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You do not have to use all the activities suggested below. Choose from and adapt them to suit your students’ needs.
Display the cover of the book. Tell the students to work in pairs and discuss (in Niue as much as possible) what and who they can see in the illustrations. Confirm that in English the title means “The Beach at Avatele”.
You could have the students work in pairs to research Avatele and share what they have learned (in English). During this discussion, highlight or introduce key Niue vocabulary for reading the story.
Give students copies of the book and read and discuss page 2 together. Create a table like the one below to help students identify the main ideas and the language. Together, fill in the table for page 2, using Niue as much as possible but allowing English when necessary. Encourage the students to contribute what they can infer from the text and illustrations as well as what they read and see.
Lau/page
Ko hai? / Who?
Fe fē ha lautolu a tau logonaaga? / How are they feeling?
Ko e hā? / Why?
Tau matakavi / places
Fe fē e tau matakavi ia? / What are the places like?
For pages 3–8, have students work in pairs to read each page and fill in the table. After the pairs have worked through two or three pages (depending on the needs of your students), discuss their ideas as a group, write up the relevant language and cultural aspects, and fill in a shared version of the table. As you work though the text, support the students to:
As a class, identify key unfamiliar words or expressions (in the text or the discussion). Record the words and expressions on the board.
Support students to notice patterns of language, for example, Kua mainiini a Loi mo Iakopo ke ō ke koukou tahi/Loi and Iakopo are excited about going swimming; Vela hā ia. Omai la kekoukou/It’s so hot. Let’s swim. After reading, you can show students how they can use these patterns in other contexts. Provide opportunities for them to practise and then use the language to communicate.
Reading aloud
Have the students take turns in groups to read the story aloud. One person can act as the narrator to read all the parts that are not dialogue. Ask group members to give one another feedback as they practise, congratulating each other by saying mitaki or suggesting they try again to get the pronunciation right. You may wish to get fluent vagahau Niue readers to help others with their pronunciation.
Plays
Have the students work in groups to prepare short plays summarising the main events of the story. Each member of their group will take the part of one of the characters or the narrator.
You could record these plays on video. You can then play the video so that students can review their performances and receive and give feedback on them. This feedback may include:
Posters
Have students prepare posters advertising the kaloama season in Niue and the attractions of the beach at Avatele. The posters should contain written text in vagahau Niue and visual material. Display the posters.
Presentations in English
Discuss aspects of aga fakamotu in the story and the Niue values the story expresses. Assign research tasks to pairs or individual students to find out more information about life in Niue, aga fakamotu, and Niue values.
Some possible topics for presentations are:
Help the students to review their goals for working with this text, individually and as a class. You can help them reflect not only on their learning but also on how they learn. Students could share these reflections with another student, with a small group of students, or with the whole class. As a prompt, ask the students questions such as:
For example, a student might say: “I can now describe some places in vagahau Niue.”