The Matakite and the Mōkai by Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Korokī, Ngāti Paoa) is a powerful narrative fiction text set in Aotearoa before the arrival of Pākehā. The story weaves together the lives of Hine Nāwai, a young matakite with the ability to see the future, and Tama Tere, a mōkai who works gathering firewood and stones for his keepers. Through rich imagery, waiata, and symbolism, the text explores ideas of mana, leadership, and justice as Tama Tere is entrusted with a finely woven rope that becomes central to saving a rangatira and his son during a flood. Grounded in tikanga Māori and te ao Māori, the story challenges assumptions about status and power, showing how courage, responsibility, and doing the right thing reveal true leadership. Evocative, layered, and deeply meaningful, the text supports students to understand history, values, and identity through story and voice.

The text is ideal for integrated learning across literacy and social sciences, supporting inquiry into Māori social structures, tikanga, leadership, justice, and continuity and change in Aotearoa New Zealand histories.

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.

Curriculum Phase: Phase 3

Year Level: Year 6

English (NZC Levels 3–4):
reading for meaning and critical thinking, analysing narrative structure and symbolism, exploring character perspective and voice, interpreting visual and written text together, making inferences

Social Sciences – Aotearoa New Zealand Histories:
pre-European Māori society, tikanga, leadership and social roles, continuity and change, identity and belonging

Text type:
Fiction, narrative story, historical fiction, graphic narrative

Key words include:
matakite, mōkai, tikanga, mana, rangatira, ariki, kaitiakitanga, te whare pora, harakeke, waiata, whakapapa, leadership, justice, courage, responsibility, pre-European Aotearoa, Māori society, social structures, inequality, adaptation, continuity and change, identity, whānau, hapū