Kotahi te rākau - There is one tree

Achievement objective 

1.3 Communicate about number.

Modes 

At the end of this lesson, students can: 

• Whakarongo (listen): Recognise and understand simple, familiar spoken words, phrases, and sentences. 
• Kōrero (speak): Imitate the pronunciation, intonation, stress, and rhythm of te reo Māori words, phrases, and sentences. 
• Mātakitaki (view): Interpret meanings that are conveyed in combinations of words and images or symbols. 

Materials 

See Materials that come with this resource to download Kotahi te rākau resource sheet 1F (.doc).

Lesson sequence 

1. This is a group activity. Arrange the students into groups of six. Give out to each student one illustration from Kotahi te rākau Resource Sheet 1F.

2. Ask the students to colour in the illustrations as you model the questions and answers about how many items there are. 

3. Repeat the simple questions about the number of items there are, ‘E hia ngā kau?’ ‘How many cows are there?’ The students who have the corresponding illustration should respond, ‘E whā ngā kau’ 'There are four cows’. 

E hia ngā rākau?	How many trees are there?
Kotahi te rākau.	There is one tree.
E hia ngā ipu?	How many bowls are there?
E rua ngā ipu.	There are two bowls.
E hia ngā pea?	How many pears are there?
E toru ngā pea.	There are three pears.
E hia ngā kau?	How many cows are there?
E whā ngā kau.	There are four cows.
E hia ngā hēki?	How many eggs are there?
E rima ngā hēki.	There are five eggs.
E hia ngā pōtae?	How many hats are there?
E ono ngā pōtae.	There are six hats.

4. Encourage members of each group to ask each other about the number of items there are. 

E hia ngā hēki?

E rima ngā hēki

Language to use 

Nouns 

rākau	tree	pene	pen
pea	pear	motokā	car
hēki	egg	tūru	seat
pōtae	hat	paoro	ball
ipu	bowl	kūaha	door
kau	cow	whare	house/building

 

Ngā tatau (numbers)

kotahi	one	ono	six
rua	two	whitu	seven
toru	three	waru	eight
whā	four	iwa	nine
rima	five	tekau	ten

Tips 

While there is only one tree in the illustration used in this exercise, it is correct to ask in Māori, "E hia ngā rākau?" This means "How many trees are there?" 

Discuss real life items from around the school.

Further learning 

To discuss possession of items, introduce names to the question: 

E hia ngā pea a Tio?	How many pears does Tio have?
E toru ngā pea a Tio.	Tio has three pears.
E hia ngā kau a Tinirau?	How many cows does Tinirau have?
E whā ngā kau a Tinirau.	Tinirau has four cows.

 

Note: When asking about numbers of people, you must begin the question with the word ‘Tokohia’: 

Tokohia ngā tamariki?	How many children are there?
Tokorima ngā tamariki.	There are five children.
Kotahi te tumuaki.	There is one principal.
Tokotoru ngā kaiako.	There are three teachers.