Oratia's library of Teacher Resources now extends to The NZ Series

Helping time-pressured teachers to use our books in classrooms is a long-term goal of the Oratia Books team. 

So we're pleased to have just launched free Teacher Resources for three of our NZ Series books.

The resource sheets are available for free download from our website for the latest addition to the series, the stunning Weather and Climate New Zealand, along with The New Zealand Wars and Pioneer Women. Links to each resource are on the respective book pages.

The NZ Series introduces New Zealand society, history, science and geography to intermediate- and high-school age readers

Teacher Resources will be out for the other three titles currently in the series — Volcanoes and Earthquakes, Rush to Riches: Kauri and Gold and First Encounters: New Zealand 1642–1840 — in February 2023. 

The resources provide a range of student activities linked to the books, along with guidance for use in line with the New Zealand Curriculum. Retired teacher Sandra Carrod, author of Weather and Climate New Zealand, put together the resource for her book, while the other two are the work of Clementine Fraser, Head of History at Avondale College, Auckland. 

From The River in our Backyard Teacher Resource

We have a range of resources at a more junior level for other books, among them two just-released bilingual picture books: The River in our Backyard/Te Awa e Pātata Rawa Ana and The Grandmothers of Pikitea Street/Ngā Kuia o te Tiriti o Pikitea.

A page from The Grandmothers of Pikitea Street Teacher Resource

Other titles with resources include the Nanny Mihi series, Blimmin' Koro, Captain Cat, Home Child, The Forgotten Wars, The Longdrop, The Water Bottle, When Dad Came Home, and Dawn McMillan's nature series. 

For more detail, refer to our website, or contact Peter Dowling, Publisher.

New book in The NZ Series makes understanding our weather a breeze

Weather and Climate 
New Zealand

Sandra Carrod

Our complex and changing weather patterns explained in simple text and stunning graphics for readers of all ages

Once in a while there comes a book so informative that its publishers end up thanking the author for all she’s taught them. 

Weather and Climate New Zealand is such a book. Drawing on her years as a teacher and navigator, Sandra Carrod takes the windy science of meteorology and makes it a breeze to understand.

Integral to the book’s impact are the dazzling graphics of marine scientist turned graphics whizz Karsten Schneider, alongside imagery from NASA, NIWA and local photographers.

Short, crisply written chapters explore all the key elements of climate — making clear where our islands fit in global patterns, and what influences the weather wherever you live in Aotearoa.

What causes cyclones and tornadoes? How do you decipher a weather chart? And what effects do the oceans have on New Zealand weather?  

Answers to these and myriad other topics are set in the context of climate change and the many challenges it presents. After reading this book, reading the weather will become easy.

Weather and Climate New Zealand is the sixth in The NZ Series, simply introducing a range of themes for general and school readers. Teacher resources for the series can be found on the Oratia website.

The author

Sandra Carrod is a retired teacher who has written several non-fiction books for children, including Weather Watch New Zealand. She and her family travelled the world by yacht for many years, working with marine scientists and documentary filmmakers. Sandra lives in Tauranga. 

Publication: 17 October 2022  |  ISBN: 978-1-99-004226-3 | RRP $29.99

Paperback, 240 x 160 mm portrait, 100 pages, colour