📚 Unit Plans → 🌿 Unit 11: Te Reo Māori Foundations → 📖 Lesson 3: Tikanga in Kōrerorero
Years 7–8 Te Reo Māori / Learning Languages

Unit 11 Lesson 3: Tikanga in Kōrerorero

Unit 11 Lesson 3: Tikanga in Kōrerorero - Manaakitanga in Practice: Keep this lesson handy for planning or share it with your team. Free NZ curriculum resource

🎯 Learning Objectives & Success Criteria

By the end of this lesson, ākonga will be able to:

  • Identify tikanga values that guide conversations.
  • Use respectful phrases for hosting, listening, and responding.
  • Apply manaakitanga in role-play scenarios.

Success Criteria

  • ✓ Correct use of mihi and responses
  • ✓ Evidence of respectful listening in role-play
  • ✓ Use of tikanga vocabulary (manaakitanga, aroha, mana)

Ngā Mahi - Lesson Flow (65 minutes)

1. Tikanga Spotlight (15 mins)

Discussion + note-taking

Introduce the tikanga concepts: manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, aroha, tapu/noa. Students create quick definitions with an example in English or reo Māori.

2. Mihi and Response Practice (20 mins)

Call-and-response

Teacher models a short mihi. Students respond using respectful phrases (tēnā koe, ngā mihi, kia ora).

  • Practise with a partner, then switch roles.
  • Focus on tone and eye contact.

3. Manaakitanga Role Cards (25 mins)

Group role-play

Use the Kōrero Role Cards to act out scenarios (welcoming a visitor, resolving a misunderstanding, offering help).

  • Groups choose one scenario and add their own kupu.
  • Peers give feedback on tikanga and language use.

Whakamutunga: Reflection (5 mins)

Short kōrero

Exit ticket: Which tikanga value felt strongest in your role-play? How did you show it?

🎬 Media Anchor

Use this clip to examine how tone, pause, and phrase choice support manaakitanga in conversation.

Video anchor: Structuring respectful kōrerorero

  • Pause and discuss: Where in the clip do you hear language that signals respect and active listening?
  • Practice transfer: Students apply one phrase pattern from the clip in the next activity round.

📊 Assessment Notes

  • Formative check: observe respectful language, listening, and appropriate responses.
  • Collect: quick notes on role-play strengths for feedback.

🧺 Resources & Materials

Curriculum alignment

  • Pāhekoheko — Practices: Kia ora Tēnā koe Mōrena Atamārie

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions

Students will develop foundational te reo Māori communication skills through kōrerotia — purposeful speaking practice — grounded in the principle that language is the vessel of whakapapa and identity. This unit builds confidence to use te reo Māori in everyday contexts, valuing the language as a taonga tuku iho and a living expression of Māori cultural sovereignty.

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

  • ✅ I can use foundational te reo Māori greetings, introductions, and phrases correctly in conversation.
  • ✅ I can explain the cultural significance of key te reo Māori expressions beyond their literal translation.
  • ✅ I can demonstrate respect for te reo Māori as a taonga through accurate pronunciation and meaningful use.

Differentiation & Inclusion

Scaffold support: Provide pronunciation guides, flashcards, and sentence frames for entry-level learners. Offer extension tasks for students to compose original pepeha or short whaikōrero using structures from the unit.

ELL / ESOL: Te reo Māori may feel more accessible to some ELL students than English. Celebrate multilingualism — many students may bring home languages that share phonological features with Māori. Provide bilingual glossaries and allow students to make connections between languages.

Inclusion: Use oral, visual, and kinaesthetic modalities — karakia, waiata, and movement-based language games support diverse learners. Neurodiverse learners benefit from repetition, patterned structures, and low-stakes oral practice opportunities. Ensure all students feel emotionally safe to attempt new language.

Mātauranga Māori lens: Frame te reo Māori learning through whakapapa — every word carries genealogy. The concept of kōrerotia (speaking practice) connects to the oral tradition where knowledge was transmitted through careful, sustained speech. Explore how te reo revitalisation is an act of tino rangatiratanga and how learners of all backgrounds can be kaitiaki of the language.

Prior knowledge: No specialist prior knowledge required. All learners enter as beginners on equal footing.