“Starting with Strings” is about Sistema Aotearoa, a children’s orchestra based in Otara. The article explains how children join the orchestra, what’s involved in learning to play an instrument, and what it means to be part of the orchestra.

This pack contains a range of response activities complete with activity explainer videos for exploring thinking skills and developing emotional understandings and compassionate inquiry including:

• Blooms Higher Order Thinking activities
• Book Club guide for deepening text discussion
• A range of activities to explore emotional understanding, compassionate inquiry, empathy development, vocabulary and developing skills for self and co-regulation.

Themes explored include: instruments, music, orchestra, Sistema, English, The Arts