He Taonga supports kaiako with te reo Māori teaching and learning

Almost seven years after its launch, the college’s Te Reo Māori: He taonga mō ā tātou mokopuna (He Taonga), continues to be a huge support for te reo Māori teaching and learning in the ECE sector.

Released in 2016, He Taonga was developed by NZTC as part of its commitment to biculturalism and bilingualism, providing practical support for students and teachers as they engage with te reo Māori.

The extensive colour resource features beginner words, pronunciation support and key phrases, as well as everyday examples of the language including numbers, colours and shapes.

After proving immensely popular with early childhood kaiako, in 2017 the college supported the development of a teaching and learning guide to further support the use of He Taonga. The 48-page guide contains fun and engaging activities especially tailored to an early childhood setting.

The term ‘taonga’ means ‘treasure’, and for many students and graduates the resource offers an invaluable opportunity to increase confidence in the language, ensuring te reo Māori not only survives but thrives.

Every NZTC early childhood student receives their own gifted copy of He Taonga at the commencement of their study program to support them throughout their learning journey with the college.

“Through He Taonga, my confidence in speaking te reo has increased significantly. It has encouraged me to further explore Māori culture with the children, through integrating traditional stories, dances and songs into our centre life,” shares kaiako and NZTC graduate Shuchita Jain.

Jain firmly believes in encouraging tamariki to develop an appreciation and understanding of te reo Māori and te ao Māori, and enjoys using He Taonga to find creative ways of doing this.

“I love designing my own learning resources for tamariki. Using the ngā tae (colours) and te huarere (weather) content featured in He Taonga, I prepared a wall hanging to encourage colour learning and a weather reporting kit for children to interact with.

“Encouraging tamariki to develop an appreciation for te reo widens perceptions of their surroundings and enhances their understanding of a special and treasured culture.”

To find out more about He Taonga or to order a copy, click HERE.