ICONIC GAMESYEAR 4
TERM 2 · WEEK 4Protect Our Moana

TERM 2 · WEEK 4

Protect Our Moana

Protect Our Moana · Cause & Effect · Measurement

0 / 7 missions complete
Year 4 learners investigating marine vocabulary at an Aotearoa coastal learning station.

ENGLISH

Moana Word Detective

01 · Workshop

Let’s investigate the words for Protect Our Moana. Look for what changes, then explain what you notice.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Identify base words and common prefixes or suffixes, then explain how the word parts change meaning in an ocean-protection context.

YOUR MISSION

Break apart and investigate: reuse = re + use, unsafe = un + safe, harmful = harm + ful, careless = care + less, overfishing = over + fish + ing, cleanest = clean + est. For each word, identify the base word, the affix or affixes and what the finished word means.

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

A suffix is an ending added to a word. -ful can mean “full of” or “having”, -less can mean “without”, and -est can show the most. A prefix is a word part added to the beginning of a word. It changes the word’s meaning.

  1. STEP 1Read or tap each word.
  2. STEP 2Look closely at the word part the mission is teaching.
  3. STEP 3Sort, build or compare the words.
  4. STEP 4Explain the pattern in your own words.
TEACH · WORD PARTS

How base words and affixes change meaning

Before you investigate the moana words, learn the three parts you need to spot.

1 · BASE WORD

The base word carries the main meaning.

protect
protect means to keep something safe.
2 · PREFIX

A prefix goes before a base word and changes its meaning.

re-use
reuse means use again. re- means again.
3 · SUFFIX

A suffix goes after a base word. It can change the meaning or the job of the word.

protect-ion
protection names the act or result of protecting.
pollute → pollutionpollute + -ionan action becomes a noun naming the result or process
protect → protectionprotect + -ionan action becomes a noun
overfishingover- + fish + -ingover- means too much; -ing names the activity
unsafeun- + safeun- means not
Important: not every moana word has an affix. Words such as marine, habitat and ecosystem are important topic words, but you do not need to split every word into parts.
QUICK CHECK

In the word protection, what is -ion?

TOUCH · LOOK · NOTICE

Explore the moana clues

Tap the pictures, then choose a word. Decide whether it has a base word, a prefix, a suffix, or whether it is simply an important topic word.

Tap words to collect and compare them.
Illustrated cause-and-effect pathway showing litter moving from land through stormwater and waterways to the moana.

ENGLISH · SCIENCE

Cause & Effect: What Happens to Our Moana?

02 · Library

Read the Protect Our Moana information first. Talk the idea through, then answer one small question at a time.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Identify a cause-and-effect chain and supporting evidence in an explanation about land-based pollution reaching the ocean.

YOUR MISSION

Trace the chain from rubbish on land to the moana. Identify the starting cause, at least two effects in order, and one sentence from the text that explains how people can interrupt the chain.

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Evidence is a clue from the text, picture or data that supports your thinking. An inference is an idea you work out from clues. A cause is why something happens. An effect is what happens because of it.

  1. STEP 1Read once to understand what it is mostly about.
  2. STEP 2Read the question again and find the part that helps.
  3. STEP 3Say your answer aloud using because, then check it against the text.
  4. STEP 4Record a useful clue from the source.
  5. STEP 5Explain what that clue tells you.
BUILD THE PATHWAY

Move the evidence into cause-and-effect order

The clue pictures are mixed up on purpose. Drag on a computer, or tap a card and then tap its destination on a phone or tablet.

TEACH · Read this first

FROM STREET TO SEA — Rubbish dropped on streets or school grounds does not always stay where it lands. When rain falls, light plastic and other litter can be washed towards stormwater drains. Many stormwater drains carry water into streams and other waterways, which can eventually reach the ocean. Plastic that reaches the sea can remain there for a long time. Marine animals may become tangled in it or mistake small pieces for food. Picking up litter and keeping rubbish away from drains helps interrupt this chain before the waste reaches our moana.

CHECK THE TEXT · Find a clue

Year 4 learners organising evidence and writing a cause-and-effect explanation about protecting the moana.

ENGLISH

Explain the Problem: Rubbish to the Ocean

03 · Creative Studio

YOUR WRITING JOB: Explain how rubbish from land can reach our moana and affect marine life. Write two paragraphs. Organise your explanation as problem → pathway → effect → action. Use because, therefore, as a result or so at least twice. End with one practical action that can interrupt the chain.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Write a two-paragraph cause-and-effect explanation showing how rubbish can travel from land to the ocean and affect marine life.

