If you'd love to use more te reo as a whānau, there are lots of easy ways to bring the language into your whare.
TV shows, playlists, games, e-books, and downloads - we've collated our favourite content on the web.
Screen time for the kids
Try making screen time, te reo time.
Te reo shows for tamariki on Whakaata Māori. A few of our favourites:
- Zoomoo – tamariki visiting zoos and learning about the animals
- He Paki Taonga i a Māui - animated stories from across Polynesia. This is a companion series to the book
- Kia Mau – a great way to learn the words and actions to well-known waiata. Great for parents too!
- Tākaro Tribe - this cartoon is also available in English, but we recommend the te reo version! Follows 5 patupaiarehe living in the ngahere.
- Te Nūtube. Kōtiro kōrero Māori Atareta & Te Haakura make an awesome YouTube-style te reo show!
- Mauri Reo Mauri Ora - This series was createfd for tamariki kōrero Māori in the 2021 lockdown
Youtube channels for tamariki:
- Pipi Mā changed the game when they brought out this cartoon following four tamariki in kōhanga reo. The te reo is both excellent and simple, all at at the same time; and it's a great depiction of tikanga and whakaaro Māori.
- Tamariki Tākaro – kids love YouTube videos of other kids playing with toys! This whānau made a te reo version.
- Waiata Mai - this is a playlist of bilingual children’s songs about everyday whānau activities. These are great for learning new sentence structures as the catchy tunes get stuck in your head!
- Tākaro Tribe is also available on YouTube - make sure you select the te reo episodes!
- Māui te Tipua series – Peter Gossage Māui tales animated and read aloud in te reo Māori.
Bonus: If you have Disney+, the te reo Māori versions of Moana, The Lion King, Frozen, and Coco are all available.
Other cool stuff on screens:
- Māori Minute – by Quinton Hita has hundreds of videos and translated e-books, as well as computer games! A subscription is $60/year and there is a 7-day free trial to see if the resources will be helpful to your whānau. Check out the Website and the Facebook.
- A wide range of early readers by the Ministry of Education, all available free (and even downloadable if you prefer)
- Matific is a website that turns maths and numeracy activities into games. You can play it in te reo Māori - our kids call it "Matifika"! It is subscription-based (you need to pay), but there's a free trial.
- Build a te reo Māori shopping list with Rārangi Kai, a great web tool from 4 Square. Awesome for learning new kupu for kai!
Background music - make it Māori!
Add these albums, playlists and artists to your "favourites" on Spotify!
Kids’ te reo content:
- Pipi Mā
- Tākaro Tribe
- Te Reo Singalong (which accompanies these books)
- Atareta & Te Haakura from Te Nūtube
- The Moana Reo Māori soundtrack
- The Lion King Reo Māori soundtrack
- The Frozen Reo Māori soundtrack
- The Coco Reo Māori soundtrack
Other waiata Māori:
- Waiata Reo Māori is a great playlist to start
- So is Te Reo Māori!
- Check out the Waiata Anthems compilation albums. There are three now!
- Te Matatini on Spotify showcases some of the most beautiful, popular and memorable performances over the years
- There is a great Christmas album by Pere Wihongi!
- And this is just scratching the surface! Check out other Māori language recording artists, like Rob Ruha, Maisey Rika, Ria Hall, Stan Walker, Maimoa, Te Kaahu, Te Kahureremoa, Mara TK, Bella Kalolo, Aja, and heaps more.
Free printables and downloads
Worksheets, posters, activity books, and phrasebooks for the whānau
Check out these free, downloadable te reo resources for a range of kaupapa by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. A few of our favourites:
- Give te Reo a Go! - a beginner-friendly booklet
- Kirihimete (Christmas)
- Hākinakina (sports)
- I te taha o te wai (at the beach)
- Kia Kaha te Reo Taiao (the natural environment)
- Kia Kaha te Reo Hangarau (technology)
- Kōrero Hoko (shopping)
- Te Reo Kawhe - order your coffee in NZSL and te reo Māori
- Hākinakina (sports and exercise)
- Te Reo mō te Haka (kapa haka performances)
- Te Reo mō te Tari (te reo at work)
- Hui ā-Ipurangi (online hui in te reo Māori)
Other free, downloadable rauemi:
- An amazing range of Matariki downloads by Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, including this whakapapa tree template, and this puka ngohe (activity and colouring book)
- This trilingual poster for ordering coffee in te reo Māori or NZSL
- This free downloadable map of Aotearoa, which is a companion to My First Words in Māori by Stacey Morrison
- Free recipes from Huamārama - kīnaki huamata (salad dressing) and parāoa & pihapiha (bread and pizza)
- WhakaMāori your papakēmu (board games)! Akomanga have made translations for you to use with the boardgames you have at home!
