Kōwhai, harakeke, mānuka, tī kōuka and ferns need different amounts of light and moisture. Mulch helps soil hold water and reduces weed growth. Native flowering plants can also support birds and insects by providing nectar, shelter or food.
Fluency check: read the source aloud once at a natural pace, pausing where the punctuation tells you to.TERM 1 · WEEK 2
Native Garden
Environment
0 / 7 missions complete
ENGLISH
Suffix Switch
01 · WorkshopLet’s investigate the words for Native Garden. Look for what changes, then explain what you notice.
WHAT AM I LEARNING?
I can use meaningful word parts to work out unfamiliar words.
YOUR MISSION
Which word contains a suffix that turns a verb into a noun?
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA
Prefixes, suffixes and base words carry meaning. Break a longer word into parts, say what each part contributes, then confirm the meaning using the sentence around it.
- STEP 1Read or tap each word.
- STEP 2Look closely at the word part the mission is teaching.
- STEP 3Sort, build or compare the words.
- STEP 4Explain the pattern in your own words.
PRACTISE · Try the words
Tap words to collect and compare them.
YEAR 5 DEEP DIVE · REQUIRED Complete this deeper Year 5 mahi as part of the mission — not as an optional extra.
Do the main mission first, then complete this section. It is deliberately more independent than Year 4 and is part of your weekly homework workload.
CHECK THE CORE IDEA
Which word contains a suffix that turns a verb into a noun?
ENGLISH
Finding Main Ideas & Cause and Effect
02 · LibraryRead the Native Garden information first. Talk the idea through, then answer one small question at a time.
WHAT AM I LEARNING?
I can identify how a text is organised and use its structure to find meaning.
YOUR MISSION
Which text structure is strongest here?
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA
Headings, paragraphs, diagrams, captions, sequence words and cause-and-effect structures help readers predict where information will appear.
- STEP 1Read once to understand what it is mostly about.
- STEP 2Read the question again and find the part that helps.
- STEP 3Say your answer aloud using because, then check it against the text.
- STEP 4Record a useful clue from the source.
- STEP 5Explain what that clue tells you.
TEACH · Read this first
Kōwhai, harakeke, mānuka, tī kōuka and ferns need different amounts of light and moisture. Mulch helps soil hold water and reduces weed growth. Native flowering plants can also support birds and insects by providing nectar, shelter or food.
CHECK THE TEXT · Find a clue
A clue from the text is called evidence.
YEAR 5 DEEP DIVE · REQUIRED Complete this deeper Year 5 mahi as part of the mission — not as an optional extra.
Do the main mission first, then complete this section. It is deliberately more independent than Year 4 and is part of your weekly homework workload.
CHECK THE CORE IDEA
Which text structure is strongest here?
ENGLISH
Explaining Garden Care
03 · Creative StudioYOUR WRITING JOB: Explain how two garden-care choices help native plants survive. Link each choice to its effect.
WHAT AM I LEARNING?
I can explain how or why something happens using a logical sequence and precise vocabulary.
YOUR MISSION
Explain how two garden-care choices help native plants survive. Link each choice to its effect.
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA
Explanations organise causes, processes or relationships. Use technical vocabulary where it adds precision and link ideas with cause-and-effect language.
- STEP 1Choose at least three useful care details from the reading.
- STEP 2PARAGRAPH 1 — Introduce caring for the native garden and explain your first care ideas.
- STEP 3PARAGRAPH 2 — Add another care idea and explain why it helps.
- STEP 4Use because, so, or this means that at least twice, then finish clearly.
NEED TO GET YOUR IDEAS READY?
Choose any way that helps. These are optional — you can always do the whole mission on screen.
ON SCREEN — use the planning boxes below.PEN & PAPER — if you want to, draw or jot your ideas first.SAY IT OUT LOUD — explain your idea to yourself before writing.TALK IT THROUGH — if someone is available, you can talk with a friend, sibling, whānau member or adult.
PRACTISE · Plan it one step at a time
SELF-CHECK · Check your work
This checklist helps you check your work. You do not have to tick every box to submit — the mission check looks at the work you created.
YEAR 5 DEEP DIVE · REQUIRED Complete this deeper Year 5 mahi as part of the mission — not as an optional extra.
Do the main mission first, then complete this section. It is deliberately more independent than Year 4 and is part of your weekly homework workload.
