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Online junior text resources

 Safari's encounter with floods - Read about what happens to Safari and his sister as they try to travel to Grandma's house for a holiday. Some good explanations are given within a story setting. Text would be a good teacher read and suit students age 7-10yrs, has accompanying pictures. This story is based in Africa but the information is still relevant.

PM Readers

Red

Down at the River
Annette Smith Non-Fiction  Reading Age: 5.5 - Red  Guided Reading Level: 5-6
Down at the river I saw some ducks, ants and even a spider.

Yellow

A River's Journey
Julie Haydon  Non-Fiction  Reading Age: 5.5 - Yellow   Guided Reading Level: 6-8 
'A River's Journey' describes the path that is taken by a river. From the mountains it runs down to the sea.

Green

The Flood
Jenny Giles   Fiction  Reading Age: 6 - Green  Guided Reading Level: 14
It has been raining for a week and Sam and Rachel's house is about to get flooded.

After the Flood
Jenny Giles   Fiction  Reading Age: 6 - Green  Guided Reading Level: 14
Rachel and Sam's family have gone back to the house after the flood and now it is time for the clean up.

Orange

The Three Gorges Dam
Alan Trussell-Cullen  Non-Fiction  Reading Age: 10 - Orange  Guided Reading Level: 16
China has built the world's biggest water-powered electricity station, the Three Gorges Dam, on the Yangtze River. China hopes it will help stop pollution and flooding.

Rescuing Mr Black
Pauline Cartwright  Fiction  Reading Age: 6.5 - Orange Guided Reading Level: 16-17
It has been raining non-stop in the town where Tommy lives and now the rivers have overflowed and houses are getting flooded. Mrs White is staying with Tommy's family because it is safer. But where is Mr Black?

Gold

Rivers, Streams and Lakes
Jan Anderson   Non-Fiction  Reading Age: 8 - Gold   Guided Reading Level: 22
Rivers, streams and lakes are important natural environments that are used in many different ways. They can provide essential drinking water, can be harnessed for electricity or enjoyed by people for recreational activities. Text forms include a recount and a poster.

Emerald

Washed Away
Dawn McMillan  Fiction  Reading Age: 9 - Emerald Guided Reading Level: 26
The flood waters have reached Nicholas's street and he and his father prepare to evacuate their house in a dinghy. They pack their things and say goodbye to their cat, William. At the last minute, Nicholas can't bear to leave William behind, and tries to put him in the dinghy. But William takes fright, and falls out of the boat and disappears. Nicholas and his father escape to the rescue centre, but Nicholas is worried. Will their house be flooded - and will William survive?

Ruby

Seawall
Various Authors  Fiction  Reading Age: 10 - Ruby  Guided Reading Level: 27
It's the year 2165. Six years ago, the sea flooded the valley where Dana lived with her parents and their old dog, Silas. Dana's father died, trying to fight the floods, and a giant seawall was built to hold back powerful water. But what happens when Dana discovers a break in the wall? Will help arrive in time.

Sapphire

Brave One
Chris Bell  Fiction  Reading Age: 11 - Sapphire   Guided Reading Level: 30
Pili is tired of her brother Kondo bragging that boys are tougher than girls. But when the monsoon rains cause a flood that sweeps away Kiondo, Pili rescues him, and helps to save the other villagers by guiding them to a cave in the hills.



School Journals

Title/Author                        Type         GRL            Issue

Part 1 Journals

Beach balls                         Article       8.5-9.5        2005 Pt 01 No. 5 Pgs 16-24
MACGREGOR, Jill
This article describes how a group of girls investigated the appearance of strange grass balls on their local beach preceding the 2004 floods. It includes a diagram and fax messages.

Part 2 Journals

After the storm                   Story         9-10           1992 Pt 02 No. 2 Pgs 26-30
BAGNALL, Alan
The girls go to see what the flooded river has brought down and find something very interesting.

Flood                                 Article       8.5-9.5        2004 Pt 02 No. 2 Pgs 10-15
MULHERON, Sonny
This article's sequential account of the Paekakariki flood emergency is based on the experiences of Ama and her mother, who have to evacuate their home at the height of the flooding. Additional safety information is provided at the end of the article.

