Teacher Support Materials

Storyline / Kiko

This story features children from different places in New Zealand who describe what sports they play. 

Achievement objectives / Whāinga paetae 

Students should be able to:

• 1.2 introduce themselves and others
• 1.4 communicate personal information
• 2.5 communicate physical characteristics 

Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori – Kura

Learning context / Kaupapa 

This story relates to the topic of Hauora/Health (Unit 5) in He Reo Tupu He Reo Ora.

Assessment / Aromatawai

The learning intentions and success criteria below will help determine students’ progress.

The format of the rubrics is similar to that in He Reo Tupu, He Reo Ora, allowing for student self-assessment, as well as assessment by:

• other students (tuākana and tēina)
• teachers
• whānau (as a way of engaging families and promoting a partnership between home and school).

The three tohu/symbols in the rubrics indicate different steps of learning, as depicted in this poutama pattern.

Proverb / Whakataukī

Tama tū, tama ora. Tama noho, tama mate.

He who stands, lives. He who remains seated, dies.

(A person needs to be active if they are to be healthy.)

Cultural knowledge / Tikanga 

Some iwi have cultural and sports festivals, usually held every one to three years. These are important occasions for tribal descendants to go back home and reconnect with their tūrangawaewae (place of belonging), create/cement relationships (whakawhanaungatanga), and strengthen their kinship (whakapapa) links.

The biggest and most longstanding of such events is that of Tūhoe – most of whose descendants live outside the rohe (area). Their first ‘hui ahurei’, in 1971, was the brainchild of revered Tūhoe elder, John Rangihau. His vision was to create an opportunity to celebrate the unique identity of Tūhoe iwi.

Sports are a feature of these festivals (especially rugby and more recently golf), alongside kapa haka performances, debates, and concerts. Pākeke, taiohi, and tamariki (adults, youths, and children) participate alongside each other. 

The use of Māori language is prevalent, with particular emphasis on maintaining ngā reo ā-iwi (tribal dialects).

There are also many stalls. Those featuring Māori kai are popular, for example, tuna (eels), watercress, wild pork, kānga pirau (rotten corn), and rēwana (bread made from potato yeast).

Because the organisation of an event like this is a huge undertaking, there is heavy reliance on volunteers doing the work. These ringawera work tirelessly for months beforehand, so that everything goes well during the festival. They epitomise the Māori saying: 

Ka pai ki muri, ka pai ki mua. 

If everything goes well behind the scenes, all will be well at the front. 

Pre-reading / I mua atu

Before reading the story, talk with students to discover:

• their previous experiences in relation to the picture on the front cover, as well as their knowledge of different occupations .
• their prior knowledge of relevant vocabulary, language structures, and Māori concepts.

Flashcards / Whakaahua

You could create flashcards to show images of the following content words:

kaipoiwhana – football players

kaihoewaka – canoe paddlers

kaipāhiketepaoro – basketballers

kaiwhutupaoro – rugby players

kainetipaoro – netball players

kairīki – league players

You could also create flashcards of places in New Zealand (as mentioned in the story) marked on a map, with a visual symbol representing the sport associated with that place.

Other words / Ētahi atu kupu

Other words in the text include: 

tākaro – to play

pakeke – adult

mō – for 

Grammar / Wetereo

This story includes the following language structures:

• sentence starter Nō meaning ‘From/Belonging’, to e.g., tūrangawaewae (place of belonging)
• first person singular pronoun ahau meaning ‘I/me’
• specifying particle ko (e.g., ‘Ko Atawhai taku ingoa. My name is Atawhai.)
• descriptive sentences using indefinite article he meaning ‘a’ (e.g., He kairīki ahau. I am a league player).
• use of the word me to suggest/invite – as in the title Me tākaro – Let’s play
• prefix kai- meaning ‘people/person who …’ e.g., kaipāhiketepaoro (a person who plays basketball)
• singular possessive taku, meaning ‘my’, e.g., taku ingoa (my name)
  Note: There are other words for the singular possessive ‘my’, but this is the easiest one.

Follow-up / I muri mai 

Second language tasks/activities

Once students are familiar with the text, you can facilitate some of the second language tasks/activities below – working to your students’ strengths and interests. The aim is to extend their proficiency and use of te reo in meaningful contexts. 

While facilitating these tasks/activities, remember that you don’t have to be the expert. As conveyed in the Māori concept of ako, you may be in the position of being a learner alongside your students. In fact, some students may want to take the lead. Ka pai tēnā. Nō reira, kia kaha.

For general information on common task types, see He Reo Tupu, He Reo Ora. Choose ‘Using tasks and activities’.

Matching (listening or reading)

Students match selected pieces of oral or written text from the story to associated pictures showing different occupations that are randomly sorted.

Labelling on a map

for example, students label a NZ map with the Māori names for the places in this story and the Māori names for different places where their friends come from (or were born).

Researching

for example, students find out the Māori names for the countries where other children (or teachers) in the school come from.

True/false/make it right (listening or reading)

Students make a judgement on whether a spoken or written statement about a picture from the book is true or false (kei te tika/kei te hē).

