Mō Mātou About Te Kete Ako
"Whaowhia te kete mātauranga" - Fill the basket of knowledge
Our Mission | Tō Mātou Kaupapa
Te Kete Ako is a collection of high-quality educational resources for teachers and students in Aotearoa New Zealand. We are dedicated to honouring Te Ao Māori perspectives while providing curriculum-aligned, research-based teaching materials that empower educators and inspire learners.
Our name comes from the traditional concept of the kete (basket) - a vessel for gathering and carrying knowledge. Just as our tūpuna (ancestors) filled their kete with gathered resources, we aim to fill your teaching kete with meaningful, culturally-responsive educational materials.
Our Values | Ō Mātou Uara
Cultural Authenticity
We integrate mātauranga Māori authentically, not tokenistically. Our resources honour tikanga, te reo, and Māori worldviews as foundational to all learning.
Research-Based Pedagogy
Our teaching approaches are grounded in academic research, from Freire's critical pedagogy to culturally responsive teaching practices.
Teacher-Centred Design
We create resources that save teachers time and energy. Everything is print-ready, curriculum-aligned, and ready to use immediately.
Open & Accessible
Quality educational resources should stay accessible to teachers and learners across Aotearoa. Our public library remains open, while our paid teacher tools help fund and sustain that free access.
What We Offer | Ā Mātou Rauemi
- 12,929+ Teaching Resources The full library spans lesson plans, unit outlines, printable handouts, classroom activities, and games — all searchable by curriculum level, learning area, and keyword.
- 82+ Complete Unit Plans Comprehensive 4–10 week units covering Te Ao Māori, decolonised history, STEM, and contemporary issues. Each includes full lesson sequences, assessment tools, and cultural integration.
- 300+ Printable Handouts Print-optimised student materials including comprehension texts, skill-building activities, cultural resources, and video analysis guides.
- 20+ Interactive Games Engaging digital activities including Te Reo Māori Wordle, Spelling Bee, and literacy games that support classroom learning.
- 10,500+ Verbatim NZC Achievement Objectives Every achievement objective in the New Zealand Curriculum is indexed verbatim — not paraphrased. Search by exact curriculum language and find resources that genuinely align.
Our Approach | Tō Mātou Tikanga
Te Kete Ako is grounded in three interconnected pedagogical foundations:
1. Culturally Responsive Teaching
We recognise that all students bring cultural wealth to the classroom. Our resources honour diverse knowledge systems, centre marginalised voices, and challenge deficit narratives about students and communities.
2. Critical Pedagogy
Following Freire, hooks, and other critical educators, we believe teaching is never neutral. Our resources encourage students to question power structures, recognise their own agency, and work towards justice.
3. Te Ao Māori as Foundation
Māori worldviews - whakapapa, kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga - are not add-ons but foundational principles. We integrate mātauranga Māori across all learning areas as legitimate, sophisticated knowledge systems.
For Teachers | Mō Ngā Kaiako
We know teaching is demanding, complex work. Te Kete Ako exists to support you with resources that:
- Save time - Ready-to-use materials, no reinventing the wheel
- Print beautifully - A4-optimised, professional formatting
- Align to curriculum - Explicit Achievement Objective connections
- Honour culture - Authentic Te Ao Māori integration
- Support differentiation - Scaffolding and extension built in
- Inspire engagement - Contemporary, relevant, student-centred
How Te Kete Ako Stays Sustainable
Te Kete Ako has two linked lanes. The first is the open public library: browseable resources, curriculum-aligned materials, and discovery pathways that remain available without a paid plan. The second is the premium teacher workflow: tools like Te Wānanga and Creation Studio that save kaiako time when they are planning, adapting, saving, and exporting classroom material.
That paid workflow is how we plan to keep the free library alive. The goal is not to wall off the kete. The goal is to let premium teacher tools fund the public resource base for the long term.
School & Kura Pathway
We are also building a light school and kura lane. The goal is not to force schools into a heavy admin product before the teacher workflow is ready. The goal is to let a principal, HOD, or small team start with real kaiako value and widen access only when the workflow has earned its place.
If you are exploring staff access, onboarding, or equity pricing for a department or kura rollout, start with the school path first and then talk to us directly.
- Start with the kaiako who need the workflow most.
- Keep the first rollout small enough to stay honest.
- Use the school lane when support, invoicing, or equity pricing matter.
Built by a Kaiako | Nā te Kaiako
Te Kete Ako was built by Tobias McRae, a secondary kaiako and developer based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Tobias teaches Social Studies and Digital Technologies — and built this platform because the resources he wanted for his classroom didn't exist in one place, and the tools to create them were either too expensive, too generic, or not designed for the NZ context.
The platform started as a personal curriculum library and grew from there: a full AI-assisted teaching workflow grounded in the New Zealand Curriculum, mātauranga Māori, and evidence-based pedagogy. Every tool here is one he actually uses in his own planning.
Questions, feedback, or a school rollout conversation — get in touch directly. There is a real person on the other end.
Join Our Community | Haere Mai
Te Kete Ako is built by teachers, for teachers. Start with the free library, or step into the premium workflow if you want faster lesson drafting, editing, and export.
"He kete kōrero, he kete mātauranga"
A basket of stories, a basket of knowledge