Maori Language Week 2017

This week was Maori Language Week in New Zealand. Though I have always tried my best to learn about all things Maori since I've lived in New Zealand, this year I have been lucky enough to be teaching with Bev Aerenga who has helped me expand my horizons and I felt like I've been able to contribute in a lot of ways this year. 

The first thing I did this week was help put a spotlight on some successful Maori citizens. As a Canadian who has not only lived in a multicultural society most of my life but who also went through teacher training there, where a main focus was on multiculturalism, I sometimes felt that ethnicities were reduced to songs, dances, music and food. I wanted to highlight some Maori people who had had success outside of these areas. So we each chose a person and made a short slide to highlight them each day. To be honest, I like the concept, though I'm not so sure my execution was great. Yes, we did share some people, but I'm not entirely sure the concept sunk it. It will give me some more thoughts for next year - though again, hopefully one does not wait a whole year to highlight successful Maori people. Here are the slides that we created for our learners:

Another thing that our habitat did (admittedly, I was not the driving force behind this, but I did support) was prepare a waiata for the whole school Waiata Sing Off. Our learners worked so hard to learn the words and the actions. I may be biased, but I think they were the best habitat at the sing-off. Here's what they did:

The third and fourth things we did this week involved me making some digital resources. Our school had our termly Curious Community Day, so I created a couple of Kahoot! quizzes (unfortunately, you can't really embed or share them, but if you look for my user name, mrdavidson, you'll find the two I made) as well as a digital breakout. I love using breakout and this was a chance for me to make my own. I thought the clues were quite simple and straightforward, but clearly they were difficult. Most of the learners at Ormiston who tried the breakout gave up before they even solved one clue. I do know, however, that after sharing this with the New Zealand Primary Teachers' Facebook group, that several other schools did attempt it and some were even successful.

Woohoo we broke out! Thanks for the #Breakout Thank you @michaelteacher #MaoriLanguageWeek pic.twitter.com/vAHXbPkPNl

— Matai_AkaAka (@matai_akaaka) September 13, 2017

If you want to have a look at it, the picture below links to the breakout. I won't give any clues, so you'll have to try it for yourself. But I can say that you don't need anything but what's there to figure it out. 

I actually had a lot of fun making this breakout (and the Kahoot! quizzes). My plan now is to work on another breakout (I've actually already started it) on New Zealand elections and the electoral system, so hopefully I can get that done in time for the run-up to the upcoming election. Probably best to check my twitter if you want to see that one...

It's definitely been a good week for me in that I've become a lot more comfortable with teaching these things and creating resources. I can attribute that to having a nurturing and helpful semi-mentor working alongside me in my habitat. So thanks Bev! And I'm looking forward to continuing this journey.

Building a Community Vibe with Karakia

Earlier this year, an RTLB working with one of my students suggested we start a daily Karakia to help make the student she was working with more comfortable in the classroom. I was keen but hesitant (what with the religious connotations and all). Being a foreigner in New Zealand, I do think it's important to learn about the unique cultural history and customs of my newly adopted country. I wanted to strike a balance between doing so and not having students pray in school. I waffled on this idea for a while but a few months ago I spent some time and researched some karakia that are commonly used in schools that had no religious connotations. I ended up finding a few good ones, so I actually made a morning version and an end of day version. We've been doing this for so long now that we've memorized both of them.

I cannot claim that one thing caused the other, but since we've been doing this, I have sensed a feeling of community within my classroom. I do feel that this has made my students more comfortable in class and it has added some structure to our day. A way to start and end it. All in all, it's a small effort that can potentially have very positive outcomes. I recommend that every New Zealand teacher try this (you can even use the ones I've borrowed off of the Internet).