If false, the students are encouraged to ‘make it right’, by providing the correct statement that corresponds with the picture. For example, for the picture of Arahia playing rugby the teacher might say: He kairīki ahau. 

If false, as above, the students would ‘make it right’, by providing the correct statement:

He kaiwhutupaoro ahau. 

Multi-choice (listening or reading)

Give descriptions of a picture from the text and students decide which description best applies. 

For example (to describe the picture of Raef playing basketball):

He kaipoiwhana ahau.

He kaipāhiketepaoro ahau.

He kaiwhutupaoro ahau.

He kairīki ahau. 

Cloze (with or without picture clues)

Create gaps in the written text for students to complete. This task can be extended to incorporate listening and speaking, where the teacher reads a piece of text and stops each time a word is missing, so students can suggest an appropriate word to fill the gap, for example: 

Ko Marama taku ingoa. Nō Karāpiro ahau. He ____ ahau. 

The gaps in a cloze can represent a consistent part of speech such as nouns or pronouns. Alternatively, words can be deleted at random, for example, every third word. 

You can make a cloze exercise easier for students by: 

• telling them how many letters are in the missing word 
• providing the first letter 
• giving them a list of words to choose from. 

A cloze is a good way to help students notice the grammar of te reo Māori, as well as improve their prediction skills and encourage them to make intelligent guesses from context cues. 

Flashcards

students learn further words for sportspeople and sports equipment by using flashcards (see Resource sheet 5.1 in He Reo Tupu He Reo Ora). 

Bingo

Students consolidate names for sportspeople and sports equipment by playing bingo (see Resource sheet 5.3 in He Reo Tupu He Reo Ora). 

Text adaptation/reversioning

(written or oral) – Students use the language structures in this story as a framework to create their own text about different children in their school and their sports/interests.

Listen and draw

Each student (in a pair) has a numbered grid of 6 boxes. Their partner must tell them what picture (of a sportsperson or piece of sports equipment) to draw in each empty box, for example: 

Tuhia he kaihoewaka kei roto i te pouaka tuarima. 

(Draw a canoe paddler in the fifth box.)

In He Reo Tupu He Reo Ora a video clip shows children doing a similar task with food-related words.  

Helpful language for this task includes: 

Mini book

Print the mini-book template (with instructions) so every child in your class can take home a mini version of this story to read with whānau. 

Songs / Waiata

The following waiata will support the kaupapa of the reader:

Pakeke Mai ō Matimati (about exercising in different ways), in Hei Waiata, Hei Whakakoakoa – Waiata, which supports teaching and learning of te reo in English-medium schools: years 1–8.

Tūtira Mai (the song promoted during the All Blacks and Lions tour in 2017) – about standing together and being united. 

Tūtira mai ngā iwi

Tātou tātou e   (×2)

Whāia te māramatanga me te aroha

E ngā iwi

Kia (ka) tapatahi,

Kia kotahi rā.

Tātou tātou e.

Line up together, people

All of us, all of us.   (×2)

Seek after knowledge and love

Everybody

Think as one,

Act as one.

All of us, all of us.

Using the big books in early childhood

In English-medium ECE settings, where Māori language is a natural part of the programme (as recommended in the Mana reo strand of Te Whāriki), the big books for Reo Tupu stories can be used for shared reading with tamariki. 

These stories will allow teachers to weave Māori language and culture into their everyday activities, demonstrating the value they place on te reo and tikanga Māori. This is especially important for enhancing identity, sense of belonging, and well-being. The audio component of the e-books will support teachers and tamariki to pronounce te reo Māori correctly.

Stories / Pakiwaitara

The following stories are relevant to the kaupapa of this reader:

Fitzgerald, T. (1998). Te Tino Toa. Wellington: Learning Media. (Ngā Kete Kōrero book about different sports champions.)

Kaa, O. (2006). Te Oma a Renata. Wellington: Learning Media. (Purapura reader about being in a running race – and the importance of finishing.) 

Mahuika,K. & Pewhairangi, K. (2005). Ngā Tākaro a ngā Tamariki. Wellington: Learning Media. (Pīpī book using different games to portray the number 10, e.g., skipping, chasing, marbles, dominoes, bullrush.)

Acknowledgements / He Mihi

The author would like to acknowledge the teachers she has worked with over the years, inspiring her to create these books. Ināianei kua mātātupu. Ka tuku mihi hoki ki te whānau Laison nō Taranaki me te whānau Takotohiwi nō Ngāti Awa, who nurtured her in te ao Māori; ko te tino koha tēnā.

She also acknowledges with fondness her Māori tutors during decades of learning, particularly Hirini Mead, Tamati Kruger, Wiremu Parker, Keri Kaa, and Ruka Broughton. Also her two non-Māori mentors and role models, Mary Boyce and Fran Hunia. All these people have added to her kete. Kua whetūrangitia ētahi engari kāore e warewaretia ō rātou mahi maha ki te akiaki i a ia. Hei whakamutunga, ka tuku mihi ki āna mokopuna me āna tama – te pū o ēnei pukapuka.