Hangarau Matihiko / Digital Technology · Year 7 · Computational Thinking

Coding Projects Inspired by Māori Patterns

Use algorithms and loops in Scratch to recreate kōwhaiwhai, koru, tukutuku, and raranga patterns. Every Māori pattern carries a mathematical structure — when you find it, you can teach a computer to draw it.

Ingoa / Name

Rā / Date

Akomanga / Class

Resources already provided

Access to Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) or Scratch Desktop
This printed handout for reference while coding
Pencil/pen for sketching patterns in the planning boxes
Ruler (optional — for drawing grid-based tukutuku plans)

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions

Recognise the repeating mathematical structures inside Māori visual patterns
Use loops (repeat blocks) and motion blocks in Scratch to recreate a pattern algorithmically
Decompose a complex design into smaller, codeable steps
Reflect on how mātauranga Māori and computational thinking share a common value: precision and purposeful structure

Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria

I can identify the repeating unit in a Māori pattern and describe it in steps
I can write a Scratch script using at least one repeat loop to draw or animate a pattern
I can explain the connection between my code and the pattern's mathematical structure
I can add cultural context (te reo label, whakaaro) explaining what my chosen pattern means

Ngā Āhua Māori — The Patterns & Their Algorithms

Every Māori pattern has a repeating unit — the smallest chunk that gets copied, rotated, or reflected to build the whole design. Finding this unit is the first step in writing the code.

🌀 Koru

Meaning: Unfurling fern frond — growth, new life, harmony.
Algorithm: A spiral built from a loop that moves forward a little more each step while turning a fixed angle. The step length grows → the spiral expands outward.

〰️ Kowhaiwhai

Meaning: Rafter patterns in wharenui — genealogy, identity, protection.
Algorithm: A curved or scrolled unit that is repeated along a line, then the whole line reflected below a centre axis. Two sides mirror each other.

⬛ Tukutuku

Meaning: Lattice panels in wharenui — stars, mountains, connecting people.
Algorithm: A strict grid. Each cross-stitch is a fixed position in a rows × columns structure. Perfect for nested loops: repeat rows { repeat columns { stamp } }.

🔲 Raranga (Weaving)

Meaning: Woven patterns in kete/mats — mathematical precision, whanaungatanga (interlinking).
Algorithm: Alternating over/under creates a binary pattern (1 = over, 0 = under). A loop that swaps colour every second position reproduces the weave.

Project 1 — Koru Spiral

Difficulty: ⭐⭐ · Scratch blocks needed: Motion, Pen, Control

Step 1 — Set up Go to the Pen extension. Add a sprite (use the arrow or draw your own). At the start: pen down, set pen colour to green, set pen size to 2.

Step 2 — The growing spiral loop Use a set [steps] to 5 variable. Inside a repeat 80 block: move [steps] steps, turn 15 degrees, change [steps] by 0.3.

Step 3 — Add the koru head After the spiral, add a small circle using repeat 36 { move 5, turn 10 }. This creates the rounded tip of the koru.

Step 4 — Reflect on your code Where in your code does the "growth" happen? Which number controls how tight the spiral is? Try changing the turn angle — what happens?

-- Koru Spiral (pseudocode) --
set pen colour to #2d6a4f  // deep green
pen down
set [steps] to 5
repeat 80 {
  move [steps] steps
  turn right 15 degrees
  change [steps] by 0.3   // spiral grows each loop
}
// koru head
repeat 36 {
  move 5 steps
  turn right 10 degrees
}
      

🌀 Koru Challenge

Can you make three koru that start from the same centre point, each rotated 120° apart? (Hint: after each koru, lift the pen, go back to centre, turn 120°, put pen down again.)

Cultural connection: The koru — the unfurling spiral frond — is one of the most widespread forms in kōwhaiwhai, tā moko and weaving. Particular arrangements of koru carry particular meanings for particular iwi and artists, and those meanings are held by the people who make and inherit the patterns; they are not fixed in a lookup table. If your project uses a pattern with a story behind it, ask and credit the source rather than assigning it a meaning yourself.

