Special Foods 

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 

Kai ana mai koe he atua, noho ana au he tangata. 

You are eating like a god, while I am sitting here as a man. 

This proverb highlights the importance of feeding visitors if they arrive when you are eating. Failure to do so shows a lack of hospitality/manaakitanga. 

Cultural knowledge / Tikanga 

The provision of kai is a way of showing hospitality. 

The ringawera, the people behind the scenes on the marae preparing the kai, are very important. Without them, people giving the speeches at the front of the marae would fall short, in terms of looking after the guests, e.g., manaakitanga. This is epitomised in the 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 foods around the world  
• 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: 

• parāroa rimurapa – pasta 
• panikeke – pancakes 
• keke āporo – apple cake 
• motumotu – dumplings 
• heihei – chicken 
• mīti – meat 
• huawhenua – vegetables 

Other words / Ētahi atu kupu 

Other words in the text include:  

• tēnei  – to play 
• tino  –adult 

Grammar / Wetereo 

This reader includes the following language structures: 

• sentence starter Nō meaning ‘From/Belonging’, to e.g., tūrangawaewae (place of belonging) 
• third person plural pronoun rātou meaning ‘they’ 
• preposition kei roto meaning ‘in’ 
• singular possessive tana meaning ‘his/her’ 
• specifying particle ko (as in Ko Rosa tēnei. This is Rosa.) 
• formulaic expression re stating likes (as in ‘He pai ki a rātou …’  They like …)  
• conjunction for joining things, e.g., me (and). 

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 from the text (randomly arranged by the teacher) such as matching text about countries to corresponding foods. 

Strip story (reading)  

Students sequence randomly arranged sentences from the text, to match the illustrations set out in the order of the text.   

True/False 

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). 

For example, (re the picture of Jia from China), the teacher might say:  

Nō Haina tana whānau. He pai ki a rātou te mahi keke. 

If false (as above), the students must ‘make it right’, by providing the correct text that corresponds with that picture, e.g: 

Nō Haina tana whānau. He pai ki a rātou te mahi motumotu. 

Multi-choice 

Students must decide which of the teacher’s several descriptions best applies to a picture from the text. 

For example, (re the picture of Sofia from Germany): 

He pai ki a rātou te mahi panikeke. 

He pai ki a rātou te mahi keke āporo. 

He pai ki a rātou te mahi huawhenua. 

He pai ki a rātou te mahi heihei. 

Viewing 

Students watch the animation Kei te hiakai ahau in He Reo Tupu He Reo Ora (Unit 3 re Kai) to learn a useful question and response:  

He pai ki a koe te _____? (Do you like _____?) 

He pai ki ahau te _____. (I like _____.) 

The animations in He Reo Tupu He Reo Ora are supported with useful information – including storyline, grammar, Māori transcript, and English translation. Teachers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with this information, before showing the animations. 

Cloze activity (with or without picture/map clues) 

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: 

Ko Rosa tēnei. Nō _____ tana whānau.  
(This is Rosa. Her family comes from _____.) 

Ko Thomas tēnei. Nō _____ tana whānau. He pai ki a rātou te mahi _____.  
(This is Thomas. His family comes from _____. They like to make _____.) 

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.  

Text adaptation/reversioning 

Students create their own text about the children from diverse cultures in their classroom/syndicate/school and the foods their families like – using (all or some of) the language structures in this text as a framework. 

Listen and draw 

Each student (in a pair) has a numbered grid of six boxes. Their partner must tell them what picture (of food) to draw in which box. See He Reo Tupu He Reo Ora for a clip of children doing a similar task. 

Some useful language for this activity includes:  

Māori vocabulary	English translation
pouaka	box
kei roto i te pouaka	in the box
nama	number
tuatahi, tuarua, tuatoru	first, second, third
kei roto i te pouaka tuawhā	in the fourth box
Tuhia ...	Draw …
he	some, a
Tuhia he āporo.	Draw an apple.
Haere ki te pouaka tuaono.	Go to the sixth box.

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: 

He Rourou mā Koutou (in Hei Waiata, Hei Whakakoakoa). The first three lines include the words of a proverb that emphasises the importance of combining resources and cooperating.  

He rourou mā koutou 

He rourou mā mātou   

Ka ora te manuhiri   

Ko te rau aroha kia mau   

Ngā mahi o te kura   

Hei orangatanga mō te ao   

With your food basket 

And our food basket 

Together we will feed the multitudes 

Let us hold fast to the ideals of love 

In all we do here at the school 

This is our contribution to the world 

Nō Pōneke1 nei mātou 

Mātou te rangatahi e 

Ka tū te ihiihi 

Ka tū te wanawana 

Hei orangatanga mō te ao 

We hail from Wellington1 

We are the young generation 

We stand with fear and dread 

We stand bristling with expectation 

This is our contribution to the world 

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: 

Butler, A. (1996). He Manga Huarākau. Australia: Mimosa publications. (A book about making fruit salad.) 

Fitzgerald, T. (2006). Ētahi Kai. Wellington: Learning Media. (A story about a mum and a koro providing kai for tamariki.) 

Grace, P. (1998). Mā wai? Wellington: Learning Media. (Ngā Kete Kōrero book about a feast for visitors.) 

Pohe, S. (2001). He Hanawiti. Wellington: Huia Publishers. (Hardcover book about making sandwiches.) 

Vercoe, R. & W. (2008). Nāu te Rourou, Nāku te Rourou. Wellington: Huia Publishers. (Beautifully-illustrated book of Māori recipes for children.)