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- Reka te Rutu Pa‘u TSM >
- Activities
Activities
Before reading
Introducing the drumming topic
- Ask the students what they know about Cook Islands drums. Display their responses on a chart.
- Read (or reread) the Cook Islands Māori Tupu book Pupu rutu pa‘u. Discuss the drum images on pages 5–9 and then refer to the descriptions on page 16. In pairs, students could ask each other – “Ea‘a tērā?” while pointing to each drum image and reply, “E pa‘u mangō tērā.” (or whatever drum is being referred to).
- Using this information, have each student begin the following KWL chart by filling in the first two columns. (They will complete the last column at the end of the lesson.)
| KWL chart – What I know about Cook Islands drums |
||
|---|---|---|
| What I Know | What I Want to know | What I have Learned |
Pronunciation of new language
Check the words in the glossary (on the inside back cover of the book). If possible, ask a speaker of Cook Islands Māori to model the correct pronunciation of any unfamiliar words for you and the students. This person could read the story to you and the class as the first reading, or you could record them reading it and play it to the class.
Introducing the book
Hold up the storybook Reka te Rutu Pa‘u beside the Tupu book Pupu Rutu Pa‘u. Ask what is the same and different about them. Have the students predict the content of Reka te Rutu Pa‘u and record their predictions.
Learning intentions
Share the learning intentions or co-construct them with your students. Some examples of possible learning intentions for reading this story are given below.
After reading the text, I will be able to:
- innovate on some of the structures in the story
- use the question and answer structures Tei‘ ea te ? Tei ________
- identify different Cook Islands drums and say which one I want, for example, “Ka ‘inangaro au ‘i te pātē arataki”
- talk about what I would like to do today and tomorrow
- compare the information in two books about drumming written in simple Cook Islands Māori.
Talk about how the students will know they have met the learning intention, and decide on success criteria together.
Reading the text
Read the story aloud to the students, asking questions about how the information compares with the information in Pupu Rutu Pa‘u. The students could record their ideas on a piece of paper as you read. For example, they may notice that the Tupu book describes the actual drums and their sounds but the storybook describes the call that begins a drumming session.
After the first reading with its focus on comparing the two books, go through the text page by page as a class again. Prompt the students to use the illustrations and the words they know to work out what each page means.
For example, on pages 2–3, you could quickly revise asking and answering questions about where things are in the classroom. Then have the students read the sentences that ask where the drumsticks are, and the phrases that state where the drumsticks are.
On page 9, read the first two sentences together and ask the students what Pāpā Faimau is saying. Talk about the meaning of reka (good) and how tikāi (really) intensifies the meaning to “really good”. Read the last sentence “Kā rutu aka‘ou”, and briefly discuss the structures “Reka tikāi te [rutu]” (The [drumming] is really good) and “Kā [rutu] aka‘ou” (Let’s [drum] again).
On page 11, you could discuss as a class what the dialogue means. Prompt the students to construct their own sentences saying what they would like to do ‘i tēia rā (today) and āpōpō (tomorrow). For example, “ ‘I tēia rā, ka ‘inangaro au ‘i te rutu” (Today, I want to drum) or “Ka ‘inangaro au ‘i te rutu āpōpō” (I want to drum tomorrow).
Invite the students to read through the story aloud in small groups. Each student reads the part of one character on each page. Their goal is to read fluently, with correct pronunciation and expression. Each can give their partner feedback on this.
After reading
Discuss the events of the story. Were they what the students had predicted? Focus on aspects that relate to the learning intentions, for example, the names of the drums or how the drummers say what they would like. Encourage the students to contribute what they found out.
Ask simple questions about the people in the story, for example, Ko‘ai te ingoa o te puāpi‘i? Ko‘ai te ingoa o te tamaiti rutu pa‘u mangō?
Innovate together on the structures (from page 9) “Reka tikāi te [rutu]” (The [drumming] is really good) or “Kā [rutu] aka‘ou” (Let’s [drum] again). For example, Reka tikāi te kai/ The food is great, or Reka tikāi te tangi pātē/ The sound of the drums is great.
The students could role-play, using the language of the story or innovating on it. This could include using the question and answer structures Tei ‘ea te …? Tei [raro/roto] ‘i te [name of container], saying which drums they want, or talking about what they would like to do today and tomorrow. They could begin by role-playing a part of the story, such as the dialogue between Pāpā Faimau, No‘oroa, and Matake‘u, and go on to role-play other parts of the story or to make up their own stories.
As a class, share ideas about the information in the two drumming books. Record all their ideas on the board and then organise them under headings, for example, “Information about what the drums look like”, “Information about the process of drumming”. Talk about other ways in which the two books differ, for example, the Tupu book appears to be a recount of actual events, illustrated with photos, while the storybook is fictional and has a theme relating to the importance of punctuality.
Review the students’ knowledge of Cook Islands drums and drumming and the related language by asking them questions like the following.
E a‘a te ingoa o te au pa‘u? [A: pa‘u, pa‘u mangō, pātē tāngarongaro, pātē arataki, pāte tangi ‘aka‘aka]
E a‘a te ingoa o te rākau rutu? [A: tōkere]
Reflecting on the learning
Have the students complete the final column of their KWL chart and explain what they have learned to a partner. Have them also refer to their learning intentions and reflect individually about whether they have fulfilled the intentions. Ask them questions such as:
- What information did you find in each book?
- How can you use the new language and remember it?
- What have you learned about being part of a Cook Islands drumming group?
- What do you think are the next steps in your learning?
The students could record this information.