Stories in Mäori
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Approach:  One to one
Level: Year 4 and year 8
Focus: Reading aloud effectively for an audience, comprehending literal meaning  
Resources:
3 Mäori story books: Hoihoi Tahi; Nanakia; Te Rou Mamao
FRAME 248Kb
Questions/instructions:  

In this activity we have some stories that are written in Mäori. Some children can read a little bit in Mäori,
and others can read a lot. These three books have very short stories that are written in Mäori.
Place the three books on the table.
I would like you to have a go at reading this first little story. It doesn’t matter if you can’t read all of it, but have a go.
 
% responses
2008 ('04)
y4
y8
Show the story titled HoiHoi Tahi!
This story is about being noisy. As you read it aloud, think what the story is about. If you come to words you can’t read, just give them a go, and carry on with the story.
When you’ve finished reading, I’ll ask you some questions.
Student reads aloud independently of help from the teacher, but with encouragement.
hoihoi tahi
[Click on graphic to enlarge.]		 Percentage of words wrong:
(not self-corrected)
0
4 (2)
11 (15)
1-5 (1 word)
3 (1)
12 (11)
6-10 (2-3 words)
4 (4)
15 (10)
11-20 (4-6 words)
9 (8)
18 (15)
21-30 (7-10 words)
12 (10)
14 (18)
more than 30 (10 or more words)
63 (68)
29 (29)
did not attempt or abandoned reading
5 (7)
1 (2)
1. Have you read this story before?
student had read story before
1 (1)
1 (1)
2. What do you think “Hoihoi Tahi” means?
keep quiet, don’t be noisy
69 (72)
80 (83)
3. Who woke the baby up?
mum/girl/sister/woman
20 (19)
27 (29)
4. How do you know this? Show me where in the story it shows this.
baby wakes up when mum/girl/sister/ woman shouts at the boy to keep quiet
20 (16)
29 (25)
Show the story titled Nanakia.
Here is another story. It’s called Nanakia, and it’s about things that sometimes annoy us. Would you like to have a go at reading this story to me?
If they say yes, carry on. If not, discontinue the task.
Read the story out loud to me, then I’ll ask you some questions.
Student reads aloud independently of help from the teacher, but with encouragement.
hoihoi tahi
[Click on graphic to enlarge.]		 Percentage of words wrong:
(not self-corrected)
0
0 (0)
3 (2)
1-5 (1-2 words)
2 (2)
7 (8)
6-10 (3-4 words)
1 (0)
9 (9)
11-20 (5-9 words)
5 (3)
14 (14)
21-30 (10-13 words)
7 (5)
13 (13)
more than 30 (13 or more words)
58 (60)
41 (38)
did not attempt or abandoned reading
27 (30)
13 (16)
5. Have you read this story before? 
student had read story before
0 (1)
0 (1)
6. What made the balloons fly away? 
the wind
44 (43)
56 (61)
7. What do you think the word“kähaki” might mean?  
carried away
0 (1)
1 (2)
messed up/ruined
1 (1)
2 (2)
8. Why do you think the girl is happy that her puppy has messed up her shoes?
because she has been able to get a new pair
13 (14)
25 (26)
Show the story titled Te Rou Mamao.
Te Rou Mamao is a story about a grandfather and his granddaughter. Would you like to have a go at reading this story to me?
If they say yes, carry on. If not, discontinue the task.
Read the story out loud to me, then I’ll ask you some questions.
Student reads aloud independently of help from the teacher, but with encouragement.
hoihoi tahi
[Click on graphic to enlarge.]
 Percentage of words wrong:
(not self-corrected)
0
0 (0)
2 (2)
1-5 (1-8 words)
2 (2)
10 (9)
6-10 (9-16 words)
2 (2)
9 (11)
11-20 (17-32 words)
4 (4)
19 (13)
21-30 (33-48 words)
5 (5)
10 (14)
more than 30 (48 or more words)
39 (40)
27 (20)
did not attempt or abandoned reading
48 (47)
23 (31)
9. Have you read this story before? 
student had read story before
1 (1)
1 (1)
10. What do you think this story is about? 
a grandfather learning how to work his new television/a girl helping her grandfather to use his new television/ what a remote control is used for/ how hard it can be working out how to operate things
8 (14)
29 (26)
11. What name in Mäori is given to the remote for the television?
rou mamao: one or both words
6 (7)
9 (7)
12. Why does the grandfather end up listening to the radio?
he thinks the remote is too hard to use/ he thinks it is easier to just listen
to the radio
4 (8)
19 (18)

Total score:
13–27
6 (5)
32 (30)
10–12
5 (5)
15 (18)
7–9
17 (17)
23 (19)
4–6
42 (37)
21 (18)
0–3
30 (36)
9 (15)
Subgroup Analysis [Click on charts to enlarge] :
Year 4
Year 8
Commentary:
Students were generally willing to try reading in Mäori, and three quarters of year 8 students and half of year 4 students attempted all three books. Even though most of the students did not attain instructional levels (90% or better) of oral reading accuracy, many of them were able to answer some comprehension questions from visual clues. There was no meaningful change in performance between 2004 and 2008. Mäori and Pasifika students predominated among the high achievers.