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Kua Mau Nakai a Koe, ma Maia? Teacher support material

 by Joan Makisi

This story supports:

  • Unit 2 Magafaoa/Family
  • Unit 7 Kaina/Home

Schools, ECE centres and education providers can order the set of six Haia! An Introduction to Vagahau Niue storybooks from  Down the back of the chair. Enter item number MOE11625 into the search box.

Text Features

Language features

The language features of this story include:

  • expressions of time – Ko e pogipogi Aho Gofua / It is Monday morning
  • words transliterated from English words – telefoni, sofa, Agikolo, penetala
  • repetition of structures – Kua mau nakai a koe, ma Maia? / Are you ready yet, Maia?; Nākai, ai la mau ia au/I’m not ready yet
  • use of nakai in a question and nākai to indicate a negative – Kua mau nakai a koe, ma Maia? / Are you ready yet, Maia?; Nākai, ai la mau ia au/No, I’m not ready yet
  • common formulaic expressions – Fakaaue, ma Mama / Thanks, Mum; Ko e haau, ma Maia/It’s for you, Maia; Kua mau nakai a koe? / Are you ready yet?
  • terms for family members, including familiar forms of address – taokete/older sister; Mama/Mum; Papa/Dad; Agikolo/Uncle; Nena/Nana
  • ma before a person’s name when addressing them directly – Fakaaue, ma Agikolo / Thanks, Uncle
  • expressions of place – he poko kaitunu / in the kitchen; he poko koukou / in the bathroom; he fale ha Maia/at Maia’s house; he fuga sofa / on the sofa
  • vocabulary for rooms in a house – poko mohe / bedroom; fale unu / laundry
  • pronouns – koe/you (singular); mutolu/you (plural)
  • the particle kua to indicate a completed action in the present tense – Kua mau tai au / Now I’m ready.

Cultural features

The cultural features in this story include the following.

  • The Niue word for Monday is Aho Gofua. The word gofua expresses the meaning of being allowed to do something. So Monday is the day when you are again allowed to do other things after the day dedicated to family and religious matters (Sunday).
  • The story shows the value of loto fakalilifu / respect – Maia always thanks the person who responds to her question, and she says goodbye to her family before leaving for school.
  • In the text, fale unu is used for laundry – a reminder of traditional Niue housing arrangements. The text also uses poko kaitunu / kitchen, although other texts may use peito.
  • The text shows various family members living in the same house. This is a point of discussion, as family living patterns can vary across cultures and in individual households. Many Niue families have members of the extended family living in the same household.

Links to the New Zealand Curriculum

Key competencies

Reading and working with Kua Mau Nakai a Koe, ma Maia? could help students develop key competencies set out in the New Zealand Curriculum: Key Competencies.

Values

The story illustrates values that relate to the New Zealand Curriculum: Values and to the core Niue value of loto fakalilifu/respect.

Cross-curricular links

Learners who are working at levels 1–2 in Niue may be working at higher curriculum levels in other learning areas. You will need to consider this in order to make effective cross-curricular links. Here are two examples of cross-curricular achievement objectives that could be linked to this story:

Social sciences, level 3

Students will gain knowledge, skills, and experience to:

  • Understand how cultural practices vary but reflect similar purposes
  • Understand how people view and use places differently.

Learning languages: Achievement objectives

Students will:

  • receive and produce information
  • produce and respond to questions and requests
  • show social awareness when interacting with others

(Communication strand, relating to selected linguistic and sociocultural contexts)

  • recognise that the target language is organised in particular ways
  • make connections with their own language(s)

(Language knowledge strand)

  • recognise that the target culture is organised in particular ways
  • make connections with known culture(s).

(Cultural knowledge strand)

Tau Hatakiaga ma e Vagahau Niue: The Niue Language Guidelines, levels 1 and 2

Students will:

  • give and respond to personal information (1.1)
  • respond to and express agreement and disagreement and ask for assistance (1.6)
  • use language, positioning, and movement to show respect (1.8).

Learning outcomes

Below are some possible learning outcomes for reading this story. Select from and adapt these to meet the needs of your students and share the outcomes with them.

After reading and working with this story, I will be able to:

  • read the story and understand it
  • give examples of how vagahau Niue and aga fakamotu are organised in particular ways
  • ask and respond to questions about who does chores
  • make connections with the language(s) and culture(s) I know.

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