Te Tiriti o Waitangi

My class morning routine remains consistent throughout the year, whilst also offering opportunities for variety. Each morning we start the day with karakia. We work up to the goal of learners knowing at least 2 karakia for each occasion (morning, kai and hometime) and being able to lead these themselves by the end of the year. After karakia, each day learners will recite their pepeha, eventually by heart. We support the pepeha with a waiata and by the end of the year we have many in our kete to choose from. I use te reo casually in my teaching when giving instructions or checking for understanding E.g. 'kua marama koutou?' 'haere rā' 'get your pukapuka' etc. and I encourage my learners to do the same. It has been great to see some learners use simple māori words casually in their writing. I also try to do the same by including te reo phrases in my report writing and in my feedback to learners.

I don't often teach Te Reo as a standalone subject, but instead I try to weave it throughout my other programs. A recent example that showcases this integration is my classes most recent assembly performance. Our inquiry topic was 'Insects and Minibeasts' so we created a drama production about the idea that spiders and wētā were enemies turned friends. The performance showcased our artwork, science learning, drama, self-written songs and also included te reo māori language. I regularly integrate Te Ao māori into my science and art planning. For example, referring to Tāwhirimatea when studying the weather or inquiring into Tangaroa when learning about our oceans. I have enjoyed working with Whaea Kura to continuously enhance my program. She has given me some brilliant feedback about how I could naturally weave in more māori in accordance with my own goals. During our morning routine, I now ask the children 'E hia nga tamariki i tenei rā?' which integrates some māori number knowledge into our day. I also ask 'He aha te wā tamariki mā?' in between each rotation, which allows us to bring in instant recall of subject vocabulary in te reo. This has been a simple addition to my practice with awesome results!

I try to choose literature to read to the class that is representative of different cultures and languages but I especially enjoy finding quality literature with links to te ao māori. Many of the Ready-to-Read books have te reo integrated within the text (Such as Matariki Breakfast, Haere Atu, At the Marae etc.) and our new BSLA program offers multiple ways to translate/connect words to te reo māori. At the start of the year we read 'Tree Hut Treaty' as a way to open up discussion about Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We have also read books such as 'Aroha's Way', 'Rona Moon' and 'Child of Aotearoa' as well as many classics such as 'Maui and the Sun' and 'Kupe and Te Wheke'. It is my job to expose my learners to an array of different books to broaden their worldview, feel represented by the characters, meet characters that are different to them, increase their understanding and ignite their own passions.