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Te Tiriti o Waitangi
by Ross Calman and Mark Derby
illustrated by Toby Morris
Second edition
This graphic novel provides a fresh approach to the story of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document. It covers a wide time span, from the arrival of Polynesian explorers to the signing of Te Tiriti, to the New Zealand Wars, and through to the modern-day Treaty settlement process. A special emphasis is put on unpacking the two versions of Te Tiriti and exploring their ongoing significance.
Information and tips for using comics in the classroom:
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Home: Stories from New New Zealanders
by Kate Paris
photographs by Stacey Simpkin
Home: Stories from New New Zealanders tells the stories of four Avondale Intermediate students who moved to New Zealand from overseas. Interviewed by their teacher, Kate Paris, the students share memories of what life was like in the countries where they were born (South Africa, Sāmoa, Pakistan, and Kenya), and they discuss what it’s been like adjusting to life in New Zealand. The article explores the issues in a simple and accessible way, incorporating clear narration with students’ quotes and striking photography.
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In His Blood
by Paul Mason
New Zealander Bruce McLaren was an internationally renowned racing-car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor. In His Blood covers several defining points in Bruce’s life, including his childhood struggle with Perthes disease, his breakthrough at the New Zealand Grand Prix, his time racing on the international circuit, and his founding of the highly successful racing team Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Limited
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Once a Panther
by Victor Rodger
illustrated by Michel Mulipola
This fictional comic is based on the true story of the Polynesian Panthers in 1970s New Zealand. Inspired by the Black Panther Party in the United States, the Polynesian Panthers were a group of young New Zealanders who wanted to tackle the widespread prejudice faced by Pacific communities. Once a Panther encourages the reader to reflect on the positive change the Polynesian Panthers created and the ongoing legacy of the dawn raids for Pacific communities.
Information and tips for using comics in the classroom:
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Keeping Our Stories Alive
by Lana Lopesi and Grace Teuila Evelyn Iwashita-Taylor
This book explores Samoan tatau in two parts: the first part is an interview with tattooist Tyla Vaeau and the second is a comic that retells how tatau came to Sāmoa. The interview with Tyla explores her Samoan culture, how she became a tufuga tā masini (electric tattoo artist), the process and practice of tattooing, and the significance of being a woman working with tatau. The comic retells the origin story of how tatau – and in particular the malu – came to Sāmoa through Tilafaigā and Taemā. The book links to the article “For the Ancestors”, published in School Journal, Level 3, November 2019, which recounts one woman’s experience of receiving her malu.
Information and tips for using comics in the classroom:
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Endurance
by Paul Mason
This book recounts the incredible survival story that followed Ernest Shackleton’s failed attempt to cross Antarctica in 1914. After his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and later crushed by ice, Shackleton and his crew were stranded on the ice for five months before travelling in lifeboats to Elephant Island. A small group then sailed on to South Georgia and trekked through glaciers and over mountains to eventually find help.
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Reading Comics Teacher Support Material
There are many different genres of comics, including slice-of-life, humorous, non-fiction, historical, science fiction, and of course, superheroes. This teacher support material (TSM) unpacks the conventions, metalanguage, and visual and written language features of comics to support teachers in their use of comics for literacy instruction.
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Hinepūkohurangi me Te Maunga
This comic by Ngāi Tūhoe writer Maraea Rakuraku explores the pūrākau of Hinepūkohurangi and Te Maunga from a contemporary perspective. Pōtiki is travelling home with his dad, fresh from reciting his pepeha at school. As he reads a comic retelling the pūrākau of how Hinepūkohurangi fell in love with Te Maunga, he comes to see his surroundings and his pepeha in a new light. The comic shifts between the two narratives – the car ride and the pūrākau comic – creating a layered, meditative story that touches on place, belonging, whakapapa, and the power of storytelling.
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