Whale Rider

A Māori village faces a crisis when the heir to the chiefdom dies at birth and is survived only by his twin sister Pai. Disregarded by her grandfather, twelve-year-old Pai remains certain of her calling and trains herself in the ways and customs of her people. With remarkable grace and courage, she summons the strength to challenge and embrace a thousand years of tradition in order to fulfill her destiny.

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Product Description

Film runtime: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Film rating: PG-13. Common Sense Media rates this film as appropriate for ages 10+.

Reviews: Read the Video Librarian review of Whale Rider.

Grade levels: Resources available for Grades 5-9.

Whale Rider Curriculum Guide

Lesson 1: Who are the Māori (Social Studies)
Lesson 2: Viewing Whale Rider (Media Literacy)
Lesson 3: The World Outside, The Spirit Within (Social Studies)
Lesson 4: Māori Roles and Relationships (Language Arts / Visual Literacy)
Lesson 5: Insights Into Māori Culture (Film Specific Cross-Cultural Understanding)
Lesson 6: Culture and Gender (General Cross-Cultural Understanding)
Lesson 7: Special Effects and Music (Media Literacy)
Lesson 8: Echolocation (Science)
Lesson 9: Counting the Uncountable (Mathematics)
Lesson 10: Markings of the Māori (Visual Arts)

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Related Resources

Whale Rider lead actress Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Learn more about teaching with our collection of  Oscar nominated and award-winning films.

Sustainable Development Goals

Journeys in Film supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more about teaching with SDGs.

This curriculum guide connects to the following UN SDGs:

Red orange background. Number five upper left hand corner. Gender Equality, white, beside the number. Main image on the orange background is a symbol that combines the man symbol and woman symbol with equal marks inside the circle part of the symbol. Blue background with a white 14 in the upper left hand corner. Text beside it reads: Life Below Water. There are two white wave lines below the text and a large white fish below that.

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