YOUR MISSION

Explain how rubbish from land can reach our moana and affect marine life. Write two paragraphs. Organise your explanation as problem → pathway → effect → action. Use because, therefore, as a result or so at least twice. End with one practical action that can interrupt the chain.

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

A cause-and-effect explanation shows how one event leads to another. Use the reading pathway as evidence, then connect the steps clearly.

  1. STEP 1Plan where the rubbish starts and how rain or stormwater can move it.
  2. STEP 2PARAGRAPH 1 — Explain the pathway from land to the moana.
  3. STEP 3PARAGRAPH 2 — Explain an effect on marine life and one action that can interrupt the chain.
  4. STEP 4Use because, therefore, as a result or so at least twice, then read it back.
PLAN WITH EVIDENCE

Build your explanation on the board

Move four evidence pictures onto the planning board. Add a short note under each one, then use your plan to write the explanation.

Four-part marine explanation planning board

SELF-CHECK · Check your explanation

Year 4 learners measuring coastal research equipment using metres and centimetres.

MATHS

Marine Measurement Mission

04 · Maths Lab

Work through one maths question at a time. Your answers will be checked before the next mission unlocks.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Measure and compare coastal lengths and convert between metres and centimetres.

YOUR MISSION

1) A dune-protection rope is 3 m long. How many centimetres is that? 2) A marine survey line is 450 cm long. Write this as metres and centimetres. 3) A boardwalk marker is 2 m 35 cm from the start and the team adds another 40 cm. What is the new distance? 4) Which is longer: a 190 cm survey rope or a 2 m transect line?

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Start with the steps below. They show you what to look for and what to do.

  1. STEP 1Read the question and decide what you need to find.
  2. STEP 2Notice the important numbers and units.
  3. STEP 3Choose a strategy and work it out.
  4. STEP 4Type the answer, then check that it makes sense.
TEACH · LEARN THE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

Metric measurement: millimetres, centimetres and metres

Use this guide while you work. In Aotearoa New Zealand we normally measure length with the metric system.

10 mm = 1 cmMillimetres are very small. Think: the thickness of a small object or tiny detail.
100 cm = 1 mCentimetres are useful for smaller objects. Metres are useful for longer lengths.
1,000 mm = 1 mA metre contains 100 centimetres, and each centimetre contains 10 millimetres.
1,000 m = 1 kmKilometres are used for much longer distances, such as travelling between places.
METRES → CENTIMETRES
× 100Multiply the metres by 100.

Example: 4 m = 4 × 100 = 400 cm

CENTIMETRES → METRES + CENTIMETRES
÷ 100Make groups of 100 cm. The leftover centimetres stay as cm.

Example: 370 cm = 3 groups of 100 cm + 70 cm = 3 m 70 cm

MILLIMETRES ↔ CENTIMETRES
10 ↔ 110 mm make 1 cm.

Example: 70 mm = 7 cm.   5 cm = 50 mm.

COMPARE LENGTHS
SAME UNIT FIRSTConvert both measurements to the same unit before comparing.

Example: 3 m = 300 cm, so 3 m is longer than 250 cm.

ADDING MIXED MEASUREMENTS1 m 25 cm + 30 cm

Keep the metres, then add the centimetres: 25 cm + 30 cm = 55 cm. The answer is 1 m 55 cm.

If the centimetres reach 100 or more, trade every 100 cm for another metre.
Bonus: do all countries measure the same way?

Aotearoa New Zealand uses the metric system, so centimetres, metres and kilometres are the measurements you will usually see. In the United States, people also commonly use measurements such as inches, feet and miles in everyday life. Metric measurements are still used there in areas such as science and medicine.

mmtiny lengths10 mm = 1 cm cmsmaller objects100 cm = 1 m mlonger lengths
MEASURE IT FOR REAL

Read the measurement from each picture

Each question now uses a complete measurement picture with the object and its scale already lined up. Tap the picture if you want to enlarge it, then type your measurement underneath.

QUESTION 1

A dune-protection rope is 3 m long. How many centimetres is that?

Look at where the end of the rope lines up on the scale.

QUESTION 2

A marine survey line is 450 cm long. Write this as metres and centimetres.

Read the line length, then write it in metres and centimetres.

QUESTION 3

A boardwalk marker is 2 m 35 cm from the start and the team adds another 40 cm. What is the new distance?

Use the picture to follow the starting distance and the extra distance.

QUESTION 4

Which is longer: a 190 cm survey rope or a 2 m transect line?

Compare the two measurements and decide which one is longer.

Year 4 learners planning and measuring a protected Aotearoa coastal dune boundary.

