Matariki word search
When the Matariki cluster rises before dawn in midwinter, the Māori new year begins. Twenty words with the names of the stars, the hākari and the kites, for a lesson or a quiet evening with whānau.
- Dawn
- Hākari
- Hāngī
- Harvest
- Hiwa-i-te-rangi
- Kai
- Kites
- Matariki
- New year
- Pōhutukawa
- Puanga
- Stars
- Tupuānuku
- Tupuārangi
- Ururangi
- Waiata
- Waipunarangi
- Waitā
- Waitī
- Whānau
This is the same puzzle as on the printable sheet. Every word you find turns green and is crossed off the list.
Make your own versionMatariki
Name
| U | K | E | O | S | W | M | P | A | A | Y | O | U | P |
| H | H | I | M | T | H | H | H | A | N | G | I | R | Y |
| L | A | C | T | R | U | P | A | U | O | G | F | U | T |
| I | K | N | U | E | M | P | U | N | S | T | A | R | S |
| P | A | M | P | E | S | A | U | A | A | L | S | A | M |
| O | R | H | U | H | A | N | T | A | N | U | S | N | A |
| H | I | W | A | I | T | E | R | A | N | G | I | G | P |
| U | W | S | R | R | F | W | H | D | R | U | A | I | X |
| T | A | W | A | K | V | Y | A | E | A | I | K | T | T |
| U | I | A | N | R | R | E | F | I | A | W | K | U | U |
| K | A | I | G | F | G | A | S | M | T | N | N | I | I |
| A | T | T | I | M | B | R | N | T | A | A | Y | A | T |
| W | A | I | P | U | N | A | R | A | N | G | I | L | H |
| A | R | O | E | E | A | R | X | S | K | A | I | H | L |
Find these words
- Dawn
- Hākari
- Hāngī
- Harvest
- Hiwa-i-te-rangi
- Kai
- Kites
- Matariki
- New year
- Pōhutukawa
- Puanga
- Stars
- Tupuānuku
- Tupuārangi
- Ururangi
- Waiata
- Waipunarangi
- Waitā
- Waitī
- Whānau
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Matariki
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About this word search
Matariki is the Māori name for the star cluster known elsewhere as the Pleiades. When it rises before dawn in midwinter it marks the Māori new year, and since 2022 Matariki has been a public holiday on a Friday in June or July. Some iwi follow Puanga, the star Rigel, instead. It is a time to remember those who have died, celebrate together and look ahead.
Hiwa-i-te-rangi and Waipunarangi are the longest, with twelve letters each in the grid. Kai is the shortest, at three letters. All nine stars of the cluster are on this board, and their names look alike: Waitī and Waitā differ only in the last letter, Tupuānuku and Tupuārangi share TUPUA, and four names end in RANGI. The macrons disappear in the grid. Words go across, down and diagonally in the fourteen by fourteen grid, never backwards.
In class, give each group one of the stars and what it is connected with, such as Waitī with fresh water or Tupuānuku with food grown in the ground, and ask them to draw it. Hang the drawings together as one cluster.
Ways to use this word search
In the classroom
Print it as a task for early finishers, or to open a lesson on this topic. With the QR code on the sheet, students check their own answers.
At home and on the go
Pack a few printed sheets for the car, the ferry or the bach. A pen is all you need, no screen required.
Play together
Print the sheet twice and race each other. Whoever finds all the words first wins. Or play it online and see who is fastest.
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