Best for
Use when you want time measurement to connect to pattern, season, and practical decision-making rather than clock-only exercises.
Mathematics + mātauranga Māori • Years 7-10 • Time and pattern
Maramataka — Time and Mathematics
The maramataka is not “just a calendar”. It is a system of observation, timing, and decision-making. This handout helps ākonga work with time, pattern, and seasonal cycles while recognising the depth of knowledge held in maramataka practice.
Free pattern-and-time task, premium local maramataka variant
This version already works. Te Wānanga becomes useful when you want local iwi maramataka notes, alternate star prompts, or differentiated calculations added.
- Swap in local maramataka or Matariki references where appropriate.
- Add easier calculation support or stretch questions.
- Save a time-and-pattern inquiry sequence in My Kete.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 30-40 minutes.
- Grouping: Individual calculation with paired discussion.
- Prep: Decide whether students need a visible lunar-cycle diagram.
- Teaching move: Ask students what the numbers help people decide.
Resources already provided
- Lunar-cycle table
- Calendar comparison prompt
- Matariki star-domain reminder
- Seasonal planning reflection
- Teacher-only curriculum companion
The mathematics becomes stronger when students explain the implication of the pattern, not only the answer.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning how lunar cycles create repeating patterns in time.
- We are learning to compare different systems for marking time.
- We are learning how observation helps people plan activities and seasons.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can explain the approximate length of a lunar month.
- I can compare lunar and solar timing clearly.
- I can describe how maramataka supports practical decision-making.
1. Understand the lunar cycle
| Phase | Example Māori name | Approximate day | What might this help people decide? |
|---|---|---|---|
| New moon | Whiro | 1 | ________________________ |
| Crescent | Hoata | 3 | ________________________ |
| Half moon | Ōtāne | 7 | ________________________ |
| Full moon | Rākaunui | 15 | ________________________ |
| Waning | Tangaroa-ā-roto | 20 | ________________________ |
2. Compare lunar and solar time
Calculation
A lunar month is about 29.5 days. A solar year is about 365.25 days. How many lunar months fit into one solar year?
Interpretation
Why does this mean a lunar calendar and a solar calendar do not line up perfectly?
3. Matariki and seasonal timing
Tupuānuku
Food from the earth
Waitī / Waitā
Freshwater and saltwater food systems
Hiwa-i-te-rangi
Hopes and planning for the future
Prompt
How might a star cluster or seasonal marker help communities decide when to plant, harvest, travel, or gather?
4. Seasonal planning reflection
Write about one way observation and timing help reduce risk or improve decision-making.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi
Level 3–4: Investigate social, cultural, environmental, and economic questions; gather and evaluate evidence from diverse sources; communicate findings and reasoning clearly for different audiences and purposes.
English — Communication
Level 3–4: Read, interpret, and evaluate information texts; write clearly and purposefully for specific audiences; apply critical thinking skills to evaluate sources and construct well-reasoned responses.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
This resource sits within a kaupapa that recognises mātauranga Māori as a living knowledge system with its own frameworks, values, and ways of understanding the world. The New Zealand Curriculum calls for learning that reflects the bicultural partnership of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which means every subject area has an obligation to engage authentically with Māori perspectives — not as cultural decoration but as substantive contributions to how we understand our topics. The concepts of manaakitanga (care for others), kaitiakitanga (guardianship), whanaungatanga (relationship and belonging), and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) provide a values framework applicable across all learning areas, and all are relevant to the work in this handout.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
Reflect on what you have learned today. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
This handout is designed to be used alongside the broader unit resources available at Te Kete Ako handouts library. Related resources from the same unit are linked in the unit planner. All resources are provided — no additional preparation is required to use this handout in your classroom.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to investigate the intersection of kai (food), culture, and climate — exploring how mātauranga Māori approaches to food production, preservation, and distribution offer powerful responses to contemporary food security and climate challenges in Aotearoa New Zealand and globally.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain how traditional Māori kai practices (maramataka, kūmara cultivation, rāhui) embody ecological knowledge and food security principles.
- ✅ Students can connect kai culture and climate scarcity to contemporary community action and food sovereignty movements.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide graphic organisers that map traditional kai practices to modern food security concepts at the entry level. Offer extension tasks asking students to research a specific iwi's traditional food system and evaluate its contemporary relevance, or to investigate a local food sovereignty initiative.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach domain vocabulary (food sovereignty, food security, kaitiakitanga, rāhui, maramataka) using visual diagrams and real-world examples. Draw connections to students' own cultural food traditions — these are valid entry points into the unit's themes. Allow oral or visual presentation of learning as alternatives to written tasks.
Inclusion: Kai is a universal human experience — all students have a relationship with food, seasonality, and sharing. Neurodiverse learners benefit from concrete, hands-on engagement with these concepts (e.g., examining a kūmara, mapping seasonal foods). Acknowledge diverse economic circumstances sensitively when discussing food security. Choice in how students demonstrate understanding (written, visual, oral) supports inclusive assessment.
Mātauranga Māori lens: The maramataka — the Māori lunar calendar — is one of Aotearoa's most sophisticated environmental data systems, encoding centuries of ecological observation about planting, harvesting, fishing, and weather patterns. Kūmara cultivation in pre-colonial Aotearoa was a feat of agricultural knowledge adapted to a new climate. Rāhui (temporary resource restrictions) is indigenous resource management — conservation before conservation. Kaitiakitanga frames the relationship between people and kai not as extraction but as reciprocal guardianship. These are not historical curiosities — they are living solutions to contemporary problems.
Prior knowledge: Students benefit from foundational understanding of climate change and food systems. No specialist mātauranga Māori knowledge required for entry-level engagement — the unit builds this knowledge progressively.
Curriculum alignment
- Place and Environment — Social Studies: Understand how people's management of resources reflects their values and their view of sustainability — and how mātauranga Māori frameworks provide models for sustainable resource management.
- Ecology — Living World: Understand how human activities and natural factors affect the distribution and abundance of organisms; evaluate the impact of changes on ecosystem health and food systems.