📚Unit Plans → 🌍Kōrero 4: Tōku Pepeha — My Identity → 📖Lesson 2: Ko tōku Awa, Ko tōku Waka
Years 4–6Te Reo Māori / Learning Languages

🌊🛶 Ko tōku Awa, Ko tōku Waka

Lesson 2 of 6 — ākonga investigate awa and waka, verify whakapapa claims, and practise only the lines they can use honestly.

🕘 Lesson at a Glance | Te Hōtaka

Do NowMaunga recap — new partner⏱ 10 min 1 · AwaVerify or acknowledge⏱ 15 min 2 · WakaResearch without claiming⏱ 20 min 3 · Chosen LinesPractise the honest sequence⏱ 10 min ExitBuilder template check⏱ 5 min

Lesson Overview | Tirohanga Whānui

Ākonga investigate awa and waka while maintaining the distinction established in lesson 1. The pepeha path adds only whakapapa lines verified through whānau or trusted iwi sources. The mihimihi path learns about local relationships without claiming them and practises an acknowledgement of place.

Learning Intentions | Ngā Whāinga Ako

  • Distinguish locating a local awa from claiming “tōku awa”.
  • Research waka relationships through whānau, iwi, and trusted sources without adopting a regional waka.
  • Practise the lines they can use honestly and mark unresolved lines “to verify”.

⚡ Do Now — Maunga Mahi Tahi

⏱ 10 min

On the board: “Ko ______ tōku maunga.” / “Ka mihi au ki te whenua, ki ______.”

Run it

  1. New partner (5 min): Share the line or verification question you left lesson 1 with. Reading and passing are allowed. The listener asks, “Which path did you choose?” rather than checking identity.
  2. Volunteers (3 min): Hear 3–4 examples across both paths. Notice why different wording can be equally successful.
  3. Preview (2 min): “Today we investigate awa and waka. We can learn about any relationship, but we claim only whakapapa that is ours and verified.”

Teacher: Treat “still verifying”, “kept private”, and a mihimihi line as valid states, not unfinished work.

Activity 1 · Awa — Verify or Acknowledge

⏱ 15 min

What it is: Ākonga locate waterways, learn that whakapapa, residence, and appreciation are different relationships, and select language that tells the truth about theirs.

Run it

  1. Pronunciation (2 min): awa = "ah-wah" (no diphthong, each vowel separate). Say together: "Ko Waikato tōku awa." Three times.
  2. Locate and choose language (8 min): Open TopoMap NZ or Google Maps. Locate the local awa and any awa your whānau has identified. Then write one:

    Verified pepeha: “Ko ______ tōku awa.”
    Mihimihi: keep the place acknowledgement from lesson 1 and add a note about the local awa to learn; do not convert proximity into whakapapa.
    Still learning: “I need to ask ______ whether ______ is part of our whakapapa.”

  3. Partner share (5 min): Share the chosen line or question. Discuss which source could confirm it; nobody asks another student to prove the relationship publicly.

🪶 Mātauranga connection: The Whanganui River (Te Awa Tupua) was granted legal personhood in 2017 — recognising the Māori understanding that the river is an ancestor, not a resource. If time allows, ask: "If a river could speak, what would yours say about your rohe?"

Sources: TopoMap NZ · DOC: Rivers of NZ

Teacher: Students may study any local waterway, but “tōku awa” is reserved for a relationship they can use with authority. Local mana whenua guidance is the source for local significance and pronunciation.

Activity 2 · Ko tōku Waka + Tōku / Ōku

⏱ 20 min

What it is: Ākonga learn that waka traditions are diverse whakapapa knowledge, practise the singular/plural language pattern, and record either verified information or a research question.

Run it

  1. Waka background (5 min): Māori communities hold diverse traditions about voyaging waka and descent. Display these as names students may encounter in sources, not a menu from which to choose:
    Tainui
    Te Arawa
    Mataatua
    Takitimu
    Horouta
    Kurahaupō
    Aotea
    Tokomaru
  2. Research (8 min): Use the Waka Research Template and Te Ara: Canoe Traditions. A student writes “Ko ______ tōku waka” only when whānau or a trusted iwi source confirms that whakapapa. Everyone else records what they learned and either leaves the line out or writes a question to take to whānau.
  3. Tōku vs Ōku (7 min): Practise the grammar using clearly labelled examples; students do not need to personalise them:
    tōku — my (one thing)
    Ko Tainui tōku waka.
    ōku — my (more than one)
    Ko Tainui rāua ko Mataatua ōku waka.
Sources: Te Ara: Canoe Traditions — waka lineage and traditions · Waka Research Template

Teacher: Never assign a regional or “nearest” waka and never put “tōku waka” after a waka belonging to local iwi for a tangata Tiriti student. Knowing whose rohe one lives in is important; claiming their whakapapa is not.

