Two myths about the discovery
of New Zealand
The Stories
Read through the two stories on the NZ History website about the discovery of Aotearoa.
Activity: Fill out the table below comparing the two stories.
| Maui and the magic fish hook | Kupe, and the discovery of Aotearoa |
Characters | | |
What they were doing when they found the land? | | |
How was the land discovered? | | |
Maui and the fish hook
First a few comprehension questions
What was special about Maui?
Why did Maui get in the boat that day?
Why did Maui’s brothers want to take him back to shore?
What did Maui pull up out of the water?
Kupe, and the discovery of Aotearoa
First a few comprehension questions
How did Toto make the canoe?
How did they find the land of New Zealand?
Why did the octopus and Kupe have a battle?
Do you think Kupe was a smart man? Can you think of a reason for ‘yes’ AND ‘no’?
Create
Create a VENN diagram (like the one below)that shows the similarities and differences between the two stories.
This can be created in using Google presentation or drawing.
Similarities
Differences
Differences
Maui & the fish hook
Kupe & the discovery of NZ
It’s Vocab Time...
Can you think of a word to replace the word in bold in each of these sentences?
Write the new word(s) next to the word you’re replacing.
Toto fabricated/Made two huge ocean going canoes from a large tree.
It happened that Kupe desired Kura very much.
...Kupe sliced through the anchor rope of the canoe and began to row furiously back to shore.
Kupe’s wife Hine Te Aparangi sighted the islands of New Zealand
The huge octopus swam rapidly in front of the Matahorua.
In defence, the octopus whipped its enormous tentacles around the canoe, intent on devouring the whole canoe.