The Treasure Of Tortuga!

We read a story called "The Treasure of Tortuga!" After identifying the main idea of some sentences in one of the paragraphs, we got together in groups of 5 or 6 and re-crafted the paragraph. Check out the 5 paragraphs that we came up with...you'll be amazed!

Boy on the Beach

At sunset, a boy on the west coast beach tripped over a black leather wallet. As he tore open the wallet, he saw that it contained a map and some strange instructions on paper that was brown because of it's age.

The Leather Wallet

Skipping around the shore, a boy noticed a leather wallet sitting on the sand near his home. As soon as he picked up the wallet, he opened it and found two folded pieces of paper. When he unfolded them, he discovered that one was a map, and the other had instructions.

An Ancient Wallet

Strolling along the shore, a boy discovered an ancient wallet sticking out of the golden sand. As he opened it up, he noticed two pieces of fragile paper. They contained a treasure map and strange instructions. The boy was very surprised.

Mysterious Parchment

Along the golden, sandy beach, a boy was walking his dog when he discovered a leather wallet peeking out of the sand. Anxiously opening the wallet, he found two pieces of folded parchment.

Soggy Wallet

One sunny afternoon, a boy was digging in the sand when he suddenly noticed a soggy, old, leather wallet. Carefully, he opened it, searched through it, and discovered two odd papers.

Shook Off His Fright

Kupe and his friends went out to sea to hunt down the great octopus that had taken all their fish. Kupe saw the great octopus starting to come and eat them so he jumped up, shook off his fright, and killed the beast.

Tricking the Octopus

Kupe packed some food for a long journey to hunt the octopus down. He got the waka's ready for the long, tiring trip. Then they sailed out to sea.

One sunny, hot afternoon, an octopus emerged from the depths of the sea and wrapped his tentacles around the waka. Kupe had a good idea. He remembered he had packed some containers so they could get some water. His crew threw containers overboard and the octopus thought it was a person so he dived down to get it. Kupe had enough time to slay it.

No Fish Today

The people of the village were going fishing and didn't catch any fish. Kupe went to catch fish and he did not get any either. He noticed some slime on the hooks and he knew it was an octopus.

They chased the octopus into the dark ocean and slayed it.

Unfortunately for the Octopus...

Kupe took several villagers on his waka to catch a wheke - also known as an octopus because he was stealing their bait. Kupe went out to sea to kill the octopus.

A while later, the big octopus emerged from the sea and tried to attack Kupe. Unfortunately for the octopus, Kupe stabbed him until he died.

I think Kupe is really amazing.

Hunting In A Waka

Long ago, Kupe went hunting in his waka for an octopus. One evening he saw the octopus and he grabbed his knife. Suddenly Kupe tried to kill the octopus.

When he was finished killing the giant octopus, he went back to his land.

Shiny Creature

On a sunshiney day, Kupe along with several friends, and his wife headed to sea. They went out to sea because they were hunting for a white, shiny octopus who had been stealing their fish.

As they were journeying Kupe noticed a slimy creature which was the octopus. It burst out of the murky sea and crashed into the boat. Then Kupe simply grabbed the knife and stabbed the octopus.

When it was done, the crew and Kupe were so tired, they didn't want to do something like that ever again!

Slithering Tentacles

The Hunt

Kupe and his crew set off to find the giant octopus.

Before long, they saw a dark shadow under the water so they went closer. The crew watched in horror as the tentacles slowly slithered up the side of the waka. Kupe struck at the tentacle and sliced off a chunk of flesh. He slayed the octopus.

Kupe and the crew were relieved that the octopus was killed. As they were cheering, Kupe's wife said, "Look...land!" So they headed to the new island and she called it Aotearoa.



***With a little editing help from the teacher, Jacob has used some good words to describe what happened when Kupe was at sea.

Slaying the Beast

Kupe and others were trying to hunt down the great octopus in the depths of the sea. Kupe looked for it and saw a shadow in the water. It was the giant octopus trying to find some food.

As soon as the octopus saw Kupe and some of the others, he wrapped his gooey arms around the waka. All the people let out a tremendous scream, so Kupe got his axe and slayed the beast.

Jouan has done a great job describing part of Kupe's story where he hunts and kills the octopus.



Emerging from the depths of the sea, the octopus burst out of the water like a silky snake trying to devour it's prey. Kupe shook off his blanket of fear, got his weapon, and slayed the beast one tentacle at a time.

Once Kupe killed the great beast, everyone cheered and screamed, "Yay, Woohoo!" After their little party, they continued on their journey.

Journey to Sea

Kupe went on a journey to catch an octopus. The village was hungry because they had no fish. Why was he stealing all of the fish.

Kupe Slays the Octopus

Long, long ago, there was a man called Kupe. Kupe lived in Hawaiki. One day Kupe said, "The huge octopus is eating our fish." They wanted to kill the octopus. Kupe got his boat, his axe, and his knife. On their way Kupe saw the octopus under the boat and it saw them. Suddenly it jumped out of the water like a dolphin. The octopus was cutting the people with it's tentacles throwing them in the water. Kupe picked his axe up and jumped on the octopus and stabbed it.

Dark, Murky, Shadow

Long, long ago there was a man called Kupe. Kupe and his wife got some men for a battle against an octopus because it was eating all their fish and bait. They got prepared and Kupe set up the waka. They were off to the sea.

As they were going, they saw a murky, dark, shadow coming up from the bottom of the sea. Kupe said, "Can it be?" He got his knife and tried to stab the octopus but it was too fast. After that, Kupe jumped on the sea creature and killed the it.

Kupe was glad the battle was over. They sailed on to a new country which they called Aotearoa.




***With just a little editing help from his teacher, Antonio put together a great summary of Kupe's legendary hunt for a giant octopus. Hope you enjoyed it!

Stealing Fish

A long time ago, Kupe went on a journey on his waka. He slayed an octopus because the octopus stole the bait and fish.

Kupe and the Octopus

Kupe noticed a slimy orange soft thing. He called out to his crew and said, "Come with me because I notice a slimy orange thing."

Out of the blue water came an octopus. It's tentacles grabbed the boat as Kupe's crew started to be afraid. He grabbed the knife and stabbed the octopus.

Tremendous Screams

Long, long ago, there lived some great fishermen who were unable to catch any fish because something was stealing their bait. So they set off to the sea to hunt it down.

Bursting out of the water, the octopus clung to the waka tossing the people everywhere. So Kupe bolted out of his seat and slashed at it as everyone on this waka let out tremendous screams. The final slash at it killed it.

He hoped it would never happen again.

Kupe Discovers New Zealand...or did He?

Long ago, Kupe along with his wife and some of his friends, went hunting for an octopus who kept stealing their fish. Ascending up from the turbulent waters, Kupe and the others saw a black shadow rising faster and faster. A slimy, ugly body emerged and the passengers on the waka were frightened. It was the octopus.

Suddenly Kupe burst from his seat with a knife tightly gripped in his hand. He threw some containers into the water. Then the octopus dived down because he thought the containers were people! Kupe jumped on the octopus's back and stabbed it to death. It sank down into the salty depths of the sea. I think Kupe, his friends, and his wife were relieved to know that they would have some food again.

Shortly after the battle with the octopus, Kupe's wife looked out and saw new land and this is how Kupe discovered New Zealand.

By Jonita