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Print resources with online support 

All schools in New Zealand are sent a range of print resources from the Ministry of Education, each of which is designed for a different purpose. They can be used in a range of ways depending on desired learning outcomes. To order or enquire about print resources go to  Down the Back of the Chair: Ministry of Education Resource Catalogue .

Literacy materials such as Ready to Read and the School Journal, and mathematics materials such as Figure it Out, often include science topics and may be useful in linking literacy and numeracy learning to science programmes.

Some science resources also provide rich materials to support literacy and numeracy programmes. Materials designed for teaching science, mathematics and technology include Connected (years 3–8) and Applications (years 9–11).

Connected Teachers' Support Material  suggests science learning goals and activities and provides material that develops the science ideas in the Connected articles and stories.

Applications in action (PDF 3 MB)

 includes science notes for teachers for each title as well as suggested activities and approaches.

Building Science Concepts  is a series of 64 booklets for teachers. Each booklet is based around a theme and includes science information for teachers supported by a sequenced series of classroom activities. The series is for levels 1–4 of the curriculum. An  online guide  to the series includes a list of themes and concept overviews of big ideas.

Animals and us

Animals & Us  provides resources on animal issues for teachers and students in New Zealand Secondary schools. Animals & Us have published five resource books so far:

• Battery Hen Farming in New Zealand: A Critical Evaluation
• Animal Rights, Human Values, Social Action
• Animals on Show: A Critical Analysis of the Entertainment Industry
• Animals in Science: Ethical Arguments and Alternatives to Animal Experiments
• Animals In Factory Farms: Thinking Critically about our Treatment of Animals

Animals & Us resources are designed to encourage critical thinking and to advance knowledge and develop values of empathy and compassion. See more  here .

Online resources

NZ Transport Agency curriculum resources  includes units for years 1–8, years 9–10, and NCEA Level 1 Physics. Road safety contexts enable students to deepen understanding of concepts such as peripheral vision, crash avoidance, unbalanced forces, mass, and velocity.

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has a set of level 4 and 5 science learning activities with a focus on the kiwifruit industry. Students can research the health benefits of kiwifruit as well as other scientific processes.

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Te Ao Tūroa resource  looks at how 3 key interrelated systems – animal welfare, biosecurity, and food – support our primary industries. Learning experiences for levels 1–5 of The New Zealand Curriculum are contextualised into one or more of the key interrelated systems and link to the learning areas of health and physical education, science, social studies, and technology. 

Soil, Food, and Society  has created an online teaching resource for years 5-8: The story of where our food comes from / Te pūrākau o ngā kai.  Navigate from the Teachers and Students links at the top of the page. The resource explores three interconnected areas – Plants are Earth's engine (for years 5–6) ; Our food garden (for years 6–7) and The chain in my lunch box (for years 7–8) . The resource supports The New Zealand Curriculum.

Science Learning Hub  new improved version brings together content from the Science Learning Hub and the Biotechnology Learning Hub.
This rich collection of New Zealand science resources displays content under  topics  and  concepts  with an intuitive function that shows you related articles and resources as you search. New content is added to the site regularly, and resources are available for junior primary to senior secondary level.

LEARNZ  for years 1–13, is a series of virtual field trips for science. Covering a wide variety of topics and visiting a wide variety of locations, LEARNZ online field trips are self-contained and free for NZ teachers and their classes. 

GNS Learning  section of the GNS Science website has lesson plans, posters, interactive games, virtual tours, videos, blogs, maps, research, collections and databases, and a glossary, covering many science topics.

Links to further useful sites  can be found within the Science at work in the world section of Science Online.

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