MATHS

Protect the Dunes

05 · Mission Deck

This is your real-world Protect Our Moana challenge. Work out what the problem asks you to find or make.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Calculate perimeter and use measurement to plan a practical boundary around a coastal restoration area.

YOUR MISSION

A protected dune restoration area is a rectangle 8 m long and 5 m wide. 1) Calculate its perimeter. 2) The plan leaves a 2 m entrance gap with no rope. How many metres of rope are needed for the rest of the boundary? 3) Say where you would place the entrance or a protection sign and give one practical reason.

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Perimeter is the distance all the way around a shape. Area is the space inside a flat shape.

  1. STEP 1Read the whole challenge once.
  2. STEP 2Find the numbers, facts or rules you need.
  3. STEP 3Choose a useful strategy.
  4. STEP 4Show your solution clearly enough that someone else could follow it.
DESIGN CHALLENGE · BLUEPRINT BUILDER

Build your protected dune habitat to scale

You made a rough sketch on the blueprint brief above. Now turn that draft into an accurate scaled build: every small square is 0.5 m.

YOUR DESIGN BRIEF Design site: 8 m × 5 m

The grid uses a scale of 1 square = 0.5 m. Build a 3 m × 2 m protected habitat, then surround it with a 4 m × 3 m rope enclosure. That leaves a 0.5 m buffer around the habitat. Your rope also needs one 2 m entrance.

Rope enclosure4 m × 3 m Entrance gap2 m Rope needed? m
LEARN FIRST · WHICH PLANTS GO WHERE?

A dune has different planting zones

The plants nearest the sea need to cope with wind, salt and moving sand. More sheltered plants belong further back. Use this guide before you build.

1 · FRONT / OPEN SANDMost exposed to wind, salt and moving sand
Pīngao Spinifex

These are strong dune-building plants. Their roots and runners help trap sand and hold the front of the dune together.

2 · BACK / SHELTERED DUNEMore stable and protected
Harakeke Coastal shrub Sand coprosma

Harakeke and shrubs prefer a more stable position. Place them behind the front-dune plants, beside protected edges, or near the boardwalk.

3 · ADD HABITAT VARIETYUse room carefully and keep access clear
Pōhuehue Toetoe

These can add shelter and variety to the restored area. Do not cover the entrance or block the boardwalk.

Remember: 🌊 Sea → pīngao + spinifex → harakeke + shrubs → sheltered land
Quick check Which TWO plants are the best choices for the exposed, sandy front dune?
Choose two plants, then check your thinking.
□ 2 m entrance □ rope fence □ boardwalk □ protection sign □ at least 3 plant areas □ protected habitat
BUILD TO SCALE
0 m1 square = 0.5 m8 m →
Choose your 2 m entrance first, then build your sanctuary.
A thriving Aotearoa rocky reef and kelp forest ready for the Reef Rescue mission.

SCIENCE

Game Break

06 · Arcade
HOW TO PLAY

Reef Rescue has three missions: steer the Kaitiaki ROV to collect rubbish, defend the reef by matching each threat with the right action, then return marine life to the habitat where it belongs. Complete all three levels to finish the Game Break.

ICONIC ARCADE · TERM 2 · WEEK 4

Reef Rescue

Play first · themed challenge · touch friendly
GAME BREAK · KAITIAKI MISSION REEF RESCUE Level 1 · Clean-up Dive
1CLEAN 2DEFEND 3REVIVE
Reef health: Needs Help
REEF HEALTHNEEDS HELP
Polluted Aotearoa rocky reef that needs a clean-up
LEVEL 1 · CLEAN-UP DIVE Steer the Kaitiaki ROV through the reef and collect all 8 pieces of rubbish. 0 / 8 collected
Kaitiaki underwater clean-up robot
Drag the ROV · use the joystick · or tap rubbish
Aotearoa rocky reef mission scene
3 LEVEL REEF MISSION Can you bring this reef back to life?

Clean the rubbish, defend the reef from new threats, then rebuild the habitat.

Press Start Reef Rescue to begin.
Choose a challenge to begin.

How did Week 4 feel?

07 · Clubhouse

This part is about your own learning. There are no right or wrong feelings.

WHAT AM I LEARNING?

Reflect on independence, challenge level and the next useful practice step.

YOUR MISSION

Choose: Mostly by myself / Some help / Another go. Optional prompt: 'One thing I can explain now is…'

Need help? See the steps
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA

Choose what feels true for you, then write one thing you understand better now.

  1. STEP 1Choose how the week felt.
  2. STEP 2Write one thing you understand better now.

How did this week feel?

There are no right or wrong answers. Choose what feels true for you.

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