Start of class

• Kaiako and ākonga remove shoes when entering the akomanga
• Strong emphasis on tikanga at the start of class
• Uses the wheelofnames.com website to randomly elect who will be the kaiwhakahaere of the class – this is the person who selects who will lead the karakia, the hīmene, and who stands to mihi.
• Karakia tīmatanga was Te Karakia mō Te Reo Māori (nā Tā Kingi Matutaera Ihaka)
• Mihimihi is delivered by a Year 13 ākonga (reads from his book)
• Waiata hīmene is Whakataka te Hay (sung by the whole class)
• Whaea Waitonga does the roll call
• Introduction of the new ākonga in the akomanga
• Whakataukī o te rā – Toitū te mara a Tāne, toitū te marae a Tangaroa, toitū te whenua

Tikanga i roto i te Akomanga

I have been pondering ways to normalise tikanga, whakataukī, mihi, and waiata into my classroom routine. Tikanga and te reo Māori go hand-in-hand and are interdependent on one another. Koia e kīia nei, “ko te reo me ngā tikanga.” Whaea Waitonga has provided an avenue to explore and try. We do karakia, but we do not have a kaiwhakahaere, we do not sing a hīmene, nor do I have my ākonga stand to do a mihi. I also want to start introducing a new whakataukī at the beginning of each lesson.

Level 1 – Year 11 Class

1. Tikanga – Karakia/Mihimihi/Hīmene
2. Information transfer exercise – preparing for Waihanga Tuhinga assessment
3. Announcing trip for Senior Waka Hourua trip – must ask how they organised this and who with?
4. Talks about the tikanga process for the whakatau for next weeks trips
5. Announcement 
6. Kaiako reads out the paragraph and ākonga draw a picture
7. Karakia Whakamutunga

Kaiako Māori are Realistic and Resourceful

This kaiako does a lot of whakarongo tasks with her ākonga. She understands that whakarongo is the first skill that must be mastered in order to master the other language modes. The whakarongo scripts she uses are the assessments from the TKI website. Whaea Waitonga is realistic when she comments that the students are not at the proficiency level to be able to pass these assessments without some assistance. She uses the same assessment but often changes it slightly.

Level 3 – Year 13 Class

1. Tikanga – Karakia/Mihimihi/Hīmene
2. Working on Te Awa Rere booklet
3. Mahere Kupu – Word Map
4. Karakia Whakamutunga (i.e., Unuhia, Unuhia, Unuhia)

Kaiako-Ākonga Relationships

Ākonga demonstrate respect and admiration for their kaiako, who holds herself with her head high. She models self-pride and self-confidence in her Māori identity. Three students arrive late with passes. No students are using their phones. Although these are standard routines in most schools, punctuality, and appropriate device use in the classroom are a school-wide issue for our kura.

Te Ora o te Reo

• There is a genuine hunger for te reo Māori by all her ākonga who walk through her doors.
• One ākonga was preparing for Ngā Manu Korero.
• One Year 11 ākonga answers all the pātai very confidently, thus demonstrating good understanding of the kōrero Whaea Waitonga dictates to the class