Whānau · Family
- Who or what gives your whānau strength when you face challenges?
- What tikanga or practices connect you back to your tūrangawaewae?
- Complete together: “Ko ______ taku ______. He taonga ki ahau nā te mea ______.”
🧺 Te Kete Ako
Identity Map Interview Handout
Identity Map Interview Handout · Years 7–10
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Investigate a significant question using evidence from multiple sources
- Analyse and evaluate information to form and support a reasoned position
- Connect learning to real-world contexts, including Aotearoa New Zealand settings
- Communicate understanding clearly and accurately for a specific audience
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- I use at least two sources and can evaluate their credibility
- My position is clearly stated and supported by specific evidence
- I can connect my learning to at least one real-world Aotearoa context
- My communication is clear, organised, and appropriate for the audience
Print this handout for your ākonga or save it as a PDF to share with whānau.
Identity Map Interview Handout
He aha te kaupapa? · Why this matters
This interview captures the stories, values, and hopes that your whānau carry. You will kōrero with a whānau member (parent, caregiver, grandparent, auntie/uncle, older sibling, or chosen family member) and map their insights alongside your own identity work.
Bring this handout to your interview, record short notes in the spaces provided, and return with one action you will take to honour the kōrero. Mauri tū, mauri ora!
- Use manaakitanga: listen with care, thank your whānau member, and record only what they are happy to share.
- Interviews can be held in te reo Māori, English, or any language spoken in your whare.
- If kanohi ki te kanohi is not possible, a phone, video call, or voice note exchange works well.
Who I am interviewing
Name & relationship
Interview date & place
Kāinga, marae, phone, zoom...
Part 1 · He whakarite · Preparing for the kōrero
Before your interview, note what each anchor means to you so you can open the conversation and set the tikanga.
Whānau
Who walks beside me and gives me strength?
Whenua
Which places anchor me? How do I stay connected?
Hapori
Who is in my circle of care? How do we look after each other?
Mentors & Aspirations
Who guides me today and what futures am I working toward?
Part 2 · Ngā Pātai Matua · Guiding questions
Use these pātai during your interview. Jot keywords, full sentences, or sketch icons that remind you what was shared.
Whenua · Land
- Describe a place that is special to you and our whānau. What makes it significant?
- How does your connection to the land influence your values and beliefs?
Hapori · Community
- How do you show manaakitanga to others in our community?
- What role do you play in our hapori? How do you contribute?
Mentors
- Who has been a significant mentor in your life? What qualities do you admire in them?
- Complete together: “When ______ stands beside me, I feel ______ because ______.”
Aspirations & Ahi Kā
- What dreams do you have for future generations?
- What traditions or values do you want to keep alive? “To keep our ahi kā burning, I will ______.”
- Complete together: “This quote — ‘__________’ — guides my decisions for ______.”
Part 3 · Whakakapi · Summarising the kōrero
Summary of my whānau member’s identity
Action I will take to honour their kōrero
Part 4 · Mahere mahi · Action plan for this week
Design one way you will keep the kaupapa of this interview alive. Who will you share with? What will you do differently at kura, kāinga, or in your hapori?
My commitments for this week
- Person I will share my learning with:
- Action I will take this week:
- How I will show the impact (photo, audio, written reflection, artwork):
Icon & Pattern Bank · Kupu ā-ataata
“Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini.” — My strength is not that of an individual, but that of the collective.
Draw visual symbols from this kōrero (and add your own) to show the connections you want to carry forward.
Icons include: 🌊 Moana (journeys) · ⛰️ Maunga (strength) · 🪶 Manu (messages) · 🔥 Ahi Kā (home fires) · ⭐ Pou (guiding values) · 🎶 Waiata (whakapapa waiata) · 🌿 Rongoā (healing) · 🌀 Koru (growth/return).
Quick kōrero reminders
- Open with a mihi and let your whānau member know why this interview matters.
- Share one of your own reflections first to model the depth of response you are aiming for.
- Thank them and tell them how you will use the kōrero in class or at home.
Kaiako notes
- Offer sentence starters or bilingual stems for students who want structured language, and provide opt-in alternatives for sensitive whakapapa.
- Encourage audio or voice-note reflections if writing is a barrier.
- Gain permission before any story is shared beyond the class and allow learners to keep parts private.
- Link interview insights back to the Identity Map artefact and Mātainuku/Mātairea evidence requirements.
Curriculum links: Tangata Whenuatanga, Whanaungatanga, Mātauranga Māori, English speaking/listening (Years 7–10).
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.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
Reflect on your learning. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?
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.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
This handout is designed to be used alongside other resources in the same unit. Related materials are linked in the unit planner. All content is 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 deepen understanding of Te Ao Māori — exploring whakapapa, tikanga, and cultural identity as living systems that shape who we are in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain key concepts from this resource using their own words.
- ✅ 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 — for example, exploring local hapū 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 — 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
- 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.