YOU TRY
Explain how two garden-care choices help native plants survive. Link each choice to its effect.
Minimum guide: 90 words. Quality matters: make the reasoning, evidence or design decision clear. □ answers the exact task□ uses specific detail□ ideas are connected□ reread and improved
MATHS
Adding & Subtracting Four-Digit Numbers
04 · Maths LabWork through one maths question at a time. Your answers will be checked before the next mission unlocks.
WHAT AM I LEARNING?
I can solve multi-digit addition and subtraction problems efficiently and check reasonableness.
YOUR MISSION
1) 38,475 + 16,890 2) 72,000 − 28,745
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA
Choose a strategy that fits the numbers: place-value partitioning, compensation or a written algorithm. Estimate first so you can judge whether the result is reasonable.
- STEP 1Read the question and decide what you need to find.
- STEP 2Notice the important numbers and units.
- STEP 3Choose a strategy and work it out.
- STEP 4Type the answer, then check that it makes sense.
PRACTISE & SOLVE · One question at a time
Read → choose a strategy → work it out → check your answer. Correct answers stay correct if another question needs another go.
YEAR 5 DEEP DIVE · REQUIRED Complete this deeper Year 5 mahi as part of the mission — not as an optional extra.
Do the main mission first, then complete this section. It is deliberately more independent than Year 4 and is part of your weekly homework workload.
CORE YEAR 5 QUESTIONS
MATHS
Planning with Seedling Totals
05 · Mission DeckThis is your real-world Native Garden challenge. Work out what the problem asks you to find or make.
WHAT AM I LEARNING?
I can combine information and calculations to make a workable plan.
YOUR MISSION
You have 96 seedlings for 8 equal beds. Explain how many go in each bed and one reason equal groups might help planning.
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA
Integrated problems often have several constraints. Identify the goal, list the limits, calculate what matters, then explain why the plan works.
- STEP 1Read the whole challenge once.
- STEP 2Find the numbers, facts or rules you need.
- STEP 3Choose a useful strategy.
- STEP 4Show your solution clearly enough that someone else could follow it.
CREATE · What do I need to solve?
You have 96 seedlings for 8 equal beds. Explain how many go in each bed and one reason equal groups might help planning.
Choose a way to show your thinking. There can be more than one good strategy.
Ways to think away from the screen
PEN & PAPER — show your working there if it helps.
SAY IT OUT LOUD — explain what you need to find.
TALK IT THROUGH — if someone is available, you can discuss your strategy.
YEAR 5 DEEP DIVE · REQUIRED Complete this deeper Year 5 mahi as part of the mission — not as an optional extra.
Do the main mission first, then complete this section. It is deliberately more independent than Year 4 and is part of your weekly homework workload.
YOU TRY
You have 96 seedlings for 8 equal beds. Explain how many go in each bed and one reason equal groups might help planning.
Minimum guide: 60 words. Quality matters: make the reasoning, evidence or design decision clear. □ answers the exact task□ uses specific detail□ ideas are connected□ reread and improved
ENGLISH
Word Builder
06 · ArcadeGAME BREAK
Play the challenge and follow the instructions inside the game. Complete at least one challenge successfully to finish this Game Break.
ICONIC ARCADE · TERM 1 · WEEK 2
Word Builder
Single-player · touch friendly · progress saves on this deviceBuild all three mission words from scrambled letter tiles.
YEAR 5 DEEP DIVE · REQUIRED Finish the game, then prove the learning in the final rounds.
Do the main mission first, then complete this section. It is deliberately more independent than Year 4 and is part of your weekly homework workload.
YEAR 5 GAME CHECK
Finish the game first, then use the learning from this week to clear these three final rounds.
How did Week 2 feel?
07 · ClubhouseThis 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 Year 5 practice step.
YOUR MISSION
What did you do when a reading or maths answer was not obvious straight away?
TEACH · LEARN THE IDEA
Choose what feels true for you, then write one thing you understand better now.
- STEP 1Choose how the week felt.
- 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.
ICONIC ARCADE · NATIVE GARDEN
Grow the Garden
Guess the word · grow the kōwhai · keep the weeds away ROUND 1 OF 3 WEEDS 0 / 5
EASY CLUE
Plants need this when the soil is dry.
WORD DISCOVERED