Matariki, the Māori New Year, is an important celebration in the Aotearoa New Zealand calendar, so let's have a look at some ways we can engage our children in the classroom to celebration this unique tradition.
Curriculum Links
Teaching about Matariki meets the following outcomes in Te Ao Tangata | Social Sciences:
Understand:
I am building my knowledge of people, society, and their environments and drawing on the practices of te ao tangata | social sciences.
Through this, I am deepening my understanding that: E kore au e ngaro; he kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea.
Maori history is the foundational and continuous history of Aotearoa New Zealand.
E koekoe te tūī, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū.
People hold different perspectives on the world depending on
their values, traditions, and experiences.
Know:
Relationships, language, and culture shape identity.
People express their culture through their daily lives and through stories about their past.
Places and environments are often significant for individuals and groups.
Do:
I can: generate questions that reflect my curiosity about people and communities and that can’t be answered by a simple yes or no.
Use at least two different types of information from a variety of sources.
Talk about how people do things in different ways and understand that my way is not the only way.
Make observations about how people have acted in the past and how they act today.
Source: https://curriculumrefresh.education.govt.nz/te-ao-tangata-social-sciences
Ideas for Covering These Outcomes:
This hands-on activity comes with an informational text (with two levels of difficulty to choose from) as a one or two-page printable, or as a jigsaw reading activity. Jigsaw reading is one of my favourite ways to get children reading, because each child has a small text to read which they then become the expert on and share with their group. This activity builds collaboration, communication, reading for information, and storytelling skills.
After reading the information, children then write what they know to answer key questions on a foldout hāngi. There is also an editable version so you can choose the questions, or children can write their own questions to answer.
Alternatively, you could use the hāngi craft which shows the different layers of a hāngi. After talking about the importance of hāngi during Matariki, children can colour and fold the hāngi.
You can find this activity here.
Hands-on Matariki Activities
If you'd like a hands-on activity for Matariki, then this kete which uses the skill of weaving is great as a whole class, small group, or rotation activity. It comes with three differentiated options so you can choose the level that's right for your children.
If you have access to an oven, children love eating kūmara, either baked whole or cut into wedges.
Younger children can be involved in washing and peeling (optional). Older children can help with cutting under supervision. Drizzle them in a little oil, and bake in the oven. Whole kūmara will take about an hour depending on how many are in there, and wedges will take around 30 minutes.
Incorporating Matariki Into Maths
There are seven or nine stars/whetū in the Matariki star cluster, depending on the iwi, so there are lots of ways to bring this focus into maths lessons.
Ideas to try:
- Skip counting in 7s and 9s
- Learn the names of months in te reo Māori
- 7 and 9 times tables
- Prime numbers, factors and multiples
- Make a kete of stars with fact families or times tables on them with this resource.
- Measurement, position, shape, and mapping with this free resource (great for year 3-6).
Incorporating Matariki Into Science
Matariki follows the lunar calendar, so this is a great time to study the phases of the Moon and to learn that the Moon doesn't have it owns source of light, but reflects the Sun's light. Depending on where the Moon is in its axis around the Earth, determines how much light is shining on it, which gives us the different phases of the Moon.
Matariki is also a great time to look at seasons and how the Earth's tilt on its axis affects how much warmth and light we get at different times of the year.
Summing It Up
Matariki is a special part of Māori culture and Aotearoa New Zealand. I hope these ideas will get you started on bringing this tradition into your classroom in different ways.
If you have any other great ideas for celebrating Matariki that you'd like to share, feel free to add a comment below.
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