STAGE

This ungraded summary is for the teacher’s use only

and should not be given to students.

The stories
The Long White Cloud
d is a collection of four stories
from New Zealand.
After the Earthquake
e is set in New Zealand more
him. Roy discovers
covers that the girl rider knows about both
than a century ago. The Blakiston family live on a
bikes and fishing, and that her brother was killed in an
farm near a small town, and know everybody in the
accident, and he feels a strong bond with her. On their
community. Walter is six years old, and his mother is
way home they have an accident, caused by a car on
constantly warning him not to ask too many questions.
the wrong side of the road, but they survive to face
One night an earthquake causes some damage to
the future together.
their property and Walter wishes he could see an
The Silk
k is the story of an elderly couple facing
earthquake happening. He goes shopping with his
the death of the husband. Mr Blackie brought some
mother the next day, and the store keeper tells them
beautiful silk from China for his wife’s wedding
that Mrs Duncaster died of shock after the earthquake.
present, and Mrs Blackie suggests she uses the silk to
Walter goes with his mother to visit Miss Duncaster,
make laying-out pyjamas for her husband. Mr Blackie
who lived with her mother and is now alone. Walter
watches as his wife sews the pyjamas and tries them
notices a farmer’s horse tied to the verandah but when
on with delight when they are finished. He dies the
he asks Miss Duncaster about the horse she becomes
next day and Mrs Blackie is comforted when she sees
angry with him. Later, Walter asks his father about the
something in the pictures on the silk which she has
horse, and his father admits that Walter saw the horse
never noticed before: the figure of a man who seems
but he tells Walter that he must not talk about it.
to be waving at her, or beckoning her to join him.
Gathering of the Whakapapa tells the story of a
Mãori village whose written genealogy has been
destroyed in a fire. Nani Tama, the old man who
has been trained in the village genealogy, is grief-
stricken by this loss. He works for about two years,
chanting the names from memory while one of his
grandchildren writes down the names. In spite of his
ill-health, he insists on travelling to visit another old
man who will remember the last missing names from
the genealogy. On his return home, Nani Tama gives
the completed whakapapa to the village, and is then
ready to die.
A Kind of Longing
g tells the story of Roy, a young
man who enjoys fishing and riding his motorbike. His
friend was killed in a plane crash, and this loss makes
him feel lonely. The story describes Roy’s journey
home after a fishing trip. The back tyre bursts, and he
has to leave his bike at a farm. He begins the long walk
home, hoping for a lift from a passing vehicle. But no
one stops to give him a lift until at last a bike stops for

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 STAGE
The Long White Cloud:
Stories from New Zealand
3 Pre-reading activity

Picture match

Match the pictures with the words and the story titles
1 2 3 4

Words Title Words Title Words Title Words Title

5 6 7 8

Words Title Words Title Words Title Words Title

Words
a Smiling, he lifted up the whakapapa and offered it to the village.
b Miss Duncaster bent down and hit him on the arm with her open hand.
c He crossed his arms. ‘You did a really good job, Amy. Think I’ll keep them on for a bit.’
d The lights of the car were right in front of them. They had nowhere to go.
e Mr Blakiston, with Walter’s help, began to clear the bricks from the roof of the wash-house.
f Gently she picked up the blue silk and let it fall in a river over his fingers.
g It was a shock to see him; he was so thin and his skin seemed so grey.
h In the coffee shop he saw her face for the first time, and he felt that kind of longing from
way back.

Story Titles (use each title twice)

i After the Earthquake
j Gathering of the Whakapapa
k A Kind of Longing
l The Silk

To the teacher

Aim: To encourage students to predict the setting
and themes of the four stories
Time: 30 minutes
Organization: Put the students into pairs after they
have read the cover and the introduction. Give one
copy of the worksheet to each pair. Ask them to
discuss and predict which story belongs to which
picture, and then add the words to the pictures. They
may need to use a dictionary to check some of the
more unusual words. Check the answers with the
whole class. The important thing is to begin thinking
about the stories, not the accuracy of the answers.
Key: 1aj, 2bi, 3cl, 4dk, 5ei, 6fl, 7gj, 8hk

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 STAGE
The Long White Cloud:
Stories from New Zealand
3 While reading activity

Getting it right

Correct as many mistakes as possible.

bLWVPO
I rode the Norton to a house up the road, and left it in one of the farm buildings. I

started to run, but no one stopped to give me a ride. I had walked for miles when I

heard my favourite sound. It was a small modern bike, and the rider was a girl, Kay.

She knows about cars and she knows about fishing. She is the girl I have longed for

all my life! We stopped for tea at the next town, and talked – about her sister who

was killed, and about my friend. We rode again, and suddenly there was a bike on

the wrong side of the road, right behind us. We were off the road, crashing down the

river, into the thick water of the ditch. I pulled myself along, until I found Kay. She

began to cry, and I put my gloves round her.

To the teacher

Where: At the end of A Kind of Longing
Aim: To help with summarizing and revision of A Kind
of Longing
Time: 30 minutes
Organization: Give out the extract from Roy’s diary,
written after the accident. There are eleven factual
mistakes in it and the first one has been corrected as
an example. Ask the students, or pairs of students, to
change the mistakes. When everybody has finished,
go through the answers as a class and then ask the
students to write a diary extract from Kay’s point of
view.
Key: run: walk; small: big; cars: bikes; tea: coffee;
sister: brother; bike: car; behind: in front of; river:
bank; thick: icy; gloves: arms

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 STAGE The Long White Cloud:
3 Stories from New Zealand
After reading activity

Crossword

6 9

1
I
L

2 7
S
8

3
T T
10

4
H U
5
R A

Words across
1 a strong feeling of wanting something
2 how fast something is moving
3 one of the soft light parts that cover a bird’s body
4 to let out a long deep breath to show you are sad, tired, etc.
5 of a pale yellowish-white colour

Words down
6
something sticky that is used for joining things together
7
a long channel at the side of a road that takes away water
8
the ability to remember things
9
a kind of fine smooth cloth that is made from the threads of
an insect
10 a man (informal)

To the teacher

Aim: To consolidate vocabulary
Time: 20 minutes
Organization: Give one copy of the word search to
each student or divide students into pairs. If they are
in pairs, they can take it in turns to guess the words
from the clues. All the words are from the glossary
at the back of the book. When the activity has been
completed, go through the words and deal with any
difficulties over meaning.
Key: 1 longing, 2 speed, 3 feather, 4 sigh, 5 creamy,
6 glue, 7 ditch, 8 memory, 9 silk, 10 guy

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