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Hei Waiata, Hei Whakakoakoa
Hei Waiata, Hei Whakakoakoa has been developed to support the teaching and learning of te reo Māori in English-medium schools. It has been aligned with Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori – Kura Auraki / Curriculum Guidelines for Teaching and Learning Te Reo Māori in English-medium Schools: Years 1–13.

Accompanying the waiata is a songbook with lyrics, song sheets, curriculum achievement objectives, and suggestions for activities. The waiata tracks, lyrics and song sheets can be copied for classroom use. Click the link below to download the songbook.
The waiata get progressively more complex as you go through the tracks. If you want to develop your confidence in teaching these waiata and haka, regardless of the age of your students, you should start with the earliest ones. Click the links below to download the tracks, accompanying teaching suggestions and song sheets.
Many of the waiata and haka have actions that can be performed. These actions can vary from iwi to iwi, rohe to rohe, and school to school. Teachers, students, schools, and the community need to take ownership of the actions they decide to use within their own context. To find out about the actions if you don’t already know them, you should consult locally. This can be initiated by asking the students, other teachers in the school, whānau of students, or identified kapa haka enthusiasts in the community.
The performances and arrangements in this resource are models of how the melodies and pronunciation sound and are provided as a guide, feel free to create your own arrangements and sing these waiata in a way that suits your students. Māori is a culture where waiata and haka were learnt orally, so it is appropriate for students to learn some of the waiata and haka in this way.
The waiata and haka in this collection can also be used to support the integration of Māori language and culture into other learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum, such as the arts, social sciences, technology, and health and physical education.
Hei Waiata, Hei Whakakoakoa (PDF, 3 MB)Copyright © Crown 2009. All rights reserved.