| Knowledge
The facts, concepts, principles, and theories to teach. | Practices
The skills, strategies, and applications to teach. | | Knowledge
The facts, concepts, principles, and theories to teach. | Practices
The skills, strategies, and applications to teach. | |
Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge
| - There are different greetings and farewells depending on context (e.g. formal, informal, time of day) and different ways to express politeness.
- There are unique dialects across iwi and regions with differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, for example:
- Ngāi Tahu — k replaces ng
- Tūhoe — ng becomes n
- Taranaki — h is often dropped (e.g. Whanganui is pronounced ‘Wanganui’)
- Ngā Puhi — drop the w (e.g. whakarongo is pronounced ‘hakarongo).
- Hongi and harirū are gestures that are a part of formal and informal greetings:
- hongi involves the pressing of noses and symbolises the sharing of ha (the breath of life)
- harirū is a handshake that can be used alongside or instead of hongi in both formal and informal settings.
- Waiata are often an integral part of greetings in te ao Māori and are used to enhance mihi (greetings or introductions) in a variety of formal and informal contexts.
- Waiata are used in different social and cultural settings such as pōwhiri, celebrations, and school events.
- Waiata supports language learning by reinforcing vocabulary, sentence structures, and correct pronunciation through repetition, rhythm, and meaningful language use.
| | Greetings - Kia ora
- Tēnā koe
- Mōrena
- Atamārie
Farewells - Ka kite.
- Kia pai tō rā.
- Noho mai.
- E noho rā.
- Hei konā (when on the phone).
Sign-offs - Ngā mihi
- Ngā mihi maioha
- Nāku noa nā
Challenging syllable sounds - ra, re, ri, ro, ru
- ta, te, ti, to, tu
- ngā, nge, ngi, ngo, ngu
- wha, whe, whi, who, whu
| - The way to address someone reflects the relationship you have with that person and the context.
- Tēnā koutou is a formal greeting used to respectfully acknowledge three or more people.
- Kia ora is a more informal greeting, commonly used to say hello, express thanks, and show agreement.
- Interactions should be guided by whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, and tikanga.
| - Using greetings and terms of address to show respect
| Terms of address - E te iwi
- E te whānau
- E rau rangatira mā
- E te poutoko
- E te kaiako
- E hoa mā
- E te matua
- E te whaea
Greetings using terms of address - Tēnā koutou katoa e te whānau
- Tēnā koutou katoa e rau rangatira mā
- Kia ora koutou katoa e hoa mā
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| - Although ka kite is not grammatically correct when used literally (the full expression would be ka kite au i a koe), it is widely accepted and used as a formulaic expression meaning ‘see you’.
- Te arapū is the Māori alphabet, which includes vowels and consonants used to form words and guide pronunciation.
- Te reo Māori has five vowels (a, e, i, o, u), each with a short and long form.
- A tohutō (macron) marks a long vowel sound and can change the meaning of a word (e.g. matua = father, mātua = parents, kēkē = armpit, keke = cake).
- Some syllable sounds in te reo Māori can be challenging for learners and may require extra practice. These include syllables that begin with ng, r, t, and wh.
| - When addressing people, e precedes names and terms of address, except when the name is not a Māori name or when the name has three or more morae.
- Morae consist of either a single short vowel or a consonant followed by a short vowel.
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Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge | - Introductions and greetings are also a way to establish whanaungatanga and link to broader core values such as whānau, aroha, and manaakitanga.
- In te ao Māori, introducing your whānau is important because it helps people understand who you are and where you come from and builds respectful connections.
- The pronoun ia doesn’t specify gender and can mean he, she, or they (one person). The meaning depends on the context or relationship.
- A-category and O-category show the nature of the relationship between people, places, and things.
| - Introducing themselves and others and responding to introductions appropriately
- Asking others how they are and responding appropriately when asked
- Communicating about their parents and/or caregivers
| Introducing self and others - Ko Cruz tōku ingoa.
- Ko Ava ia.
Asking and giving names - Ko wai tō ingoa?
- Ko Pita tōku ingoa.
- Ko wai tōna ingoa?
- Ko Jamie tōna ingoa.
Well-being - Kei te pēhea koe?
- Kei te pai ahau.
- E pēhea ana koe?
