{"product_id":"sjl2-august-2018-sixth-sense-poem-literacy-pack","title":"SJL2 August 2018 Sixth Sense Poem Literacy Pack","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"340\" data-end=\"702\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"340\" data-end=\"355\"\u003eSixth Sense\u003c\/strong\u003e by Apirana Taylor is a powerful, lyrical poem that responds to the first encounters between Māori and Europeans at Turanganui-a-Kiwa (Gisborne) in 1769. Written from the perspective of \u003cstrong data-start=\"541\" data-end=\"559\"\u003eTe Kurī a Pawa\u003c\/strong\u003e, a Ngāti Porou explorer, the poem captures a moment of profound uncertainty, intuition, and foreboding as unfamiliar ships approach the shore.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"704\" data-end=\"1270\"\u003eThe poem is spare and rhythmic, relying on repetition, short lines, and sound to convey unease. The opening growl—“grrrr”—signals an instinctive warning, positioning the speaker as both human and animal, guided by senses beyond sight. References to unheard voices, a “strange tongue,” and “death and war \/ in the winds of time” suggest an awareness of future consequences, even before contact occurs. The repeated question “what is this” reinforces confusion and tension, while the phrase \u003cem data-start=\"1193\" data-end=\"1209\"\u003ete ao hurihuri\u003c\/em\u003e (“the world turns”) signals a moment of irreversible change.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1272\" data-end=\"1664\"\u003eBy anchoring the poem in a single voice at the shoreline, Taylor foregrounds Māori experience at the moment of first contact. The speaker’s uncertainty—“i stand on the shore \/ i am unsure”—contrasts sharply with the historical narratives that often privilege European exploration. Instead, the poem centres Indigenous perception, intuition, and vulnerability at the threshold of colonisation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1666\" data-end=\"2119\"\u003eThe poem sits alongside Steve Gibbs’s painting, which visually reinforces the themes of sensing, symbolism, and impending change. The kurī (dog) becomes a symbolic guardian and witness, while swirling patterns and ocean imagery reflect movement, disruption, and transformation. Together, poem and artwork invite students to consider how art and poetry can respond to history through emotion, perspective, and symbolism rather than factual recount alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2121\" data-end=\"2333\"\u003eThe text supports students to understand Aotearoa New Zealand histories through Indigenous voice, metaphor, and intuition, and to explore how first encounters are experienced differently depending on perspective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2335\" data-end=\"2504\"\u003eThe text is ideal for integrated learning across literacy, social sciences, and the arts, supporting inquiry into colonisation, first encounters, and Māori perspectives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2506\" data-end=\"2707\"\u003eA wide range of response activities can support developing and embedding key literacy skills, including inference, symbolism analysis, cloze activities, visual–text connections, and reflective writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2709\" data-end=\"2767\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2709\" data-end=\"2730\"\u003eCurriculum Phase:\u003c\/strong\u003e Phase 2\u003cbr data-start=\"2738\" data-end=\"2741\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2741\" data-end=\"2756\"\u003eYear Level:\u003c\/strong\u003e Year 4\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2769\" data-end=\"2954\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2769\" data-end=\"2798\"\u003eEnglish: \u003c\/strong\u003ereading for meaning and inference, analysing poetic voice and symbolism, exploring repetition and structure, understanding perspective and author purpose\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2956\" data-end=\"3109\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2956\" data-end=\"3009\"\u003eSocial Sciences – Aotearoa New Zealand Histories: \u003c\/strong\u003efirst encounters, colonisation, Māori perspectives, continuity and change, identity and belonging\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3111\" data-end=\"3200\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3111\" data-end=\"3137\"\u003eThe Arts – Visual Art: \u003c\/strong\u003einterpreting symbolism, responding to artwork through poetry\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3202\" data-end=\"3272\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3202\" data-end=\"3216\"\u003eText type: \u003c\/strong\u003ePoetry, free verse, historical and reflective verse\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3274\" data-end=\"3515\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3274\" data-end=\"3296\"\u003eKey words include: \u003c\/strong\u003eAotearoa New Zealand histories, Apirana Taylor, art response, colonisation, dog, first encounters, Gisborne, kurī, Māori perspectives, Ngāti Porou, poetry, symbolism, Te Kurī a Pawa, te ao hurihuri, Turanganui-a-Kiwa\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Resource Cupboard NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45471619711174,"sku":"SJL2 August 2018 Sixth Sense Poem Literacy Pack","price":3.5,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0660\/6530\/1702\/files\/SJL2_August_2018_Page_01.jpg?v=1753385969","url":"https:\/\/theresourcecupboard.co.nz\/products\/sjl2-august-2018-sixth-sense-poem-literacy-pack","provider":"The Resource Cupboard NZ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}