Teacher Support Materials

Storyline / Kiko

This story models good behaviour, in respect of helping others. A child does a range of jobs to help her teacher on different days of the week. The teacher acknowledges the child’s help by awarding her with a certificate written in te reo Māori. 

Achievement objectives / Whāinga paetae 

• Students should be able to:
• 3.1 communicate about routines.

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

Learning context / Kaupapa 

This story relates to the topic of Taku akomanga/My classroom (Unit 2) 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

Mā whero mā pango ka oti ai te mahi. 

With red and black the work will be finished.

This proverb means that when everyone does their part, the job gets done.

Cultural knowledge / Tikanga

The Māori approach to helping is that it is a group effort, where everyone plays a part. The term mahi tahi – to work as one – aptly describes this. 

This approach is exemplified perfectly at hui on the marae, where large numbers of visitors are provided with hospitality in a seemingly effortless manner. This is because everyone knows the part they have to play, from the young people setting the tables to the kaumātua (elder) doing their poetic karanga (welcome call) and eloquent whaikōrero (formal address). 

Each person has a role with respective responsibilities, for example, ringawera (people working behind the scenes), kaikaranga (caller/s), kaikōrero (speaker/s), and kaiwaiata (singer/s). 

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
• 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:

kaiako – teacher 

tiwhikete – certificate

waituhi – painting

hākinakina – physical activity

tuhituhi – writing 

pānui – reading

whakaminenga – assembly

paraihe – brushes

pāoro – ball(s)

pene-rākau – pencil(s) 

pukapuka – book(s)

tūru – chair(s)

Other words / Ētahi atu kupu

Other words in the text include: 

au – I

mō – for

tino – best/very

pukumahi – hard-working

ataahua – beautiful

hari – carry

Grammar / Wetereo

This story includes the following language structures:

• prefix kai-, meaning ‘person/people who’ (kaiako – someone who teaches; kaiāwhina – someone who helps)
• singular possessive taku (my) 
• particle ia (each/every) 
• placement of adjectives after the noun (tiwhikete ātaahua, beautiful certificate)
• conjunction nō reira (therefore/so)
• phrase i tēnei wiki (this week)

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’.

Flashcards

Students learn the words for further classroom objects, by using the flashcards from Resource sheet 2.1.

Bingo

Students consolidate words for classroom objects, by playing Bingo using Resource sheet 2.2. 

Strip phrases

Students combine pieces of text from the story to make phrases, for example, ngā paraihe + mō te waituhi. Arrange the pieces of text in random order.

Strip story

Students sequence strips showing sentences from the story that describe what happens on each day of the school week. Arrange these in random order for the children to sequence.

True/False

(Kei te tika/Kei te hē) – Describe a picture in the book (orally or in writing) and students decide whether the description is true or false (kei te tika/kei te hē). If it’s false, they have to ‘make it right’.

For example, to describe the picture of the brushes, you might say or write: 

ngā paraihe mō te pānui (brushes for reading)

Students would say ‘Kei te hē’, then correct the sentence as follows:

ngā paraihe mō te waituhi (brushes for painting)

Multi-choice

Give several descriptions of a picture from the text, and students decide which description best applies. For example, for a picture of pencils for writing, you might suggest:  

ngā pene rākau mō te pānui

ngā pene rākau mō te waituhi

ngā pene-rākau mō te tuhituhi

ngā pene-rākau mō te hākinakina

Cloze activity

Create gaps in the written text for students to complete. 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 and picture cues. 

For example:

Ka hari _________ au mō te tuhituhi.

Ka hari pukapuka au mō te _________.

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 task can be extended to incorporate listening and speaking, where you read a piece of text and stop at each missing word, so students can suggest an appropriate word to fill the gap. 

Listen and draw

Give the students instructions to draw specific classroom objects. 

For example: 

Tuhia he pene rākau. (Draw a pencil.)

The flashcards from Resource sheet 2.1 are a useful resource for classroom objects, as is the associated vocabulary list.

Text adaptation/reversioning

Students create their own text about things they do to help around the classroom, school, or home. 

For example: 

Ka tiki tūru au. (I fetch the chairs.) 

Ka mahi hanawiti au. (I make sandwiches.)

For this reversioning task, students will need to become familiar with new vocabulary, especially verbs. Examples include: hiki (to pick up), kimi (to look for), whakahoki (to put away), tiaki (to look after), horoi (to clean/wash), ūkui (to wipe), whakakoi (to sharpen), whakatūwhera (to open), and kati (to close). 

Word derivations

Students explore how specific words in the story are combined to convey meaning, for example, wai + tuhi (water + draw) and pene + rākau (pen + wood).

Timetabling

Students create a class timetable from Monday to Friday, in Māori, similar to that in Resource sheet 2.10. Useful words for this activity include: hangarau (technology), hauora (health and physical education), ngā reo (languages), ngā toi (arts), pāngarau (mathematics), pūtaiao (science), and tikanga ā-iwi (social sciences). 

Arts

Students design a Māori certificate to recognise a classmate or whānau member’s effort, kindness, progress, and/or achievement. They can use the illustrated certificate in the story as a guide.

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. 

Ngā rā o te wiki – available at  Hei Waiata, He Whakakoakoa. 

Ngā rā o te wiki

Ko te Mane, rā tahi, mahi au e.
(It’s Monday, day one, and I’m working.) 

Ko te Tūrei, rā rua, kia kaha e.
(It’s Tuesday, day two, and staying strong.) 

Ko te Wenerei, rā toru, pupuritia.
(It’s Wednesday, day three, and persevering.) 

Ko te Tāite, rā whā, ka heke e.
(It’s Thursday, day four, and getting tired.)

Paraire, ka mutu ngā mahi e.
(It’s Friday, and work is over.)

Hatarei, Rāhoroi, tākaro e.
(It’s Saturday and time to play.)

Rātapu, ka tau, ka inoi e.
(It’s Sunday, time for rest and prayer.)

Ka mutu ngā rangi o te wiki e.
(These are the days of the week.)

You can watch another version of this waiata on YouTube. It uses NZ Sign Language and the Māori Language Commission days of the week.  

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:

Tangaere, M. (1999). Ngā mahi o te kura. Wellington: Learning Media. (Ngā Kete Kōrero book about a boy participating in different activities at school.)

Taute, H. (2003). Ngā rā o te wiki. Wellington: Huia Publishers. (Ngā Kete Kōrero book featuring the days of the week.) 

Te Awa, M. (2000). Te wāhi pai. Wellington: Huia Publishers. (A book about the different areas in a kōhanga, such as places for shoes, bags, dough, paint, and jigsaws.)

Te Awa, M. (2009). Taku akomanga. Wellington: Learning Media. (Pīpī book with some classroom objects.) 

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.