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English · Year 3e · Learning Journey 7 · Theme 1 Meeting others · B1

Cook and the Māori: an encounter and its memory

October 1769: James Cook's ship, the Endeavour, arrives in New Zealand. The first meeting with the Māori ends in tragedy. Two and a half centuries later, what is left of this meeting? I compare points of view with relative clauses.

B1relatives who · which · whosewhereas · while
Yellow card · June · 5 lessons

Relative clauses and contrast

Relative clauses give information about a noun; whereas and while contrast two points of view. Tap the cards.

James Cook was a British navigator who explored the Pacific. The Endeavour, which arrived in New Zealand in 1769, carried Tupaia, a Tahitian priest whose knowledge of the islands was precious. For the British, it was a discovery, whereas for the Māori, who had lived there for centuries, it was the arrival of strangers. In 2019, the British representative in New Zealand expressed regret for the people who were killed.
who
who for a person.
Cook was a navigator who explored the Pacific.
which
which for a thing; between commas, no that.
The Endeavour, which arrived in 1769, was British.
whose
whose shows possession.
Tupaia, whose knowledge was precious, helped Cook.
whereas
whereas / while contrast two points of view.
It was a discovery for some, whereas it was a shock for others.

My words → tap a card: it turns over and I hear the word

Culture → Aotearoa, two worlds meet

A carved Māori meeting house on a lawn
The Waitangi Treaty Grounds, New Zealand · W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Māori came from Polynesia in canoes (waka) and settled in Aotearoa around the 13th century. In October 1769, James Cook's ship, the Endeavour, arrived at Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, on the east coast. During the first meetings, misunderstandings led to the deaths of several Māori. Tupaia, a Tahitian priest on board, was the interpreter.

On 6 February 1840, Māori chiefs and the British Crown signed the Treaty of Waitangi. The English and Māori versions don't say exactly the same thing, which caused conflicts over land that still go on. Waitangi Day is now the national holiday.

Since 1975, a tribunal has looked into breaches of the treaty. Te reo Māori has been an official language since 1987. In 2019, 250 years after Cook arrived, the British High Commissioner publicly expressed regret for the Māori killed in 1769.

Did you know? → tap a card

I listen → two points of view

Listen. Write down what the meeting means for the British and for the Māori. Find who, which and whose.

I watch

Video: “Captain Cook: Encounters That Changed History” · channel Australian National Maritime Museum · watch on YouTube. The video only loads when you tap (youtube-nocookie player).

My mission during the video
  1. Write down two places Cook visited.
  2. Write down how the museum presents the two points of view.
  3. Write a sentence with whereas.

I watch too

Video: “Early Encounters (The Aotearoa History Show)” · channel RNZ (New Zealand public radio) · watch on YouTube. The video only loads when you tap (youtube-nocookie player).

My mission during the video
  1. Write down one fact about the first meetings from the Māori point of view.
The lessons in this learning journey (5)
  1. Aotearoa New Zealand: map and first words of te reo Māori.
  2. 1769: the Endeavour arrives (maritime museum video).
  3. Two points of view on the same encounter.
  4. The Treaty of Waitangi (1840) and Waitangi Day.
  5. Final task: a bilingual museum panel.
Sentence starters → for my final task
  • “This panel presents…”
  • “Cook, who…, arrived in…”
  • “The Māori, whose…, …”
  • “For the British, it was…, whereas for the Māori, …”
  • “Today, …”
For the teacher → goals and official curriculum
  • Theme 1 “Meeting others” → topic: peoples meeting, James Cook and the Māori, between violence and reconciliation. 2020 theme: meeting other cultures.
  • Understand museum documents and videos from Australia and New Zealand; compare the European and Māori points of view.
  • B1 grammar: relative clauses with who, which, that, whose; contrast with whereas and while.
  • Final task: a bilingual museum panel showing both points of view.

Texts and materials: Videos by the Australian National Maritime Museum and RNZ (New Zealand public radio); a photo of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

Theme 1 “Meeting others”. Source: French national curriculum for modern languages, cycle 4, BO no. 31 of 30 July 2020 (in force in 3e in 2026-2027); matching theme of the English curriculum, BO no. 22 of 29 May 2025, which will apply in 3e from September 2028.

Worksheet to fill in (paper or ENT)

The same learning journey, to print or to put on the ENT. For a PDF, choose “Save as PDF” in the print window.