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.
Te Reo Māori • Identity and place • Years 5-13 • 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.
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.
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 hapū 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.
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.
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
- Read your pepeha slowly once using your draft.
- Your partner listens for places where you want pronunciation help or missing details.
- 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
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi
Level 3–4: 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 — Language and Culture
Level 3–4: 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 — 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 — 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 · 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.
Curriculum alignment
- Identity, Culture, and Organisation: Understand how cultural identity shapes participation in society — whakapapa, tikanga, and mana as foundations of Māori identity in Aotearoa New Zealand.