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Turangawaewae Poetry Worksheet

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Turangawaewae Poetry Worksheet

Read the poem and look closely at its images. Then answer the questions about meaning, vocabulary and poetic choices. Māori words can have layers of meaning, and understandings may vary between people and iwi.

My Turangawaewae

Here flows the awa, carrying songs downstream, A maunga holds the morning light’s first gleam. The moana breathes beneath a wide, bright sky; The whenua keeps old stories passing by. Turangawaewae—a place to stand, A sense of belonging, shaped by people and land. I listen, I learn, I remember, I care; My connections are carried wherever I fare.

Explore the poem

Use details from the poem to support your ideas. For questions asking for your own interpretation, answers may differ.

1.In the poem, what does turangawaewae mean? Choose the best answer.

A place to stand and a sense of belonging
A journey across the ocean
A song sung by a river
A mountain covered in morning light

2.Match each Māori word from the poem with its English meaning.

awa
maunga
moana
whenua

ocean or sea
river
mountain
land

3.Which pair of end words rhymes in the first two lines?

4.The poem says, “A maunga holds the morning light’s first gleam.” What might you see in your mind when you read this line?

5.The poem suggests that connection to place can include people as well as land.

TrueFalse

6.In “The whenua keeps old stories passing by,” the land is described as if it can do something people do. What is this poetic technique called?

7.Fill in the missing word from the poem: “I listen, I learn, I remember, I .”

8.Why might the poet have chosen to name the awa, maunga, moana and whenua instead of simply writing “the land”?

9.Write one original line about a place that matters to you. Use a sensory detail (something you can see, hear, smell, taste or touch). You may write about a real place, an imagined place or a place that matters to someone else.

Sketch a place that matters to you, or invent one for your poem. Add one small detail that shows why it is meaningful. You do not need to share anything private.