Activity 3 · Chosen Lines Together

⏱ 10 min

What it is: Ākonga practise only the lines they can use honestly. A short verified sequence, a mihimihi place acknowledgement, and a line marked “to verify” are all legitimate outcomes.

Run it

  1. Open your builder or notebook to the lines and questions you have written.
  2. Choose sitting or standing and read the lines you can use. The patterns may include:
    Ko [Maunga] tōku maunga.
    Ko [Awa] tōku awa.
    Ko [Waka] tōku waka.
  3. Partner responds: “Tēnā koe!” then shares their chosen sequence.
  4. Rotate — find one more partner and repeat.

Teacher: The goal is honest language practice, not three filled spaces. Do not turn unresolved whakapapa into compulsory homework; offer a private pathway and the mihimihi template.

🔚 Exit — Whakamutunga

⏱ 5 min

Open the Pepeha Builder Template or the Mihimihi Alternative. Mark each possible line:

  1. Verified and chosen
  2. Still to verify
  3. Not part of my chosen form

Preview: Next lesson we learn what iwi and hapū mean, how to research them responsibly, and how tangata Tiriti can acknowledge local relationships without claiming them.

Teacher: Review choices privately. A blank line is not a deficit and may reflect appropriate cultural judgement.

🎯 Curriculum Links | Te Hononga ki te Marautanga

This lesson's focus: Awa and waka as pepeha elements, with a clear boundary between learning about local relationships and claiming whakapapa.

Learning Languages — Pāhekoheko · Emergent 1

"Pepeha follow a specific structure made up of key elements that each serve a purpose in expressing identity, belonging, and whakapapa."

📑 View the full Kōrero 4 unit overview →

📦 Materials & Resources | Ngā Rauemi
📊 Assessment Framework | Aromatawai

Success criteria at exit:

  • Ākonga can explain why proximity does not create an awa or waka whakapapa claim.
  • Ākonga have classified each line as verified, to verify, or outside their chosen form.
  • Ākonga can practise tōku/ōku accurately with examples and use it personally only where appropriate.

Carry forward: builder templates collected at exit inform lesson 3 groupings. Students who still need to find their waka get the homework prompt to ask whānau.

🚀 Extension & Differentiation | Rerekētanga

Support:

  • Provide a teacher-checked local map, the research template, and both introduction paths
  • Students may acknowledge the local place without calling its river “tōku awa”
  • Provide audio recordings of the kaiako saying the new lines

Extension:

  • Research the journey of your waka from Hawaiki — Te Ara has detailed histories
  • Find a pūrākau (story) about your awa — the Māori Dictionary and local libraries are good starting points
  • Practise the plural form: "Ko Waikato rāua ko Waipā ōku awa" for students with two rivers
🔗 Unit Progression | Te Ara Whakamua

Ākonga arrive with a chosen line or verification question and leave with a more precise, evidence-aware introduction plan. The builder and mihimihi template run as equal paths.

Homework before lesson 3: ask whānau about iwi and hapū connections.

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot | Whakaaro Kaiako

The awa: Rivers are more than geography in te ao Māori — they are tīpuna (ancestors), lifeblood, and law. The Whanganui River's legal personhood (2017) is not an abstract legal curiosity; it is a formal recognition of the Māori understanding that the river IS an ancestor. Use this concretely: "What does it mean that a river can be a legal person? How does that change how we think about our own awa?"

The waka: Students may not know a waka or may not have a waka line in their chosen form. Waka knowledge often lives with kaumātua, iwi, and whānau. A chart is a research lead, never authority to claim a connection.

Pronunciation notes for this lesson: "awa" — both vowels separate, no diphthong (not "ar-wa" or "ow-a"). "waka" — "wah-kah", short 'a' sounds throughout. The lesson structure gives pronunciation practice before map work, not after — ākonga need the sounds before they write.