Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Maori Language Week is celebrated from the 11th to the 17th September 2023.

I’ve put together this blog post to highlight free and low-cost resources to use during this week (and hopefully all year!). There are many free and low-cost resources available; learning and promoting te reo Māori does not need to break the bank.

The Importance of Learning te reo Māori

Te reo Māori is one of New Zealand’s official languages and it is crucial that it is seen as a taonga (treasure) in our classrooms.

As Georgina Stewart explains:

The great majority of Māori children develop their learning identities in English-medium primary classrooms. Encountering te reo Māori in the classroom helps Māori children feel they and their culture “belong” there.

Māori students need to see their language and culture visible in their classroom, and preferably in a non-token way. In addition, with New Zealand’s biculturalism, embracing te reo in the classroom is important for non-Māori students. It’s also part of schools’ obligation to the Treaty of Waitangi and a requirement of meeting the Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession from the Teaching Council.

Does that mean teachers need to be fluent te reo experts? No way! I think it is great for students to see teachers modelling the role of “learner” rather than just being seen as the “classroom expert”. Need some further inspiration? This article highlights a Pākehā teacher who is a stong advocate of te reo Māori. All teachers can and should work towards increasing the amount and quality of te reo Māori in their classroom programme, but don’t be put off by feeling like a beginner.

With this in mind, keep reading to find some useful resources to help you out! We are here to save you time.

Useful Links this Māori Language Week

Stories of Te Reo Māori
- Be inspired by reading stories of peoples memories and experiences of speaking and learning te reo Māori. You can even share your own.
Te Wiki o te reo Māori – Christchurch City Libraries
- This site features a range of useful links for bring more te reo into your classroom. I am a big fan of their Beginner’s kete which shows the Māori alphabet, explains the use of macrons, and highlights key words and phrases. Click here to see more.
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week – NZ History website
- Take a historical approach and learn the history of Māori Language Week. This website also has a list of 100 te reo kupu (words) that all New Zealanders should know. How many do you know? Worried about pronunciation? Each word has a handy sound file so you can hear how it should be pronounced.
The Kupu App
- Add this app to your classroom devices to take photos of various items and find out their te reo Māori translation!
Reo Māori Resources
- This website has a great range of resources created by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori.
The Māori Language Week section of the TKI website
- I love hearing and seeing stories of how schools have improved their use of te reo Māori. If you scroll down on this page to the subheading “Hukanui School stories” you can watch three videos that highlight Hukanui School’s focus on te reo Māori development within their school.
Rawe Te Reo Cards – Encourage the Use of Te Reo Māori Around Your School!
- Hayley Burnett, a wonderful New Zealand teacher has created some awesome cards that can be printed and handed out by duty and classroom teachers during Māori Language Week (or all year). With her permission, I have a link for you to grab these cards for free! Click here!

Digital Te Reo Maori Activities and Games

There are SO many awesome digital activities and games that can highlight, promote and practice te reo Māori in your classroom. These links would also be great to send home for students to use if they have access to digital devices at home. Maybe you could add a link on your website to these links?

Digital Dialects – Māori Language Games
- These easy to play games help to teach the te reo vocabulary for common fruits, vegetables, animals, and numbers 1-20.
He Reo Tupu, He Reo Ora Reomations
- The site He Reo Tupu, He Reo Ora is part of TKI and has a range of short animated clips on a variety of themes including Ko au (I, me, myself), Kai (food) and te Marae. These would be great to show when you are looking at these topics in your classroom or as a fun follow up resource.
Digital Māori Myths and Legends Reading Comprehension Activities
- I have put together a set of popular pūrākau (Māori stories) with interactive higher order thinking follow up activities. Click here to learn more.

Te Reo whakatauki freebie

We’ve put together a FREE te reo whakatauki puzzle for your students to use this Māori Language Week. Students can work in groups to colour and display each of the whakatauki. These inspirational proverbs will look awesome on your wall! Click here to download this freebie now.

Our Te Reo resources

Click here to see our full range of te reo Māori activities.

Brighten up your classroom while teaching Te Reo with these Te Reo Maori Greetings, Introductions and Farewells Posters. These posters come in both English and Te Reo Māori. You can use them as posters or photocopy them into small flashcards for games like Memory or Go Fish.

We have a range of te reo resources that can save you time and help to promote, highlight and practice te reo Māori in your classroom. We’ve put together a discounted bundle that provides a huge range of activities for a heavily discounted price. Check out our discounted bundle here.

Click here to see our full range of te reo Māori activities.