Lesson at a Glance | He Tirohanga Whakamua
Ngā Whāinga Ako | Learning Intentions
Tamariki will know
- That a pepeha names whakapapa relationships — the maunga and awa a person descends from, not the ones nearest or best-liked.
- That a mihimihi greets and acknowledges the place you live and learn, without claiming descent from it.
- How to decide which form they can use honestly, and that "I need to ask at home" is a real and respected answer.
Tamariki will demonstrate
- By writing either a confirmed pepeha or a mihimihi, with artwork of the places it names.
- By completing Section 1 of their Y4–6 Learning Portfolio.
Do Now | Tīmatanga Whakaaro (10 min)
Two kinds of knowing:
"There is a maunga you can see from school. There is a maunga your whānau descends from. Are they the same thing?"
Unpack: for Māori, a maunga or awa named in a pepeha is an ancestor — the connection is whakapapa, not fondness or distance. So "I can see it", "I like it", and "I live near it" are all true and all useful, but none of them makes a maunga tōku maunga. Only whānau or another trusted whakapapa source can tell a learner that.
Kaiako: some tamariki will already know their lines. Some will need to ask at home. Some will not have that information, and that is completely normal — Lesson 1 gives every one of them real work.
Pepeha Stems & Visual Landscape (15 min)
• Ko [Maunga] tōku maunga
• Ko [Awa / Moana] tōku awa/moana
• Ko [Iwi] tōku iwi
• Ko [Name] tōku ingoa
Fill a line only when whānau or another trusted whakapapa source has confirmed it. Leaving a line blank, or writing a question to ask at home, is a complete answer.
• Kia ora koutou
• Ka mihi au ki te whenua, ki [place we live or learn]
• Nō [country / town] ahau
• Ko [Name] tōku ingoa
A mihimihi greets and acknowledges place without claiming descent from it. It is the right form for tamariki who are not Māori, who were born overseas, or who are still finding out. It is not a lesser option — both pathways complete Section 1.
Kaiako note: living near Kakepuku or the Waikato awa is real local knowledge and worth teaching. It is not evidence of whakapapa, so it belongs in a mihimihi ("Ka mihi au ki…"), not in a tōku maunga line. Use names and stories your kura's mana whenua or local curriculum source has approved.
Visual Pepeha Artwork (15 min)
Tamariki draw the places named in the introduction they chose. Pepeha or mihimihi — the artwork is the same task, and both fill the same page.
One landscape across the page: the maunga or hills you can see, the awa or moana nearest you, and the whare or kura you belong to. Layered background to foreground — this is a landscape, not a list of icons.
Draw the place you actually know instead, and write the question you will ask at home in the corner. A tamaiti who draws where they live has done the task properly.
Kaiako note: do not display these without asking each tamaiti first — some will have drawn things they were told at home, and consent to draw is not consent to display.
📁 Y4–6 Learning Portfolio — Section 1: Ko Tōku Pepeha
Tamariki open Section 1 of their Y4–6 Learning Portfolio:
Section 1 Requirements — choose your pathway:
1. Your introduction: write either a pepeha using only lines whānau has confirmed, or a mihimihi that greets and acknowledges the place you live and learn. A line you are still checking can stay blank, or be written as the question you will ask at home.
2. Visual artwork: draw the places in your introduction. If you are using a mihimihi, draw the whenua around your kura or your home. Symbols and colours are your choice.
3. One sentence of thinking: "I used ______ because ______." This is the part that is assessed.
Exit Verification | Ka Mutu Hoki (5 min)
Exit Check:
"Section 1 has my introduction, my artwork, and my one sentence of thinking."
Kaiako: displaying work is by choice. Some tamariki will happily pin artwork up; identity work is also allowed to stay in the portfolio, be shared only with you, or be shared with one trusted person. Assess the thinking sentence and the pathway decision — never how much a child was willing to disclose.
Teacher Planning & Curriculum Links
Curriculum: the one Phase 2 statement this unit teaches is quoted in full, with its curriculum ID, in the unit's Curriculum Links. One is taught by this lesson: the English statement on introductions such as pepeha and mihi. The lesson also handles identity safely — two equal pathways, disclosure by choice — but that is how it is run, not a curriculum statement it teaches, so none is claimed for it.
Vocabulary: Pepeha, maunga, awa, moana, kāinga, tūpuna, whanaungatanga.