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Ko‘ai Tērā? - teacher support material

by Tuaine Robati

This story supports Unit 5 (Tutu akara‘anga / Describing people and things).

Schools, ECE centres and education providers can order this storybook from  Down the back of the chair. Enter item number MOE33626 into the search box.

Text features

The language features of this story include:

  • repeated use of the question structure Ko‘ai tērā …? and the response structure Ko ___ tērā…
  • words for different family members – tungāne, pāpā, māmā, tuakana
  • the sentence structure for stating a person’s age – ‘Ē ta‘i nga‘uru mā varu ōna mata‘iti
  • words for colours – matie, kerekere, keukeu.

The cultural features of this story include:

  • the setting, a Cook Islands family reunion – putuputu‘anga kōpū tangata
  • specific family relationships – tōku tuakana, tungāne … tō‘ou māmā, ‘akatuakana tāua
  • the gifting of the shell necklace. In the Cook Islands culture, it is customary to give something to someone when they admire it, as the narrator does to Rongo in the story.

Supports and challenges

Students who have completed up to Unit 5 of I-E-KO-KO! may find it easy to:

  • read and understand terms for family members (learned in Unit 4)
  • identify words for colours (learned in Unit 5)
  • identify who or what is being talked about by using the pictures.

These students may find it challenging to:

  • understand cultural aspects of the family relationships (pp. 104–106 of I-E-KO-KO! include relevant information about family roles and relationships)
  • understand why the narrator gives Rongo her necklace
  • identify and understand terms for clothes.

Planning: Teaching as inquiry

Consider your students’ interests and their ability to read in Cook Islands Māori at this level and choose activities that provide appropriate content and support. Assess and reflect on the effectiveness of your teaching and the students’ learning, then plan next steps.

Curriculum links and links to I-E-KO-KO! An Introduction to Cook Islands Māori

The New Zealand Curriculum: Learning Languages

  • Students will receive and produce information. (levels 1 and 2)
  • Students will make connections with known cultures. (levels 1 and 2)

Cook Islands Māori in the New Zealand Curriculum

Students should be able to:

    • introduce themselves and others (level 1)
    • give simple personal information (level 1)
    • identify people, places, and things (level 2).

I-E-KO-KO! An Introduction to Cook Islands Māori

Unit 4: Students will be able to ask others who is in their family and say who is in their own family.

Unit 5: Students will be able to:

  • ask “Who is he/she?”
  • identify pictures of people by listening to brief descriptions.

A possible teaching goal

Students will be able to create a family tree that includes all the people named in the story and identify their relationships to one another. They will also be able to write a description of a putuputu‘anga kōpū tangata.

See also: Activities

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