📚Unit Plans → 🌍Kōrero 4: Tōku Pepeha — My Identity → 📖Lesson 5: Pepeha vs Mihimihi
Years 4–6Te Reo Māori / Learning Languages

🤝 Pepeha vs Mihimihi

Lesson 5 of 6 — ākonga learn when each form is appropriate, build a mihimihi if needed, and finalise their personal introduction before presentation day.

🕘 Lesson at a Glance | Te Hōtaka

Do NowTwo-context quick write⏱ 10 min 1 · The DistinctionWhen each form fits⏱ 15 min 2 · Choose Your PathBuild or finalise⏱ 20 min 3 · Supported PracticeThree safe rehearsals⏱ 10 min ExitDecision locked in⏱ 5 min

Lesson Overview | Tirohanga Whānui

Ākonga learn the difference between pepeha and mihimihi — what each form is for, when each may be appropriate, and why the distinction matters culturally. Students with verified connections may finalise a pepeha; students for whom mihimihi is more appropriate build one from the template. Everyone leaves with a truthful personal introduction and a safe sharing plan for day six.

Learning Intentions | Ngā Whāinga Ako

  • Explain the difference between pepeha and mihimihi and name a context where each is appropriate.
  • Build a chosen mihimihi OR finalise a pepeha using only verified and willingly shared information.
  • Practise their chosen introduction three times with any needed reading, partner, or kaiako support.

⚡ Do Now — Two Contexts

⏱ 10 min

On the board — two scenarios. Students write one sentence for each:

  1. "Your class will attend a local mihi whakatau. The host has explained how visitors will introduce themselves."
  2. "You're introducing yourself on the first day at a new school."

Run it

  1. Quick write (5 min): Students write: "For scenario 1 I would use ______ because ______. For scenario 2 I would use ______ because ______." They may not know the word "mihimihi" yet — that's fine, they're recording their instinct.
  2. Partner share (3 min): Compare answers. Did they choose the same form for both scenarios?
  3. Preview (2 min): "Today we name that instinct and give it a framework. Pepeha and mihimihi are not interchangeable — each has a purpose."

Teacher: collect the written responses at the end of the lesson — they are a pre/post indicator of whether students understand the distinction. Return to the scenarios in Activity 1 and let students revise their answers with new vocabulary.

Activity 1 · The Distinction

⏱ 15 min

What it is: Ākonga learn the structural difference between pepeha and mihimihi and understand that appropriateness depends on whakapapa, purpose, and local guidance. The key rule: nobody claims a relationship that is not theirs.

Run it

  1. Side by side (7 min):

    🏔️ Pepeha

    • Locates you in whakapapa — mountain, river, canoe, tribe, subtribe
    • Specifically Māori in origin and structure
    • May be used in formal contexts according to local kawa and the speaker's relationships
    • Carries whakapapa-specific lines only where those connections are genuinely yours

    🤝 Mihimihi

    • Locates you in relationship — greeting, land acknowledgement, origins, name
    • May provide an appropriate pathway without requiring whakapapa claims
    • Can be adapted for formal or informal contexts with local guidance
    • May be more appropriate for non-Māori / tangata Tiriti introducing themselves in te reo
  2. The one rule that matters (5 min):
    Do not claim iwi, hapū, or waka that are not yours through whakapapa.
    It is not disrespectful to use a mihimihi instead of a pepeha. It is respectful.

    "It's okay to say: 'I don't have iwi connections, so I'll share my mihimihi.' That is honest, and honesty is what gives any introduction its mana."

  3. Return to the Do Now (3 min): Revisit both scenarios. Now that students know the vocabulary — what would they use for each? Let 2–3 students share their revised answers.

🪶 Tikanga note: Current curriculum guidance says a mihimihi may be more appropriate for non-Māori. Whatever form ākonga choose, they must not claim iwi, hapū, waka, or other whakapapa that is not theirs. Pepeha structures and formal speaking practice vary by iwi and context, so seek guidance from local mana whenua for local formal use.

Teacher: Some Māori students may also prefer the mihimihi if they don't know their iwi/hapū — that is a completely valid choice. The goal of this lesson is authentic connection, not compliance with a cultural template.

Activity 2 · Choose Your Path — Build or Finalise

⏱ 20 min

What it is: Students split into two paths. Those using pepeha finalise and practise it. Those building a mihimihi use the template to construct it now — sentence by sentence.