Lucky - or unlucky?               Story        9.5-10.5      1990 Pt 02 No. 2 Pgs 26-30
THOMSON, Jane
A true tale of the gold rush near Clyde, when a group of prospectors have trouble with the flooded Clutha River.

Rescue                               Story        8.5-9.5        2009 Pt 02 No. 1 2-7
TU'AKOI, Feana
Three boys carry out a heroic rescue.

A name that tells a story      Story         8-9             2007 Pt 02 No. 3 28-32
TANGAERE, Materoa
Names can tell stories about important family events, such as the day when Te Whanaupani nearly drowned in the flooded river.

Monsoon flood                     Story         8.5-9.5       2009 Pt 02 No. 2 2-9
INGRAM, Anne
When a disastrous flood sweeps Maung away from his home and family, help comes from an unexpected direction.

Tiddalik and the flood           Story         <8             1986 Pt 02 No. 3 Pgs 10-16
BACON, Ron   
(A traditional Aboriginal story.) A thirsty frog has to be made to laugh before he will release all the creeks, rivers, and billabongs he has drunk.

Waiohine flood                    Poem                         2003 Pt 02 No. 1 Pgs 20-21
ROBERTSON, Alice

The man who came back       Story        9.5-10.5      1981 Pt 02 No. 2 Pgs 13-23
RICHARDS, Grace
Cornelius de Ryk, a fisherman, and his mate are shipwrecked off the south-west coast of Southland. His mate is lost, but Cornelius swims to shore. He has to cross rivers and walk through bush for four days in stormy weather, until he reaches help in a deer stalker's hut. A true story.

Part 3 Journals

Friday of no mercy              Article       8-9             1986 Pt 03 No. 1 Pgs 32-39
EDDY, Duncan
Two pupils of Waverley Park School tell of their experiences in the 1984 Southland flood and the effect it had on their families.

The hungry lion catastrophe    Story     8-9             1984 Pt 03 No. 2 Pgs 41-48
DUNLOP, Beverley
When heavy rain comes to the farm, Beverley thinks it will be great not to have to go to school. She doesn't realise what a catastrophe the floods will be.

Tin Lizzie                            Story        9.5-10.5      1982 Pt 03 No. 1 Pgs 56-63
GIBSON, Gloria A.
The family are proud of their Model T Ford, Dad's present to them all for Christmas 1922. They are even more pleased when Lizzie drags a bigger car from a flooded road.

Storm in Samoa                   Story        9.5-10.5      1983 Pt 03 No. 3 Pgs 2-11
DUNLOP, Peggy
On the morning after a storm and high tide hit Apia, the children rush to the beach with wheelbarrow, axe and rope to drag out the trees and logs which the river has brought down from the hills.

Part 4 Journals

The Matata flood: Ethan Beach's story  Article  9-10   2007 Pt 04 No. 1 14-23
MULLER, Adrian
One rainy May evening in 2005, Ethan Beach looks out his window to see his street filling with muddy water. An unforgettable night is about to begin.

Tragedy at Tangiwai             Article      9.5-10.5        2000 Pt 04 No. 3 Pgs 22-24
HANNING, Aaron
"Cyril Ellis yelled his warning to the driver. Seconds later, he watched in horror as the train plunged into the mud-laden waters." Read more of twelve year-old Aaron's report of the 1953 Tangiwai train disaster.

On strike                            Story       8.5-9.5         1990 Pt 04 No. 3 Pgs 43-48
ARMSTRONG, Hazel
A story of a freezing works strike and the effect it has on the families of the workers, and how they come to the aid of the local farmers after a flood.

The river crossing                Story      11-13           1995 Pt 04 No. 1 Pgs 2-9
CORRIE-JOHNSTONE, A
A true story of a New Zealand farmer and his efforts to cross a flooded river with his bullock wagon loaded with firewood.

For Secondary and more advanced readers

Tephra

A Ministry of Civil Defence magazine publication giving New Zealand information and real life events.
Tephra - Floods - 2001
Tephra - Wet and Wild - 2003

The 18 May 2005 Debris-flow Disaster at Matata

Put out by the Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences Ltd, this is a short report on the event, detailing the types of debris movement involved; it is accompanied with photos and a rainfall graph.

The 18 May 2005 Debris-flow Disaster at Matata