Starting off your term with some shared reading takes the pressure off everyone and gives you the chance to set up routines and expectations. I actually prefer shared reading in a year 7/8 class rather than ability groups but that is a discussion for another blog.
With Waitangi Day being at the start of Term 1, taking the opportunity to focus your reading around Waitangi Day for the first 3-4 weeks makes sense to me.
I have two reading resources based on Waitangi day. One is based on the picture book 'The house that Jack built.' by Gavin Bishop. Using picture books for year 7/8s often makes a change to your usual reading program and I find the students enjoy it far more than they think they will. Being able to discuss visual literacy alongside what the words say is really interesting and leads to some amazing discussions.
The other Waitangi Day reading resource is around the School Journal Library Story book 'Te Tiriti o Waitangi'. This journal is a graphic novel which I have found students enjoy reading. This resource follows on well from the picture book as it provides much more information about the signing of the treaty, what is in the treaty and what happened afterwards.
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