Kōpūwai and the Clever Girl
This story is from Rapuwai, an ancestral iwi of Ngāi Tahu. It is set on the banks of the Mata-Au/Clutha River, in Otago, and comes from a time long ago when moa roamed the land and giant tuna swam in the rivers.
About this resource
Series: School Journal Level 3 May 2017
Reading year level: 5
Category: Fiction
Topics: challenge, cleverness, Clutha River, Kōpūwai, legends, Māori traditional stories, Mata-Au, monsters, myths, Ngāi Tahu, Otago, Rapuwai, trickery
Kōpūwai and the Clever Girl
Words by Brian Potiki
Illustrations by Scott Pearson
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School Journal Level 3 May 2017
Inside this School Journal are three stories (Kopūwai and the Clever Girl; Who Froze Farrell Flint?; New Boots), one poem (Thumbprints), one memoir (Alvin and Me), two articles (Becoming a Martian; Designed for Good) and one interview (Haritina Mogosanu - Starryteller).
1 of 8Who Froze Farrell Flint
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2 of 8New Boots
Charlie’s own pack was fine, but he was hungry, and his new boots pinched. Plus his mates were way ahead, having a great time – and here he was stuck at the back with Mr Ngaia and the new kid.
3 of 8Thumbprints
Mum left Sāmoa in 1952. To‘ono drove her to the harbour in a jeep abandoned by American marines.
4 of 8Alvin and Me
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5 of 8Becoming a Martian
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6 of 8Designed for Good
The New Zealand environment has been badly affected by introduced pests such as rats, stoats, and possums. “Designed for Good” follows the process of developing an effective and humane trap to reduce these pest populations. The article tells the story of the project, from the first “That’s it!” mome...
7 of 8Haritina Mogosanu - Starryteller
Meet Haritina Mogosanu: astrobiologist, science communicator, president of the Mars Society in New Zealand, and “starryteller”. In 2012, she was commander of the first New Zealand mission to the Mars Desert Research Station in the United States.
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