Te Ika a Māui - Māui’s fish

Achievement objective

1.5 Communicate about location.

Modes

At the end of this lesson, students can: 

• Whakarongo (listen): Recognise and understand simple, familiar spoken words, phrases, and sentences.
• Kōrero (speak): Respond appropriately to simple, familiar instructions and simple questions. 
• Pānui (read): Recognise and understand simple, familiar written words, phrases, and sentences.
• Tuhituhi (write): Write simple, familiar words, phrases, and sentences using the conventions of written language, such as appropriate spelling and punctuation.

Materials

See Materials that come with this resource to download Te Waka me Te Ika a Māui Resource Sheet 1I (.doc).

Lesson sequence

1. Tell the students the story of Māui fishing up Te Ika-a-Māui, the North Island.
2. Create a class mural of the North and South Islands, drawing them as a fish and a canoe. See Te Waka me Te Ika-a-Māui Resource Sheet 1I for ideas.
3. Have the students label the parts of the fish.

te upoko o te ika	the head of the fish
te hiku o te ika	the tail of the fish
te parirau o te ika	the wing of the fish (x 2)
te puku o te ika	the stomach of the fish

4. Ask the students questions, and provide answers, relating to locations:

Kei hea a Taranaki?	Where is Taranaki?
Kei te parirau o te ika.	At the wing of the fish.
Kei hea a Kaitaia?	Kei te hiku o te ika.
Kei hea a Taupō?	Kei te puku o te ika.
Kei hea a Te Whanganui-a-Tara?	Kei te upoko o te ika.

5. The students should attach labels of the parts of the fish as they answer the questions.

Language to use

hiku	tail
ika	fish
Kei (w)hea?	Where is?
Māui	Māui
moana	ocean
parirau	wing
puku	stomach
roto	inside
Taranaki	Taranaki
tauihu	bow
Taupō	Taupō
taurapa	sternpost
Te Whanganui-a-Tara	Wellington
waho	outside
wai	water

Tips 

Some Māori say that the head of the fish is above the tail. This means we travel up to Wellington from Auckland. Te Upoko-o-te-ika and Te Hiku-o-te-ika are place names for the Wellington and Northland regions. 

Variation 

Discuss locations in Te Waka-a-Māui, the South Island: 

Kei hea a Waihōpai?	Where is Invercargill?
Kei te taurapa o te waka.	At the sternpost of the canoe.
Kei hea a Whakatū?	Where is Nelson?
Kei te tauihu o te waka.	At the bow of the canoe.
Kei hea a Waikawa?	Where is Blenheim?
Kei te tauihu o te waka.	At the bow of the canoe.

Further learning 

Ask the students where other people are, using the same question: 

Kei hea a Anna?	Where is Anna?
Kei waho.	Outside.
Kei hea a Whaea Henare	Where is Mrs Henare
Kei waho.	Outside.
Kei hea a Nita?	Where is Nita?
Kei roto.	Inside.
Kei hea a Tina?	Where is Tina?
Kei roto.	Inside.