Waitangi Day Scavenger Hunt Senior Edition | Treaty of Waitangi Reading Activity

Help older students investigate Waitangi Day and Te Tiriti o Waitangi through a meaningful scavenger hunt activity.

Perfect for upper primary, intermediate, homeschool, and New Zealand social studies.
A low-prep printable resource that encourages reading, searching, thinking, and discussion rather than passive fact copying.

Make your Waitangi Day learning more purposeful with this Senior Edition Waitangi Day Scavenger Hunt.

Older students often need more than a simple colouring page or basic fact sheet. They are ready to ask deeper questions about Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi, Aotearoa New Zealand history, promises, perspectives, partnership, and why Waitangi Day still matters today.

This printable activity gives students a structured way to investigate key information while keeping the task active and engaging. Instead of simply reading a passage and answering questions, students search, locate, connect, and record information as they build their understanding.

What’s Included

This printable Waitangi Day resource includes:

• Senior-level scavenger hunt activity
• Questions connected to Waitangi Day
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi / Treaty of Waitangi learning
• New Zealand history vocabulary
• Reading and information-finding practice
• Student recording pages
• Low-prep printable format
• Follow-up discussion opportunities

Why This Resource Works

Waitangi Day can be hard to teach well, especially with older students. You want the learning to be respectful, thoughtful, and age-appropriate — not tokenistic, rushed, or too simplistic.

This resource helps by giving students a clear inquiry-style task that supports:

• Waitangi Day learning
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi / Treaty of Waitangi understanding
• Aotearoa New Zealand histories
• Reading comprehension
• Research and information-finding skills
• Critical thinking
• Vocabulary development
• Independent or partner work
• Classroom discussion
• Homeschool social studies

It is especially useful when you need a printable Waitangi Day activity that gives students enough structure to work independently, but enough depth to lead into meaningful conversation.

Best For

This resource is ideal for:

• Upper primary students
• Intermediate students
• Ages 9–13
• Homeschool New Zealand history
• Waitangi Day lessons
• Te Tiriti o Waitangi units
• Aotearoa New Zealand histories
• Social studies
• Independent or partner activities
• Teachers wanting low-prep February resources

Suggested Use

Use this resource in the lead-up to Waitangi Day, during a wider Treaty of Waitangi unit, or as part of your Aotearoa New Zealand histories programme.

Students can complete the scavenger hunt independently, with a partner, or in small groups. Afterward, use the questions as prompts for discussion, reflection, or further research.

This activity also pairs well with Treaty vocabulary work, timeline activities, Waitangi Day reading passages, map work, and discussions about partnership, participation, protection, rights, responsibilities, and historical perspectives.

Created by Montessori Kiwi

Created by a Montessori-trained and New Zealand registered teacher, this resource is designed for real classrooms where teachers need Waitangi Day materials that are practical, thoughtful, and easy to use.

It saves preparation time while giving older students a structured way to engage with one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most important historical and civic topics.

16 pages - PDF

This is a Downloadable resource.

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