Project 2 — Tukutuku Grid

Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐ · Scratch blocks needed: Control (nested loops), Variables, Pen/Stamp

Step 1 — Plan your pattern on paper first Sketch a 6×6 grid below. Shade the squares that would be "dark" in your tukutuku pattern. Common motifs: poutama (staircase), kaokao (ribs), niho taniwha (shark's tooth).

Step 2 — Nested loops for rows and columns Set [col] to 1. Repeat 6 (rows): set [row] to 1, repeat 6 (columns): stamp a small square sprite at position (col×20 − 60, 60 − row×20), change [col] by 1. After inner loop, change [row] by 1, reset [col] to 1.

Step 3 — Add the alternating colour Before stamping, use an if block: if (col + row) mod 2 = 0, set colour to dark, else set colour to light. This creates the woven look automatically.

-- Tukutuku Grid (pseudocode) --
set [row] to 1
repeat 6 {                         // 6 rows
  set [col] to 1
  repeat 6 {                       // 6 columns
    go to x: (col×20-70) y: (70-row×20)
    if ([col]+[row]) mod 2 = 0 {
      set colour effect to 0       // dark stitch
    } else {
      set colour effect to 50      // light stitch
    }
    stamp
    change [col] by 1
  }
  change [row] by 1
}
      

⬛ Tukutuku Challenge

Change your nested loops to create the poutama (staircase) pattern — a diagonal strip that steps up from left to right. In te ao Māori, poutama represents the levels of achievement in learning, and the ascent to knowledge.

My Pattern Project — Planning

Choose ONE pattern type for your own Scratch project. Answer the questions below before you start coding.

Pattern type I'm coding:

Cultural meaning — what does this pattern represent?

What is the repeating unit? Describe it in steps (your algorithm):

Scratch blocks I'll need:

How will I add cultural context to my project? (e.g. a te reo label, a whakataukī, a brief explanation):

Whakaaro / Reflection

What was the hardest part of turning the pattern into code? How did you work through it?
How is debugging code similar to fixing a mistake in weaving or carving?
If you were teaching a younger student about your pattern, what would you say about its cultural meaning?
Which Scratch blocks did you find most powerful for creating repeating patterns, and why?

Curriculum alignment

This handout supports the Hangarau Matihiko / Digital Technologies learning area of Te Mātaiaho, the refreshed NZ Curriculum, at Phase 3 (Years 7–8). It addresses the following progress outcomes:

Computational Thinking: Ākonga decompose problems into components and design algorithms — including loops and conditionals — to solve them systematically.
Developing Digital Outcomes: Ākonga design and create digital outcomes (including programs and interactive media) for known purposes and audiences.
Digital Literacy: Ākonga understand that digital tools and systems reflect and embed cultural values; they apply this understanding when creating their own digital outcomes.

The integration of Māori visual art contexts supports the Te Tiriti o Waitangi principle of the NZ Curriculum — ensuring all learners engage with the mātauranga and toi Māori dimensions of their learning.

Te Ao Māori & Computational Thinking

This handout sits within a kaupapa that recognises mātauranga Māori as a living knowledge system with its own frameworks, values, and ways of understanding the world. Māori visual art — kōwhaiwhai, tukutuku, raranga, whakairo — has always been deeply mathematical. Tohunga whakairo (master carvers) and tohunga tā moko work with proportion, symmetry, recursion and transformation as living practice — ideas their traditions hold, teach and refine in their own right.

Kaitiakitanga applies to knowledge as well as land: when we code with Māori patterns, we have a responsibility to understand what we are creating, treat it respectfully, and acknowledge its whakapapa. Whanaungatanga is visible in the structure of the patterns themselves — individual elements (people, relationships) interlocking to form something greater than the sum of their parts, just as individual sprites and loops combine in Scratch to produce something beautiful and whole.

The poutama — the stepped pattern seen in tukutuku and kōwhaiwhai — is widely used as a symbol of growth and climbing toward knowledge, and it carries specific meanings for the iwi and artists who use it. One classroom reading of it: each loop in your code is one step up the staircase, and the program only climbs because every step is built.