- E pai ana ahau.
Parents and caregivers - Ko wai tō māmā/whaea/kōkā?
- Ko Ātawhai tōku māmā.
- Ko wai tō pāpā/matua?
- Ko Piripi tōku pāpā.
- Ko wai ō mātua?
- Ko Henare rāua ko Marama ōku mātua.
Friends - Ko Peter taku hoa.
- Ko Rawiri rāua ko David aku hoa.
Note: To minimise complexity at this level, the neutral form of the A-/O-category (written as ‘a’ without a macron) is used for people of the same generation, such as siblings and friends. | - The tuakana–teina relationship is a traditional way of understanding roles and responsibilities between older and younger siblings or relatives and is deeply connected to whakapapa.
- The tuakana–teina relationship guides how knowledge, care, and leadership are shared and plays an important role in interpreting and upholding whakapapa connections.
- Kaumātua (elders) and whānau whānui (extended family) have important roles in guiding, supporting, and maintaining the well-being of the whānau.
- Kaumātua share wisdom and uphold tikanga, while whānau whānui work together to nurture identity, belonging, and collective responsibility.
| - Communicating about the relationship between people, including grandparents and siblings
| Grandparents - Ko wai mā ō tīpuna?
- Ko Rangi rāua ko Papa.
Uncles and aunts - Tokohia ō mātua kēkē?
- Tokotoru ōku mātua kēkē.
- Ko Pari rātou ko Tumu ko Tai ōku mātua kēkē.
Siblings of same gender - Tokohia ō tēina/tuākana?
- Tokowhā aku tēina.
- Kotahi taku teina.
Siblings of different gender - Kotahi taku tungāne.
- Tokorima aku tuāhine.
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| - Ko is used before a personal name when introducing themselves or someone else.
- Replying to the question Ko wai tō ingoa? requires some simple word replacements:
- the word wai (who) is replaced with the name
- the possessive tō (your) becomes tōku (my).
- Communicating about whānau uses the same sentence pattern as that to say your name.
- Rāua ko is used to link two people’s names when talking about who someone is related to.
- Possessive pronouns change depending on how many people are being spoken about (e.g. ōku mātua = my parents, tōku matua = my dad, tō matua = your dad, ō mātua = your parents).
- Possessive pronouns are connected to personal pronouns in specific ways:
- taku goes with au/ahau (I)
- tō goes with koe (you)
- tōna goes with ia (he/she/they).
- Learning these connections helps ākonga to use the possessive forms correctly when talking about people and what belongs to them.
| - Rātou ko is used to link three or more people’s names when talking about who someone is related to.
- A tohutō is also added to pluralise a word, for example, teina (single) becomes tēina (plural).
- In the case of tungāne, whether it is singular or plural relies on the marker preceding it (e.g. taku/aku).
- Toko is used to refer specifically to the number of people, and it precedes numerals from 2 to 9 (e.g. tokorua ngā tāngata, tokowhā ngā tāngata).
- Toko is only used when counting people, never objects or other things.
- When asking how many people there are, hia is paired with toko (e.g. tokohia ngā tāngata?).
- A-category is for relatives of a lower generation (e.g. tamariki, mokopuna, irāmutu, tāne, wāhine).
- O-category is for uri, friends, relatives of the same or higher generation, and other people of a higher status (e.g. tōku tuakana, tōku teina, ōku mātua).
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| | | | - Simple sentences can be used to describe physical characteristics and personality traits.
- Intensifiers/adverbs (e.g. tino, rawa) can be added to emphasise the tūāhua in a sentence.
- O-category is usually used for body parts.
| - Exploring ways to describe people
| Physical characteristics - He pēhea tōna āhua?
- He tāroaroa.
- He kaitā.
- He parauri ōna makawe.
- He tino poto a Mere.
Personality/feelings - He pēhea te tangata?
- He pai.
- He whakamā.
- He tangata ngāwari tōku māmā.
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Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge | - O-category is used for age.
- Across the Pacific there are a range of cognate words, illustrating one type of connection between these languages and places.
| - Communicating about their age and the age of others
| Age - E hia ōu tau?
- E rua tekau ōku tau.
- Tekau mā rua ōna tau.
- E toru tekau ngā tau o Marama.