Run it

  1. Decide (2 min): Students mark their path privately on paper or in a kaiako check-in; do not use a show of hands. Both forms are equally valued.
  2. Pepeha path (18 min): Open the Pepeha Builder Template. Check that every included line is verified and chosen, then practise three times using any mix of reading, glancing, prompting, or reciting.
  3. Mihimihi path (18 min): Open the Mihimihi Alternative Template and build your mihimihi sentence by sentence:
    Tēnā koutou katoa.
    Ka mihi au ki te whenua, ki [local place].
    Ka mihi hoki au ki ngā tāngata whenua o tēnei rohe.
    I te taha o tōku [māmā/pāpā], nō [Country] ōku tīpuna.
    Kei [Place] ahau e noho ana.
    Ko [Name] tōku ingoa.
    Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa.

    Lines 4 and 5 are optional — use what you know. The greeting and closing are always included.

Resources: Pepeha Builder Template · Mihimihi Alternative Template

Teacher: Circulate and help students who are building their mihimihi. The local place in line 2 should be the tangata whenua name for the area if known — not just the Pākehā town name. If unsure, use the English name and note it as something to find out. Honesty about uncertainty is better than confident error.

Activity 3 · Supported Practice

⏱ 10 min

What it is: Ākonga practise their chosen introduction three times with a partner arrangement and position that feel safe. Repetition builds fluency; changing audience is optional.

Run it

  1. Choose sitting or standing, then choose a trusted partner or ask for a private kaiako check.
  2. Deliver your pepeha or mihimihi. Partner responds: "Tēnā koe, [Name]!"
  3. Swap roles. Repeat three times with the same partner or rotate by choice.
  4. After the third delivery: "Notice what felt different by the third time. That is what a week of practice will do by lesson 6."

Teacher: Do not interrupt delivery for correction. Offer one private pronunciation note afterward. The milestone is three supported practices, not three audiences.

🔚 Exit — Whakamutunga

⏱ 5 min

Write down your decision:

  1. I will present: Pepeha / Mihimihi (circle one).
  2. My introduction is: Complete / Almost complete (circle one).
  3. One thing I want to practise before lesson 6: ______.

Optional home practice: Practise your introduction to a mirror, a pet, or a trusted person. Reading from the template remains available in lesson 6.

Teacher: Collect the exit slips. Any student who has circled "mihimihi" and "almost complete" needs a quiet check-in at the start of lesson 6 — give them five minutes to finish before presentations begin.

🎯 Curriculum Links | Te Hononga ki te Marautanga

This lesson's focus: Pepeha and mihimihi as context-appropriate forms of the same relational act — recognising that identity introduction is culturally situated, and choosing the form that is authentic and appropriate to one's own 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 the difference between pepeha and mihimihi — in their own words, not repeated from the board.
  • Ākonga have a complete (or near-complete) personal introduction — pepeha or mihimihi.
  • Ākonga have completed three supported practices, privately or with a trusted partner.

Unit-level assessment: Pepeha Presentation Rubric — students should have seen this before lesson 6 so they know the criteria.

🚀 Extension & Differentiation | Rerekētanga

Support:

  • Reading from a template, using prompts, or reciting are equal delivery options in lesson 6; memorisation is not assessed
  • Students building a mihimihi who don't know the tangata whenua name for their local area can use the English place name — honesty is more important than a guess

Extension:

  • Learn the formal closing formula: "Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa" — practice saying it with appropriate pause and delivery
  • Research the tangata whenua name for the local area to include in the mihimihi land acknowledgement line
  • Practise delivering in different registers: formal (slow, deliberate) vs informal (conversational pace)
🔗 Unit Progression | Te Ara Whakamua

Ākonga arrive with a complete or near-complete personal introduction and leave with a chosen form, three supported practices, and a safe sharing plan. Everything from lesson 5 feeds directly into lesson 6.

Optional home practice before lesson 6: use the same reading or prompting support that will be available during sharing.

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot | Whakaaro Kaiako

Cultural safety: This is the lesson where cultural safety is most explicitly foregrounded. Give students explicit permission to choose the mihimihi — this is not a consolation prize or a lesser option. Many experienced kaiako and professionals use mihimihi as their default introduction in te reo. Frame it as a thoughtful, informed choice, not a fallback for those who "couldn't complete their pepeha."

Māori students without whakapapa knowledge: Some Māori students may not know their iwi or hapū — this is a real and painful consequence of colonisation for many whānau. These students may choose either form. The pepeha can include only the lines they know; the mihimihi is always appropriate. Never create a situation where a Māori student feels they have "failed" their own cultural heritage.

Both forms presented on day six: Lesson 6 should celebrate pepeha and mihimihi equally — the peer feedback form and the rubric apply to both. Make this explicit to students now so nobody feels they are presenting a lesser form.