Te Reo Māori ā€¢ Identity and place ā€¢ Years 5-13 ā€¢ Ready to use tomorrow

Pepeha Builder

Use this scaffold to help ākonga draft a pepeha with care. It balances sentence frames with respectful guidance, so kaiako can support identity work without forcing students to disclose information they do not yet know or wish to share publicly.

Ingoa / Name
Akomanga / Class

Best for

Te reo identity units, mihi preparation, class introductions, and any sequence where students are learning how place and belonging are expressed in language.

Kaiako use

Teach the meaning of each line first, then give students space to draft, check, and refine with whānau support where needed.

Ākonga use

Students can build a first draft, identify which details they know, and note where they need help from whānau, hapori, or kaiako.

Free identity scaffold, premium adaptation path

This handout is ready for classroom use. If you want a version adapted for your local maunga and awa, bilingual notes for whānau, or a simplified junior format, Te Wānanga can build that while keeping the respectful framing intact.

  • Adapt the prompt for local iwi, school values, or marae visits.
  • Create versions with extra teacher notes for whānau-supported homework.
  • Save and reopen your class-specific version later in My Kete or Creation Studio.
Adapt this in Te Wānanga Open Creation Studio Compare paid workflow options

Kaiako planning snapshot

  • Use length: 25-40 minutes for first drafting, longer if students are also researching or rehearsing delivery.
  • Grouping: Model together, then allow independent drafting with optional pair checking.
  • Prep: Be ready to explain that not every student will know iwi or hapÅ« details yet, and that respectful placeholder frames are acceptable.
  • Teaching move: Treat pepeha as relationship and place language, not as a box to fill as fast as possible.
Whakapapa Identity

Resources already provided

  • Core pepeha sentence frame
  • Alternative school/community-based frames
  • Pair rehearsal routine
  • Respectful-use reminders
  • Curriculum companion for planning clarity

If tomorrow's lesson asks students to begin a pepeha, the drafting support is already here and does not require kaiako to invent a template from scratch.

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions

  • We are learning what a pepeha does and why it matters.
  • We are learning how to connect language to place, people, and belonging.
  • We are learning how to draft a respectful first version using the information we know.

Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria

  • I can explain what key lines in a pepeha are for.
  • I can draft a first version using accurate or clearly provisional details.
  • I can identify what I still need to confirm with whānau, hapori, or kaiako.

Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment

Use the companion page to make the curriculum intent explicit around identity, oral language, place, belonging, and respectful use of te reo Māori.

Te Reo Māori Identity and place Whānau connection
Open curriculum companion

Use this with care

A pepeha is not a generic worksheet about identity. Some students will know a lot, some will know very little, and some may not want to share personal details publicly. Give students safe alternatives, space to ask whānau, and permission to keep some details private while they learn the structure.

A mātauranga Māori lens matters because pepeha locates people through whakapapa, place, and relationship. Kaiako should treat it as taonga language, not as a fill-in-the-gaps identity task.

Introduction

A pepeha is a formal introduction that connects you to place and people. If students are still learning their iwi or hapū connections, use the flexible frames provided and invite whānau guidance rather than guessing.

Pepeha template

Ko ______ te maunga.

Ko ______ te awa.

Ko ______ te waka.

Ko ______ te iwi.

Ko ______ te hapū.

Ko ______ te whānau.

Ko ______ ahau.

Alternative frames

  • Ko ______ te kura. Use this when school is the most relevant grounding point.
  • Ko ______ te kāinga. Use this to name a home base.
  • Ko ______ te tāone. Use this when town or city is the clearest shared point of connection.

Pair rehearsal

  1. Read your pepeha slowly once using your draft.
  2. Your partner listens for places where you want pronunciation help or missing details.
  3. Underline one line you want to refine with whānau or kaiako support.

My first pepeha draft

Draft the lines you know now, then mark the places where you need whānau, hapori, or kaiako help before sharing aloud.

Use the box below for a visual map of place names, people, or notes you want to confirm.

Teach this tomorrow

Print / share

  • One copy per learner
  • The pronunciation guide and a simple model pepeha if students are new to the structure

Decide before class

  • What optional placeholder frames are acceptable for students still gathering information
  • Whether drafting stays private, pair-shared, or becomes a spoken mihi practice

Good progress looks like

  • Students understand the meaning of the lines rather than copying blindly
  • Drafts are accurate, respectful, and clearly note where more whānau input is needed

Where this fits next

Use this after a greetings lesson or before a spoken mihi. If you want a localised version linked to your rohe, marae visit, or school context, take it into Te Wānanga or Creation Studio.

Create a class-specific version Open pronunciation guide

Hononga Marautanga Ā· Curriculum Alignment

Social Sciences ā€” Tikanga ā-Iwi

Level 3ā€“4: Understand how Māori cultural practices, values, and whakapapa shape identity and community; recognise the significance of te Tiriti o Waitangi and the contribution of Māori culture to Aotearoa New Zealand's national identity.

Te Reo Māori ā€” Language and Culture

Level 3ā€“4: Use te reo Māori to express cultural concepts, identity, and relationships with accuracy and respect; understand the significance of Māori language as a taonga and its role in sustaining mātauranga Māori.

Aronga Mātauranga Māori

This resource engages directly with te ao Māori as its subject ā€” the values, practices, language, and worldview that have sustained Māori communities across centuries of challenge and change. Mātauranga Māori is not a supplement to this learning: it is the source. Students approaching this material are invited to engage with it not as outside observers studying a foreign culture, but as people in relationship with a living knowledge tradition that shapes the place they live, the language they may speak, and the obligations they carry as tāngata o Aotearoa ā€” people of this land. That relationship calls for care, curiosity, and respect for knowledge-holders who carry what no textbook can fully contain.

Ngā Rauemi Tautoko Ā· 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 ā€” no additional preparation is required to use this handout in your classroom.

šŸ“‹ Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako ā€” Learning Intentions

Students will engage with this resource to deepen understanding of Te Ao Māori ā€” exploring whakapapa, tikanga, and cultural identity as living systems that shape who we are in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ngā Paearu AngitÅ« ā€” Success Criteria

  • āœ… Students can explain key concepts from this resource using their own words.
  • āœ… Students can connect tikanga Māori and whakapapa to real-world examples in Aotearoa.

Differentiation & Inclusion

Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters, visual glossaries, or graphic organisers to give entry-level access for students who need additional support. Offer extension tasks that deepen cultural inquiry ā€” for example, exploring local hapÅ« histories or interviewing a kaumātua.

ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key kupu Māori (whakapapa, tikanga, mana, mauri) with bilingual glossaries where available. Allow students to respond in their home language as a bridge to English expression.

Inclusion: Use accessible formats ā€” clear headings, adequate whitespace, chunked tasks. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured choice in how they demonstrate understanding (oral, visual, written). Acknowledge that students may hold personal connections to the cultural content.

Mātauranga Māori lens: This unit centres Te Ao Māori as a living knowledge system. Whakapapa is not merely genealogy but a relational framework linking people, place, and time. Tikanga grounds behaviour in kaupapa Māori principles. Approach content with aroha and manaakitanga.

Prior knowledge: No specialist prior knowledge required for entry-level engagement. Best used after relevant lesson sequences, or as a standalone introduction to cultural identity.

Curriculum alignment