1–10 (Base numbers) tahi, rua, toru, whā, rima, ono, whitu, waru, iwa, tekau.
11–19 - tekau mā rua
- tekau mā whitu.
Multiples of 10 (20, 30 …) 21–99 - rua tekau mā toru
- toru tekau mā tahi.
Note: Ākonga do not need knowledge of numbers beyond 31 for this phase. Cognate words for numbers - rua — te reo Māori
- lua — Gagana Sāmoa
- ua — Tongan/Vagahau Niue
- ‘elua — Hawaiian
- rua — te reo Māori Kūki `Āirani.
| - Traditionally, there are a range of tikanga observed to acknowledge the birth of a child and connect them to their whānau, tīpuna, and whenua:
- Tikanga differ across iwi and hapū.
| - Communicating about dates and birthdates
| Dates Birthdates Other examples - Ko te Mane te rā tuatahi o te wiki.
- Ko te rā tuarua o te marama, ko te Rāmere.
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| - Cardinal numbers follow a consistent structure made up of number bases, place value, and patterns.
- Base numbers (1-10) are used to build larger numbers using patterns and place value knowledge.
- In response to questions, the interrogative word hia is replaced with the relevant answer.
- The particle e is used before numbers 2-9 and is not required when a number starts with tekau.
| - Ordinal numbers are formed by adding the prefix tua to base numbers (e.g. tuatahi, tuarua … tuaiwa).
- After tuaiwa, the prefix tua is no longer required (e.g. tekau, tekau mā tahi).
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Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge | - In te ao Māori, saying who you are includes talking about your connections to people, places, and whakapapa.
- Nō hea is used to say where you’re from and is not just about where you were born but where you feel connected (e.g. through family, culture, or personal choice).
| - Communicating about significant places, such as:
- their hometown or place of family origin
- where they live
- the hometown and/or place of origin of others
| Hometown or place of family origin - Nō hea koe?
- Nō Te Whanganui-a-Tara ahau.
- Nō Taranaki ia.
- Nō Taranaki a Mereana.
Current home - Kei hea tō kāinga?
- Kei [place] tōku kāinga.
- Kei Kāpiti tōna kāinga.
Whakataukī/whakatauākī | - People can have multiple connections to whenua through different family members.
| - Communicating about hometown, place of origin, and relationships between multiple family members
| Connections to place - Kei te noho tōku whānau ki [place].
- I/Ki te taha o tōku papa, nō [place] ōku tīpuna.
- I/Ki te taha o tōku māmā, nō [place] ōku tīpuna.
- I/Ki te taha o tōku pāpā ko Tio rāua ko Ani ōku tīpuna.
- I/Ki te taha o tōku māmā ko Herewini rāua ko Maraea ōku tīpuna.
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| - Kei is used to indicate location, while nō indicates place of origin.
- The particle a is used before a person’s name.
- When responding to questions, the interrogative words (e.g. hea, wai) are replaced with the relevant answer.
- Whakataukī/whakatauākī are used to express cultural values, place, whakapapa, knowledge, historical events, and learnings.
| - The same sentence structure can be used to communicate about multiple connections.
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Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge | - Transliterations and loan words are Māori versions of English words. They were created so that Māori had words to describe new things, like days of the week or different technology.
| - Communicating about the days of the week, months, and seasons
| Days Months Seasons Transliterations - Mane (Rāhina).
- Hānuere (Kohitātea).
| - Words and phrases to describe time, days, and months have been influenced by a range of different factors such as the Gregorian calendar, colonisation, and the introduction of the clock.
| | Time - He aha te wā?
- Kei te aha te wā
- E toru karaka i te ahiahi te wā.
- E rima miniti ki te iwa karaka i te ata.
- Haurua mai i te rua te wā i te ahiahi.
- Hauwhā mai i te ono karaka.
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| - Prior knowledge of ko sentence structures helps introduce learning about days, months, and seasons.
- Tēnei is used to communicate about the current month or season.
| - The particle i indicates minutes past the hour.
- The particle ki indicates minutes to the hour.
- There are different words that can mean time, such as tāima and wā.
