Waka Voyaging and the Arrival of Māori Worksheet (Grade 3)
Free printable New Zealand histories worksheet for Grade 3. Students answer sourced, factual questions about Polynesian navigation, double-hulled waka and the arrival of the ancestors of Māori around 1250-1300.
Grade 3 · History worksheet
Name
Date
History
Waka Voyaging and the Arrival of Māori
Read each question about how the ancestors of Māori voyaged to Aotearoa New Zealand and write your answer on the line.
- 1.What kind of ocean-going canoe carried the voyagers?
- 2.About when were New Zealand's first permanent settlements established?
- 3.What kinds of evidence do scientists use to work out when people first settled here?
- 4.Were the settlement voyages accidental drifting, or deliberate voyages?
- 5.Name two natural signs Pacific navigators used to find their way.
- 6.In Māori tradition, which explorer is remembered as an early discoverer of Aotearoa?
- 7.In Māori tradition, what is the name of the homeland the voyagers set out from?
- 8.What is the Māori name for New Zealand?
- 9.Many iwi trace their ancestry back to what kind of vessel?
- 10.From which region of the Pacific did the ancestors of Māori sail to Aotearoa New Zealand?
Made with ChalkBee · chalkbee.com
Accuracy and sources
These references support the historical wording and answer key on this worksheet.
- Te Ara: Māori arrival and settlement — dates the first permanent settlements to about 1250-1300 on radiocarbon, pollen, DNA and genealogical evidence, with voyagers arriving from East Polynesia
- NZ History: Pacific voyaging and discovery — describes deliberate voyages of exploration navigated by stars, winds and ocean currents rather than accidental drift
- Te Ara: Canoe traditions — records the waka traditions through which many iwi trace their origins, including the tradition of the explorer Kupe