- This rauemi helps you play Fortnite in te reo Māori
- Mahuru Māori have a range of rauemi to support you to kōrero Māori during Mahuru and beyond - including this phrasebook, and this puka tuhi for recording your goals and kupu hou
- Twinkl is an educational resources website - mostly kaiako creating rauemi for other kaiako. You can see the free te reo content here.
- This Matariki karakia booklet
- Te Papa made a free downloadable te reo Māori activity book and also a Matariki activity book
- Karakia download, waiata download, and whakataukī download from Inspiring Communities
- Karakia & whakataukī free downloads by Maimoa Creative
-
This amazing range of videos and question sheets for learning about kararehe (animals) from Auckland Zoo! Watch the vid in English on YouTube, and answer the pātai in te reo. Sea turtle | Honu iti; Giant wētā | Wētāpunga; Injured kiwi | Kiwi e whara ana
Language Planning
Learn about language planning, and download templates
Language planning is about making deliberate choices for when, where, and how you will use te reo Māori. This helps you make sustainable progress forward without getting overwhelmed, or biting off more than you can chew.
Language plans are tailored to your specific whānau and your specific needs. You can also make them for individuals and organisations.
Check these out:
- Te Mātāwai - guide to language planning for whānau
- Te Mātāwai - guide to language planning for communities
- Te Mātāwai - language plan template
- Mind Your Tongue - this kaupapa is run by Dr. Vini Olsen-Reeder, and teaches whānau how to language plan for their native languages and heritage languages in the home. Sign up to Vini's course to learn the best, easiest, and most helpful ways to use more te reo Māori. Check him out in instagram too!
- Guide to language planning from Akomanga, and the corresponding template
- Te Taura Whiri - guide to language planning for organisations with templates
- Kura Whakarauora - we can't recommend this enough. Kura Whakarauora is a multiple day hui/wānanga with language planning experts. It will provide you with the basic knowledge, and tools to support you to introduce and/or increase te reo Māori learning and use in your home. Keep an eye out for an upcoming Kura Whakarauora in your local area or online - or reach out and request one for your kura, kōhanga or hapori reo!
- Reo Māori Mai have a free downloadable reo plan.
Te reo for grownups!
Resources to support language acquisition for pākeke in the home.
Whakaata Māori:
These shows are either deliberately teaching te reo, or will help you pick up more!
- Haka. We love playing haka in the background so our tamariki can see the artform as often as possible and be inspired! But you'll def pick up the waiata too if you have a bracket on repeat!
- Ōpaki, a beginners’ language learning show focused on everyday whānau conversations with Pānia Papa. This is one of my favourites!
- Ako, a language learning show for intermediate learners hosted by Pānia Papa.
- Taringa - While you can also listen to the audio on Spotify, you can watch video of this great podcast on Whakaata Māori
- Something for the People is the only breakfast show in te reo Māori! See below for the Spotify link to listen.
Te reo Māori podcasts:
- Something for the People, featuring hosts Kereama Wright, Ani-Piki Tuari, and Chey Milne with special guests. You can also watch it on Whakaata Māori.
- Taringa Podcast by Te Wānanga o Raukawa. This bilingual podcast covers all matters Māori - check out the 'Kupu Kupu Kupu' to focus specifically on te reo.
- Whakamāori, proficient language speakers translating different items aloud, and discussing the ins and outs of translation. Featuring host Kimo Houltham and co-hosts Dr Anaha Hiini, Kristin Ross, Leon Blake and Hana Mereraiha.
- He Reo Tawhito: Conversations about Mōteatea
- Starting in te reo Māori podcast
- Te Whanake podcast series
- This Kīwaha podcast by RNZ
- Up to Speed podcast by Stacey Morrison
- Everyday Māori by Hēmi Kelly
- Speak Māori for beginners and advanced learners, with Scotty Morrison.
Adult Language Learning Books
We are aiming to collate all the best te reo Māori children’s books in this site, and they are so helpful for adults too! But here are some pukapuka made specifically for adult learners:
- Te Whanake. This is a structured course that starts at beginner level. There is also a podcast and videos!
- Check out Te Tākupu to find Mai i te Kākano, Te Rito, and He Iti Kahurangi by Hēni Jacob. Some are also available as audiobooks, also available for purchase on Spotify
- Māori at Home is pure gold for using te reo with your tamariki, by Stacey and Scotty Morrison
- Māori Made Easy by Scotty Morrison - another structured course. These books started as one pukapuka and have since been broken down into multiple workbooks so you can write the answers directly into the worksheets and start at beginner level.
- A Māori Phrase a Day and A Māori Word a Day by Hēmi Kelly
- A Māori Reference Grammar by Ray Harlow
- Te Reo Māori – the Basics Explained
Online Dictionaries are also essential:
- Te Aka Māori Dictionary
- Ngata Dictionary
- He Pātaka Kupu
- Paekupu - this dictionary has specialist terms in areas like science, maths, health, art and music.
Do you have a great recommendation for this list? Message us on social media, or email us at
kiaora@tereomaoribookshop.com
We would love to share!
