Awa Vocabulary — Bilingual Reference Card
Ngā Kupu o te Awa · Te Reo Māori me te Reo Pākehā · Years 7–9
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Learn and use key te reo Māori vocabulary accurately in the context of freshwater advocacy
- Understand that te reo Māori carries worldview — kupu are not just translations but relationships
- Use at least five kupu from this card in observations, poster headings, and oral presentations
- Practise writing sentences using kupu Māori to describe your awa investigation
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- I can pronounce at least ten kupu from this card correctly
- I can use at least five kupu accurately in a sentence about my awa investigation
- I can explain what a kupu means in the context of our inquiry, not just translate it
- I have used kupu Māori in my poster heading(s) and at least once in my oral presentation
Ngā Kupu · Key Vocabulary Table
Pronunciation guide: vowels are always the same — a (as in "car"), e ("bed"), i ("see"), o ("more"), u ("moon"). Macrons (ā ē ī ō ū) = held slightly longer.
| Te Reo Māori | Pronunciation | English Meaning | Use it in a sentence about your awa |
|---|---|---|---|
| wai | why | water; also rain | |
| awa | ah-wah | river; channel | |
| wai ora | why or-ah | pure / healing water; water that gives life | |
| mauri | mao-ree | life force; vitality; the essential quality of a living thing | |
| kaitiakitanga | kai-tee-ah-kee-tah-ngah | guardianship; the responsibility to protect the natural world | |
| raraunga | rah-rao-ngah | data; information collected | |
| tohu | toh-hoo | sign; indicator; environmental signal | |
| rāhui | rah-hoo-ee | temporary restriction; traditional conservation measure | |
| hauora | hao-or-ah | wellbeing; health (of people and environment) | |
| taiao | tie-ah-oh | natural world; the environment; all living things | |
| kōura | koh-oo-rah | freshwater crayfish — an indicator species for clean water | |
| kākahi | kah-kah-hee | freshwater mussel — a taonga species and natural filter | |
| kūiti | koo-ee-tee | pollution; contamination; narrowing (of mauri) | |
| tiaki | tee-ah-kee | to guard; to protect; to care for | |
| whakaaro | fah-kah-ah-roh | thought; intention; considered thinking | |
| puna | poo-nah | spring (source of water); wellspring of life |
Whakamahi Kupu · Use 5 Kupu in Sentences About Your Awa Investigation
Choose five kupu from the table above and write a sentence about your awa investigation using each one. The sentence must be true — about what you actually observed or did.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Level 3–4: investigate how human activity affects freshwater ecosystems; collect and interpret environmental data; understand that freshwater is a shared resource requiring collective stewardship.
Key Competency: acquire and use vocabulary from multiple domains, including te reo Māori, to communicate with precision; understand that language choices reflect and shape understanding of the world.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Language shapes how we see the world. When students learn that the life force of the awa is its mauri, they gain more than a translation — they access a worldview where the river is alive, with vitality that can be harmed or restored. When they call freshwater crayfish "kōura" rather than "bugs", the word carries a relationship: kōura as taonga, as indicator, as presence that matters. Every kupu on this card is not just a label but a doorway into mātauranga Māori — a way of understanding the environment that has sustained people and waterways in Aotearoa for centuries. Using te reo Māori in science is not cultural decoration. It is epistemological accuracy.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
Resources already provided:
- Awa Observation Sheet (awa-observation-sheet.html) — use kupu from this card to label field observations
- Awa Poster Planner (awa-poster-planner.html) — incorporate kupu Māori into poster headings and labels
- Awa Video W2 pH (awa-video-w2-ph.html) — vocabulary (waikawa, ngārara wai) connects to this card
- Awa Reading Comprehension (awa-reading-comprehension.html) — kupu from this card appear in the reading text
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will explore awa (river/water) as taonga, developing understanding of kaitiakitanga through water guardianship — connecting indigenous environmental knowledge with scientific and civic action.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain the significance of awa in te ao Māori and their local community.
- ✅ Students can identify actions that reflect kaitiaki responsibilities for local waterways.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters and graphic organisers for inquiry tasks. Offer entry-level observation activities and extension challenges involving community advocacy or environmental data analysis.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key te reo Māori terms (awa, kaitiaki, wāhi tapu, tūrangawaewae). Allow visual and diagrammatic responses. Bilingual glossaries strongly recommended.
Inclusion: Connect to students' own waterways and places of belonging. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured field investigation templates and clear step-by-step inquiry protocols.