Te Reo Māori Games are a very useful and fun way to expedite the output of language.
This PowerPoint te reo Māori freebie will be fun for you and your learners-at home or school.
When designing a really useful te reo Māori resource there are many elements to consider. Sometimes the needs of the kaiako and the learner are the same, and sometimes they are different. For example some kaiako are able to pronounce words and don’t need that support, but may need help with curriculum. On the other hand as new learners of te reo some kaiako need more support and scaffolding with pronunciation as well as visual aids and curriculum knowledge .
The challenge has been to come up with a resource which supports both learners, integrates some audio for pronunciation and incorporates word recognition and alphabet knowledge combined with the Achievement Objectives from the te reo Māori curriculum.
Greetings, farewells and acknowledgements
This rauemi Greetings, Farewells and Acknowledgements, Te Reo Word Game starts at the very beginning from our te reo Māori curriculum-
Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori – Kura Auraki
Curriculum Guidelines for Teaching and Learning Te Reo Māori in English-medium Schools: Years 1-13
Of course it’s the natural place to start as what’s the first thing we do when we see someone? Greet them.
Greetings, farewells and acknowledgements included in this resource
*Tēnā koe-Hello to one, Tēnā kōrua-hello to two, Tēna koutou-hello to 3 or more**
*Ata mārie-good morning
*Ahiahi mārie-good afternoon
*E noho rā-goodbye to those who are staying
*Haere rā-goodbye
*Ka kite āpōpō-see you tomorrow
*Hei āpōpō-until tomorrow
Acknowledgements
*Ngā mihi nui ki a koe-thank you
*Tāu kē-fantastic/great
*Ka pai tō mahi-good work
*Kia ora-hello/well done/thanks
*Aroha mai
By using these greetings, farewells and acknowledgements in te reo rather than English, would have some good reo happening in your practice. This resource will make it easy for you as it has the sound bites.
Use these phrases in conversations outside in the playground and staffroom, and spread it throughout your kura!
How many times do you greet others in English? You could say “Ka pai tō mahi” instead of good work.
When your lovelies leave for the day do you say “Hei āpōpō”, or “ka kite anō”?
This digital resource will help you do that. There is plenty of opportunity for word production, repetition and it would make a great warm up -either one phrase or a few.
The “Kchings” will motivate your learners to get the phrases “right”
This will engage your tamariki and will help them write and spell te reo Māori.
A colleague told me of an assessment she had taken with her Year 6’s. After having te reo throughout the school from Year 1 they were able to greet, and say various words and phrases…. But when it came to writing these they misspelt the kupu. Why? Because there was no emphasis on reading and writing in te reo. No letter or alphabet recognition. Think about learning English. What would happen if we only communicated verbally and didn’t read or write? Auē, we would be illiterate.
Student voice
What do our tauira say about learning?
A group of young learners who were interviewed identified the aspects of online digital learning they enjoyed. Among the learning elements the tamariki identified were, repeating/reviewing, variation and having control over their own learning. Game elements valued by the children included challenge, self-control, instant feedback, noise interaction and applause.
How to play this te reo game
- Each page has two sections: the letter tile buttons (green) and the game board (gray).
- The tiles in lighter colour indicate the number of words and letters in the phrase.
- Click on a letter button to guess.
- The correct letter tile will appear on the game board and on the area below it.
- When you click on a letter button which is not in the phrase, the letter tile will only appear below but not on the gameboard.
- Click the buttons until you complete the phrase on the game board.
Audio for pronunciation
Finally, when you push the arrow in the top right corner a picture of the phrase will come up. This is accompanied by a sound bite to help kaiako with pronunciation.
Alphabet knowledge
In developing your learners spelling skills, it is essential that they first know the difference between vowels (oropuare) and consonants (orokati). Moreover, they should also know the difference between the long and short vowels; in the case of Māori, vowels with and without macron (tohutō). Use this great guide to pronunciation.
Once they recognise the letters, they should be able to associate them with their corresponding sounds.
Finally, these skills will then lead them to a higher order of phonological awareness including knowledge of syllables, initial sounds, blending sounds, and rhymes.
Suggestions for the kaiako
- This file is in PowerPoint Show format. It will work on any version of PowerPoint but it’s best to have the latest Microsoft 365 PowerPoint to maximise the functions rendered in the game. It doesn’t work on google slides as GS doesn’t have all of the animation/audio abilities that Powerpoint has.
- Learners can also play this as a whole class (for input purposes) or as teams (for evaluation purposes). You can flash the game on a screen using a projector or you can simply access it on a smartboard if available. Also, make sure you connect your laptop to a speaker because the game has sound bites for pronunciation . One to listen to and the other to repeat.
- If this is to be played as a contest, you may decide first how many teams are going to play, depending on the size of the class. Always make sure that everybody can participate. This is a good opportunity for tuakana/teina mahi.
- Finally, it may be just for your personal use or for your tamariki at home to help with their spelling.
Posters resource
This means you have the audio (pronunciation) visual and spelling. These posters which are also available can be prompts to remind your learners to kōrero Māori.
I am happy to be able to offer this as a te reo Māori FREEBIE. If you would like to use this please download from the subscription box below.
(If you don’t want to subscribe to the blog just “unsubscribe” after you have downloaded the game.)
Again, this is in PowerPoint show format and you will need to have PowerPoint downloaded on your device. It doesn’t work with Google slides. However, I know many of you use PPT .
If you would like to purchase the PDF version of the Greetings, Farewells and Acknowledgements they are available here-h
The te reo Greetings is also part of the really helpful School Bundle Te Reo Maori in Mainstream Schools
I hope this will be of help to kaiako who are new learners of our te reo Māori , and learners at home.
