📚Unit Plans → 🌱Y4–6 Starter Pack → 2Te Whare Tapa Whā
Years 4–6 (Phase 2 Primary) Hauora / Health & PE

Lesson 2: Te Whare Tapa Whā in Our Daily Lives

Phase 2 Primary (Years 4–6). Tamariki explore Sir Mason Durie's Te Whare Tapa Whā model of holistic Hauora, completing Section 2 of their Learning Portfolio.

Lesson at a Glance | He Tirohanga Whakamua

Building Analogy PromptWhat happens to a house if one of its four walls falls down?10 min
The 4 Walls WorkshopExploring Taha Tinana, Taha Hinengaro, Taha Whānau, and Taha Wairua15 min
Classroom Hauora AuditIdentifying how our daily school activities nourish each wall15 min
Portfolio EntryWrite Section 2: My Personal Hauora House & Wellbeing Plan10 min
Wall CheckShare 1 daily goal to strengthen one wall of your Whare Tapa Whā5 min

Ngā Whāinga Ako | Learning Intentions

Tamariki will know

  • The 4 dimensions of Te Whare Tapa Whā (Sir Mason Durie):
    • Taha Tinana: Physical health & body movement
    • Taha Hinengaro: Mental & emotional health
    • Taha Whānau: Family & social relationships
    • Taha Wairua: Values, identity & spiritual wellbeing
  • How to balance all 4 walls to stay strong, happy, and resilient at school.

Tamariki will demonstrate

  • By completing the four pre-labelled Te Whare Tapa Whā wall reflections in their portfolio, then choosing one wall to strengthen and writing one daily action for it.
  • By completing Section 2 of their Y4–6 Learning Portfolio.

Do Now | Tīmatanga Whakaaro (10 min)

The Four-Walled House Prompt:

"If a wharenui (meeting house) has four sturdy walls supporting the roof, what happens if the physical wall or the family wall collapses?"

Unpack: The house sags! Just like a house, our personal wellbeing (Hauora) needs all four dimensions—body, mind, family, and values—working together to keep us standing tall!

Te Whare Tapa Whā Breakdown (15 min)

1. Taha Tinana (Body) & Taha Hinengaro (Mind)

Drinking water, playing tag, getting enough sleep (Tinana). Expressing feelings, reading, trying new challenges (Hinengaro).

2. Taha Whānau (Social) & Taha Wairua (Values)

Helping a buddy, sharing lunch, making new friends (Whānau). Standing up for what is right, nature connection (Wairua).

Classroom Hauora Audit (15 min)

Now they test the model against their own week. In pairs, tamariki walk through a normal school day and work out which wall each part of it feeds.

1. Audit the real timetable

Take today's actual timetable — morning circle, reading, break, PE, lunch, buddy class — and label each one with the wall it strengthens. Some feed two. Some feed none, and saying so is a real finding.

2. Find the thin wall

Count the tallies. Which wall gets fed least in our week? Agree one change the class could actually make — a karakia to open the day, a buddy check-in, ten minutes outside.

Kaiako note: Te Whare Tapa Whā is Sir Mason Durie's model (1984). Taha wairua is the wall most often skipped in a classroom audit because it is hardest to timetable — name that honestly rather than filling it in to make the house look even.

📁 Y4–6 Learning Portfolio — Section 2: Te Whare Tapa Whā

Tamariki open Section 2 of their Y4–6 Learning Portfolio:

Section 2 Requirements:

1. My Hauora House: In each of the four walls — Taha Tinana, Taha Hinengaro, Taha Whānau, Taha Wairua — write one thing that is already strong for you, and one thing you could build up.

2. Daily Hauora Action Plan: Pick the wall you most want to strengthen this week, and write one daily action for it in your portfolio — one wall, one action you will actually do at school.

Exit Verification | Ka Mutu Hoki (5 min)

Exit Check:

"My Section 2 maps out my 4 Hauora walls, names the one wall I am strengthening this week, and states my daily action for it."

Teacher Planning & Curriculum Links

Curriculum: no Phase 2 statement is claimed for this lesson. It draws on Sir Mason Durie's Te Whare Tapa Whā model rather than a single curriculum statement. The one statement this unit does teach is quoted in full, with its curriculum ID, in the unit's Curriculum Links.

Vocabulary: Hauora, Te Whare Tapa Whā, Taha Tinana, Taha Hinengaro, Taha Whānau, Taha Wairua.