Matariki Activities Bundle | NZ Classroom Reading, Research, Scavenger Hunt & Matching Cards

Bring Matariki into your classroom with a rich, ready-to-use collection of reading, research, discussion and hands-on activities.

This Matariki Activities Bundle is designed for New Zealand classrooms, Montessori settings and homeschool learners who want to explore Matariki in a meaningful, age-appropriate way. Updated to refer to the 9 stars of Matariki, this bundle gives you a wide range of activities for junior through senior primary students. The current listing includes 5 separate Matariki resources and 134+ pages in total.

Use it to support reading comprehension, independent research, vocabulary development, cultural learning, bicultural classroom practice, art activities, games, scavenger hunts and follow-up work.

What is included?

This bundle includes 5 Matariki resources, which are also available separately:

1. Matariki School Journal Reading Resource

A 36-page reading resource using Level 2–Level 4 Connected and School Journal texts.

Useful for:

• guided reading
• reading comprehension
• journal follow-up tasks
• literacy groups
• Matariki inquiry work

2. Matariki Resource Pack

A 50+ page resource pack for Years 0–8. It includes reading comprehensions, art activities, games, match-up activities and more.

Useful for:

• whole-class Matariki learning
• mixed-age classrooms
• junior and senior primary activities
• literacy and cultural studies

3. Matariki Challenge Cards

Includes 14 independent research activities designed for senior primary students. These activities encourage critical thinking and deeper inquiry.

Useful for:

• early finishers
• senior primary research
• independent inquiry
• extension work
• classroom displays

4. Matariki Scavenger Hunt

A 29-page scavenger hunt resource with two versions.

Includes:

• Scavenger Hunt A for fluent junior readers, Turquoise level and above
• Scavenger Hunt B for fluent senior readers
• star answer recording option
• flipbook answer recording option

5. Matariki Matching Cards

A 12-page matching card activity where children match pictures to descriptions and definitions.

Concepts covered include:

• Matariki constellation
• celebrations
• winter solstice
• legends
• remembrance
• planting crops
• harvest
• kites

Skills covered

Students will practise:

• reading comprehension
• vocabulary building
• matching definitions to pictures
• independent research
• critical thinking
• cultural inquiry
• written responses
• discussion and reflection
• understanding key Matariki concepts

Perfect for

• New Zealand primary classrooms
• Montessori 6–12 cultural studies
• homeschool learning
• Matariki units
• bicultural classroom learning
• guided reading groups
• inquiry learning
• literacy centres
• senior primary extension work
• junior primary follow-up activities

Why this bundle helps

Matariki can be a deeply meaningful part of the school year, but it can also be hard to find enough age-appropriate activities that work across different reading levels and classroom needs. This bundle gives you a flexible set of resources so you can support juniors, seniors, fluent readers, independent learners and students who need hands-on matching and visual activities.

It is especially useful for mixed-age classrooms because you can choose from reading work, scavenger hunts, matching cards, research challenges, games and art activities depending on the needs of your learners.

Created by a Montessori and state-trained teacher in Aotearoa New Zealand, this resource is designed to help teachers explore Matariki with care, thoughtfulness and practical classroom support.