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| - There are different forms of the definite article to show whether something is singular or plural:
- te is used for one item (singular), such as te whare, and ngā is used for more than one item (plural), such as ngā whare
- he can be used for plural or singular, such as He pene tēnei/He pene ēnei
- kei is used to say where something is and connects to locative indicators, such as konei (here) and konā (there, by you)
- tēnei, tēnā, and tērā (and their plural forms ēnei, ēnā, and ērā) are used to show where things are in relation to people. These words help describe whether something is close to the speaker, close to the listener, or far from both.
- When counting objects in te reo Māori:
- for one item, use kōtahi (e.g. kōtahi te…)
- e comes before the numbers 2 to 9 (e.g. e rua ngā …)
- numbers starting with tekau do not need e before them.
- The particle i is written with a small letter in the middle of a sentence, unlike in English, where ‘I’ is always capitalised as a pronoun.
| - Communicating about where things are located
| Present location - Kei hea te pene?
- Kei te tēpu te pene.
- Kei runga i te tēpu.
Locative indicator - konei, konā, kora
- Kei hea te kī?
- Kei konei te kī.
Locative noun runga, raro, roto, waho, waenganui, te taha.
Demonstratives - tēnei, tēnā, tērā, ēnei, ēnā, ērā
- He kī ēnā?
- Āe, he kī ēnei.
Counting objects - E hia ērā pene?
- E rua ērā pene.
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| - Kei te is a tense marker to show that something is happening right now. It comes before the verb to show the present tense.
| - Communicating about activities in the here and now
| Present tense - Kei te tuhi koe.
- Kei te noho rātou.
- Kei te kōrero rāua.
- Kei te aha koe?
- Kei te tuhi au
- Kei te aha rāua?
- Kei te kōrero rāua (ki a rāua).
| - Kāore is a particle used to express negation, and its use depends on the sentence structure and tense.
- Generally, kāore is used to negate verbs or actions.
| - Using negations to communicate about activities in the here and now
| Negative modifiers - Kāore rātou i te noho.
- Kāore rāua i te kōrero.
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| - Learning simple classroom language helps them to understand and use te reo Māori in everyday routines, thereby building confidence and familiarity through regular use.
- Kaua e is used to express a negative command, where the speaker is telling someone not to do something.
| - Understanding and using simple classroom language
| Classroom language - Whakarongo (mai)
- Titiro (mai)
- Kōrero (mai)
- Haere ki waho.
- Noho mai.
- Haere mai/tomo mai.
- E tū.
- E noho.
- Hoihoi/Turituri.
- Kaua e noho.
- Kaua e haere mai.
- Kaua e tomo mai.
Asking about thing(s) - He aha t/ēnei?
- He pene.
- He pene kahurangi tēnei?
- Āe, he pene kahurangi tēnā.
- Hōmai te [object].
Asking the word for something in te reo Māori Thanking Apologising - Arohamai.
- Nōku te hē.
- Mō taku hē.
Special occasions - Ngā mihi o te wā.
- Rā whānau!
Complimenting people | | - Understanding and using a wider variety of classroom language and formulaic expressions
| Classroom language - Whakarārangihia
- Whakaroopuhia kia tokotoru/whā/rima
- He pēne tāu?
- Tikina tō pukapuka.
- Mō taku tōmuri.
- Nau mai, haramai.
- Kati te kuaha.
- Ka haere au ki te wharepaku?
- Haere ki waho.
Language to support interactions - Kōrero anō.
- Kāore au i te mārama.
- Whakamāramahia anō.
- Kei te tika.
- Kei te mārama?
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Cultural and sociolinguistic knowledge | - There are different karakia for different purposes, such as beginning and ending, a gathering, supporting learning, offering protection, promoting well-being, or acknowledging the environment.
- Karakia can be heard at church, marae, and schools and in other social settings.
| - Participating respectfully in karakia for different purposes
- Leading karakia by selecting from a growing repertoire of karakia that suit the context and occasion
| Set phrases for leading karakia - Tēnā koutou katoa, ka tīmata ki te karakia.
- Kia karakia tātou.
- Kia īnoi tātou.
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| - Learning and reciting simple karakia supports confidence and helps to develop vocabulary and correct pronunciation.
- Learning karakia takes time and requires regular practice so that the words and meanings become familiar and understood.
- When leading, it is important to select karakia that are appropriate to the context.
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