Locals experience He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero at Turitea Pā, overlooking the Manawatū River.
Locals experience He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero at Turitea Pā, overlooking the Manawatū River.
Six free education toolkits have been added to storytelling platform He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero.
The toolkits cover the six Palmerston North sites featured on the website and app - Te Motu o Poutoa, Ruahine, Mokomoko, Turitea Pā, Awatapu and Ahimate.
Each toolkit provides detailed timelines, ideas and educational activities to help teachers plan and deliver lessons specific to Rangitāne.
They are designed for Year 7 to 10 students, but are adaptable for all ages, and provide activities for teachers to run through with their classes before, during, and after visiting the specific location.
“The great thing about these toolkits is they can be utilised from the classroom, at home, or out on site next to the awa – it’s up to you,” project spokesman Chris Whaiapu said.
“Rangitāne-specific resources within the region are hard to come by. We saw a real opportunity to provide a set of resources written and developed by Rangitāne people.
“While it’s refreshing to see resources made for our people, by our people, it’s also important to note that each resource has been developed and checked by education professionals from Rangitāne and can be linked back to the curriculum, Te Takanga o te Wā.”
The platform was launched on May 31 and more than 4600 people have already visited it to learn more about the history of Manawatū.
Developed by Rangitāne o Manawatū and the Central Economic Development Agency, the platform takes people back in time more than 400 years with animated stories, video recreations, and audio resources centred on six historical sites near the Manawatū River.
“When the idea of He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero was first established, it was essential that it could be used as an education tool, easily available and accessible to teachers and schools throughout the Manawatū region.”
Palmerston North Intermediate Normal School teacher May Karena said when she saw the links back to Te Takanga o te Wā (Māori history guidelines), she knew He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero was on the right path.
“These resources provide just a taste of what you can do in the classroom, or out next to the awa, providing a starting point for kaiako [teachers] to learn about mana whenua o Rangitāne while still providing room to put their spin on it,” she said.
“For too long iwi Māori education resources have been hard to come by. Now that we have this rich, authentic and engaging resource I’m excited to get out and have a go at the activities and share the stories of our people with tamariki and other kaiako who are excited to localise our curriculum.”
He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero is easily accessible by phone or computer.
The six education toolkits can be downloaded from heiarakorero.nz/education-resources.
He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero received $700,000 from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage’s Innovation Fund, part of the Arts and Culture Covid Recovery Programme.
