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.
When Mariri, a great explorer, realises his homeland of ‘Avaiki has become overcrowded, he and his warriors set off to find a new home for their people. This traditional tale, featuring rich literary language, describes their discovery of an island (now called Atiu) and Mariri’s subsequent, extraordinary plan for getting back to ‘Avaiki to bring his wife to the island.
“Seashells” provides information about the shells that can be found on New Zealand beaches. It includes intriguing facts and photographs. This article is linked to two other pieces in this journal: “Super Shells”, which describes some ways that people use shells, and “Beach Buddy”, a craft activity.
This report describes some of the many ways people have used shells, now and in the past. Much of the information is conveyed by intriguing, captioned photographs.
Shells come in all shapes and sizes. Next time youʼre on the beach, pick some up and look at them closely. What do you notice? What do they make you think of? Do they look like part of an animal? You could use shells to make a beach buddy, a crazy creature from the seashore.
While Tiger sleeps after a night of hunting, Rabbit, Elephant, Monkey, and Snake are awake and moving about. One by one, they discover the sleeping tiger and quickly move out of danger, but then foolish Frog comes along...
When Mariri, a great explorer, realises his homeland of ‘Avaiki has become overcrowded, he and his warriors set off to find a new home for their people. This traditional tale, featuring rich literary language, describes their discovery of an island (now called Atiu) and Mariri’s subsequent, extraordinary plan for getting back to ‘Avaiki to bring his wife to the island.
“Seashells” provides information about the shells that can be found on New Zealand beaches. It includes intriguing facts and photographs. This article is linked to two other pieces in this journal: “Super Shells”, which describes some ways that people use shells, and “Beach Buddy”, a craft activity.
This report describes some of the many ways people have used shells, now and in the past. Much of the information is conveyed by intriguing, captioned photographs.
Shells come in all shapes and sizes. Next time youʼre on the beach, pick some up and look at them closely. What do you notice? What do they make you think of? Do they look like part of an animal? You could use shells to make a beach buddy, a crazy creature from the seashore.
While Tiger sleeps after a night of hunting, Rabbit, Elephant, Monkey, and Snake are awake and moving about. One by one, they discover the sleeping tiger and quickly move out of danger, but then foolish Frog comes along...
This article describes a selection of mythical creatures and monsters from around the world, including Kāhui Tipua (Aotearoa), Afinemata/Gāhehelevao (Tokelau), kraken (Norway), oni (Japan), sphinx (Ancient Greece and North Africa), dragons (Asia and Europe), chinthe (Myanmar/Cambodia/Laos), and the bunyip (Australia), and discusses the possible origins of such creatures and some of the reasons for their universal appeal.
“Faster, higher, stronger ...” The Olympic Games have been a source of international interest and entertainment since the late nineteenth century. This article provides information on some of our earliest Olympians, with a particular focus on the four athletes who attended the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. It was the first year that Aotearoa New Zealand had sent an independent national team to the games, and despite facing additional challenges of distance and expense, all four athletes made the finals with one winning a bronze medal. The final paragraph of the article extols the benefits of aiming high and working hard to achieve a goal.
This humorous poem describes the poet’s pet monster and its dining habits. It links to the article “Monsters” in the same journal and shows how a topic can be approached in different ways. It also provides a model for students’ poetic writing.
A traditional story, retold by Steph Matuku, illustrations by Isobel Te Aho-White
This traditional tale features in the oral traditions of many iwi. It tells of how Kupe discovered Aotearoa while pursuing a giant wheke (octopus) across the Pacific. As he chased the creature around Aotearoa, Kupe explored the new land and named many places.
The author uses this light-hearted play to introduce ideas about voting, elections, and MMP. A monster is roaming the kingdom and causing mayhem. The characters come up with various ways to deal with the threat and then vote on the solutions. The resolution sees the problem solved peacefully through communication.
Jayson has just arrived in New Zealand to stay with his nan. He is staying at her marae preparing for an unveiling but is feeling out of his depth. With help from his younger cousin, Nikora, Jayson slowly feels his way, learning about tikanga Māori and how he, too, belongs.
by Renata Hopkins, illustrations by Rosie Colligan
Grumpa wants to take a walk, but the narrator has other ideas. Grumpa wins, and the pair tour Christchurch’s Red Zone, where the narrator learns to see what’s no longer there – and ways we can preserve the past.
The Auckland Islands, a New Zealand territory in the Southern Ocean, were the site of nine shipwrecks in the nineteenth century. Paul Mason uses this as a starting point for his fictional story about Nell, who becomes a castaway with several others and must play her part in keeping their precious fire going.
The Rapsey family, including nine-year-old Elizabeth and her six-year-old brother, Johnny, spent just over four months walking the entire length of New Zealand. During this time, they lived a simple life, learning about the natural world around them and the various ways to engage with it. Rebekah White captures both the sense of adventure and the contemplative moments through her lyrical style, which contains some elements of creative non-fiction.
Kevin Halsall is an engineer and inventor who likes to solve problems. Over a four-year period, he designed and built the Omeo: a ground-breaking mobility device that gives people much greater freedom than a traditional wheelchair. In this article, Kevin discusses his motivation and design process, and his friend Marcus shares the impact the Omeo has had on his life.
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.
This classroom mystery is solved by Ruby, a student who loves detective novels and who has honed her skills through reading. The author delights in mysteries and plays – and works both forms to their advantage.
by Sarah Penwarden, illustrations by Elliemay Logan
This family story captures the experience of forming a new relationship and how circumstances that are outside our control can end relationships. Equally, it’s about how families change – and especially about young people becoming aware of their parents as people with separate lives and with their own needs.
This story references general elections, in the context of an election to a school council. “The Winning Side” introduces a few big ideas: the need for a platform, the importance of giving everyone a voice, and why we vote.
This is the third instalment in this series, which is set in a dystopian future. Although it follows on from “Hushed” and “Wind Chimes”, the story can stand alone.
The students at Newlands Intermediate have learnt that creating successful digital technologies requires a realistic, think-small approach – and that it’s OK to make mistakes. As well as attempting to build their own game, they were also part of a real-world software development team that developed and tested Mixiply, a platform for making games and apps that use augmented and virtual reality.
This article is a follow up to “Climate Change: Our Biggest Challenge”. It explains the phenomenon of feedback loops – positive feedback loops, which can cause climate change to accelerate, or negative loops, which can lessen the factors that cause change.
In 1866, the General Grant was sailing from Australia to London when it was shipwrecked on the one of the Subantarctic Islands. Of the eighty-three people on board, only fifteen made it ashore. A survivor later wrote about how the castaways only had six matches, with five "squandered". The lighting of the last match was a critical moment in their survival.