Matariki and Māori Language Week

TKI Hot Topic for June 2003

June and July 2003 represent significant months for Māori this year – Matariki, the Māori New Year, is celebrated in June and July celebrates te reo with Māori Language Week from 27 July – 3 August 2003.

This TKI Hot Topic provides material to support the teaching of both of these topics in your classroom.

Matariki

In late May, the constellation of stars known as Matariki rises approximately half an hour before the sun. Approaching the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere, Matariki marks the time when the sun, drifting north, turns around when it reaches Matariki and starts moving south again. In Māori mythology Matariki and her six daughters assisted Ra (the sun) whose winter journey from the North left him weakened. Traditionally, a look-out was posted to watch for the rise of Matariki.

The next new moon following the rise of Matariki signals the start of Matariki celebrations and also marks Whetū o te tau, the Aotearoa-Pacific New Year. 1 July is the date of the new moon in 2003.

Matariki is celebrated widely in the Pacific – where it is also known as Matali'i, Mataliki, Makali'i, Mata-ali'I, and Makahiki. Several other cultures around the world recognise the signficance of Matariki. In Greece, for example, the constellation is known as Pleiades, and a number of temples face towards the constellation.

There are a number of Matariki celebrations being staged throughout New Zealand. Visit some of the sites below and contact your local council to see how your region is celebrating Matariki.

Māori Language Week

Māori Language Week 2003 is between 27 July – 3 August. It is an opportunity to celebrate te reo Māori for fluent speakers and learners alike. Activities are being held throughout the country. For a list of activities, check the Māori Language Commission website: http://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/english/events_e/mlweek/

To increase the use of te reo in your classroom, there are a number of useful downloadable resources amongst the links below. They include Māori alphabet charts that can be laminated and put up on your classroom wall, and certificates written in te reo that you can give to your students.

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Resources on TKI

Matariki events and astronomy sites

Matariki - The Māori New Year
This is the Matariki (Māori New Year) website of the Māori Language Commission. The aim of this site is to provide information about the Māori New Year, and to provide some ideas for Matariki celebrations. There is a teachers' section, an events section, a proverbs section, and a number of downloadable resources.
http://www.matariki.net.nz

Matariki at Te Papa
Te Papa is hosting a large number of Matariki activities and events. Find out about what's going on and how you can be a part of the celebrations.
http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/WhatsOn/Events/AnnualEvents/MatarikiFestival/
http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/Learning/OnlineResources/Matariki/

Astronomy In Your Hands – bilingual star wheel
Download an activity to make a star wheel in either Māori or English. Can you find Matariki and plot it on your chart?
http://www.astronomyinyourhands.com/starwheel/starwheel.html#Bilingual
from http://www.astronomyinyourhands.com

A Teapot in Paradise
This website features the terms for Māori star and constellation names used most frequently in literature. These terms have been compiled from published star names and are designed to create a list of names that can be used to label stars on a map.
http://www.teapot.orcon.net.nz/maori_star_names.html

QuizIt – Solar System
Students can use this interactive online QuizIt to test their knowledge of the solar system.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/quizit/?id=49

Te Ao Hurihuri
Te Ao Hurihuri is a multimedia collection of resources in te reo Māori based on Māori cosmology and astronomy. The online component is a graphic and sound rich presentation. It is advisable to download the files from the website to your computer, if your Internet connection is 56K or slower – this takes approximately 20 minutes. The site includes a glossary and teachers' notes. An accompanying video, set of readers, big book and CD-ROM are also available from the creator of this resource.
http://www.hana.co.nz/teao.html

Māori Language Week

Alphabet
This NARTAM Māori language unit, is an alphabet activity that can be cut out, laminated and put on display.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/nartam/Unit_plans/UAlphabet_activities_m.php

Building Your Reo
A site to help improve your pronunciation of Māori. The site has eight lessons – click on a word or phrase and the correct pronunciation will be delivered. Designed for NZEI members, this self-paced learning tool will help teachers build confidence to include more Māori words in their school or centre programmes.
http://www.nzei.org.nz/reo2/index.html

Creating Books in Languages Other Than English – ICT Learning Experience
This ICT Learning Experience explains how instructional reading material for bilingual students, in their own dialect, can be created using Microsoft PowerPoint software. Books are based on classroom experiences or activities, and can be read electronically, or be printed and read. It has been developed by Paihia School Cluster as part of the ICT Professional Development Clusters Project.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ict/ictpd/LOTE_books_e.php

Te Karere
Te Karere is a television news programme that broadcasts Māori issues that are of national significance, in the Māori language. Te Karere is streamed live in RealVideo each weekday at 4.40pm. Programmes are subsequently archived for one week, and available on demand.
http://tvone.nzoom.com/programmes/te_karere/
Requires http://www.real.com/player/index.html?src=991129realhome_1

wickED Wassup Wiki
This web page features Tena koutou katoa – a student's mihi and an opportunity to share your mihi, a whakatauki of the week, tangata rongonui (a profile of famous Māori New Zealanders), katakata mai (jokes), kupu hou (Māori words that can be used to make a puzzle), and hei mahi (a challenge for students). These components aim to provide topical and relevant activities for students in te reo.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/say/wassup_wiki.php

Te Wharekura
This section of Te Kete Ipurangi contains an online version of the Wharekura series of miscellanies and single-topic books for intermediate and advanced learners of Māori. They are at an interest level for most secondary-school-age students, but suitable also for fluent speakers and readers of Māori in the primary school.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/maori/wharekura/index_m.php

Wharenui
Wharenui is a bilingual interactive designed for students to learn the different parts of the wharenui (whare tipuna). Students choose a picture starter of either the exterior of the wharenui, the tukutuku panels, or the kowhaiwhai panels, to begin the activity. Select and drag the word onto the correct part of the picture to read an explanation of this part of the wharenui, then practise the name of this part by typing it, and listening to the correct pronunciation.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/say/wharenui.php

wickED Maths Stuff Interactives
This web page features links to interactive mathematics activites in Māori. These interactives were designed to develop and maintain recall of basic facts and calculation skills, including order of operations. The activities include Whakarewa, Matho, Matho 2, and Kopu Mahatanga.
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/maths/interactives_m.php

wickED Tangata Rongonui
This web page features links to the answers a variety of Māori role models have shared when interviewed. From here you can find out such things as the person's favourite pastime and what the "grossest thing" in their fridge is!
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/say/tangata_rongonui/archive_list.php

Please note: These links were valid when this page was posted. However the Web is very volatile, and TKI has no control over outside websites. Please let us know if you find anything inappropriate, if you find a broken link, or if you have an update for a link by emailing links@tki.org.nz. Te Kete Ipurangi recommends that teachers view all websites we link to before using them with students.

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