Summer learning journey day 1 (Arriving in New Zealand)

Week 1 in the beginning

(1800 - 1870)

Activity 1: The First Settlers

It is truly believed that the first people to arrive in Aotearoa
( New Zealand ) came all the way from Polynesia. Most

historians believed that the Polynesians arrived 700 years ago.

Even though they were from different countries, these people
learnt to live together and formed their own distinct culture

known as ‘Māori.’ Maori have their own traditions, language
and culture.

This is what we have to do:

Follow this link to read a short story about a famous
man in Māori mythology – Maui. On your blog, post three

facts that you learned about this interesting man. What other

stories have you heard about Maui?

These are the stories I have read about Maui.

1. Maui and the giant fish
2. Maui and the sun

Here are three interesting facts about Maui:

1. Maui would not give up no matter what.
2. Maui is a strong maori warrior who protects his people.
3. Maui is a great role model and showed that by feeding his
4. family and making them proud.

Activity 2: The first settlers to come to New Zealand must
have been really brave! They had to leave their original

homes and sail thousands of miles across the ocean on
a special boat called a ‘waka’ to reach New Zealand.

This is what we have to do.

Imagine that you were on board one of the wakas.
On your blog, write a short letter to a friend telling
them about your voyage to New Zealand. In the
letter be sure to tell them how you feel about

moving to a new country.

Here is my letter.

Bonus Activity:

This is what we had to do.

To this day, the people of New Zealand still use

waka. Instead of using their waka to transport

them from one place to another, they sometimes

use waka in special events and in sporting competitions
such as Waka Ama. Both boys and girls compete in
Waka Ama boat races.Watch this short video of a

On your blog tell us whether you would like to be in
a Waka Ama race one day. Why or why not?

I would want to be in a Waka Ama race one day
because it would keep me fit. It would also help me

get stronger and stronger. It would take a lot of time,
effort and practice to be in a Waka Ama team.