Proverb/Whakatauki

Tangata ako ana i te whare, te tūranga ki te marae, tau ana. 
A child who has been taught well at home will stand comfortably on 
the marae.

Good values from home will stand well in the community, and indeed throughout life

Cultural knowledge / Tikanga

• Ako means to teach and also to learn so there is a reciprocal relationship. 
• Embracing the principle of ako enables teachers to create a learning environment where each student feels that their contribution is valued and they can participate to their full potential.
• Ako includes building productive relationships such as teacher/students, student/student, teacher/whānau – where everyone is empowered to learn with and from each other. This also includes tuakana/teina relationships in the classroom where both parties are learning from each other. This Māori proverb highlights this reciprocity: 
  
  Mā te tuakana, ka totika te teina.
  Mā te teina. ka totika te tuakana.
  From the older sibling, the younger one learns the right way to do things. 
  From the younger sibling, the older one learns to be tolerant. 
   
• Ako is particularly relevant in the context of English-medium primary schools, where the teachers are not necessarily experts in te reo, but are open to learning from others (including students and whānau). This includes the need to know where students come from and build on their cultural capital (i.e., culture counts).
• Other words containing ‘ako’ are: kaiako (teacher), ākonga (student), akomanga(classroom), akoranga (educational course), ākona(the command for ‘learn!’ e.g., Ākona te reo Māori = Learn Māori!)
• Ako is one of the cultural competencies in Tātaiako, i.e., taking responsibility for one’s own learning as teachers, and that of Māori learners. (See Ako and PTC 4, 6, 8, 12.)

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 people’s roles on the marae
• 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:
paoro – ball
pikitia – picture
pukapuka – book
pakiwaitara – story
ringaringa – hands
porowhiu – throw
peita – paint
pānui – read
tuhi – write
horoi – wash
kōrero – speak

Follow-up / I muri mai 

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’

Strips

Students match strips of text to appropriate flashcard images. 

Matching

Students match the nouns on the flashcards to the verbs on the flashcards horoi + ringaringa (wash + hands)

Cloze activity (written or oral)

Create gaps in the story 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 clues, e.g., deletion of nouns. For example:
peita _____
pānui _____
kori _____
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 there 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.

Cloze activity (written or oral)

Create gaps in the story for students to complete, e.g., deletion of verbs:
_____ pakiwaitara
_____ haka
_____ ringaringa

Cloze activity (written or oral)

Create gaps in the story for students to complete with a range of word types:
_____ paoro
tākaro _____
He nui _____ aroha mōu

True/False (Kei te tika/Kei te hē) (listening or 
reading)

Students decide whether a spoken or written statement about a picture in the book is true or false (kei te tika/kei te hē). If a statement is false, the students have to make it correct.
For example, if they are looking at a picture about reading books:
tuhi pakiwaitara 
Students would need to say it’s false, then provide the correct statement: 
pānui pukapuka

Using the 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: 

Buchanan, C. (2007). Nā Haki Tēnei. In the kit “Te Huinga Raukura. Amokura”. Wellington: Learning Media (re the possession of classroom objects).

Te Awa, M. (2001). He Taniwha. Wellington: Huia (re a girl drawing a picture).

Te Awa, M. (2009). Taku Akomanga. Wellington: Learning Media (re classroom objects).

Te Awa, M. (2001). Te Wāhi Pai. Wellington: Huia (re different activities in the classroom)