Building Identity Dialogues

Overview

This is lesson 15 of 18 in Language, Identity, Connection. Students combine familiar greetings, personal information, whānau or identity vocabulary, and farewells to create and perform a short, respectful dialogue. They may work in Spanish, te reo Māori, or a planned combination, using English to explain choices where needed.

Learning intentions

• WALT combine greetings, personal information, identity vocabulary, and farewells.
• WALT choose language that suits the relationship and situation.
• WALT rehearse and perform a clear, respectful dialogue.
• WALT give and respond to helpful feedback.

Success criteria

• I can create a short dialogue with a greeting, personal information, identity or whānau language, and a farewell.
• I can choose language and tone that fit the situation.
• I can speak clearly enough for my audience to understand.
• I can explain one respectful choice I made.

Curriculum links

• Using greetings, farewells, introductions, and basic personal information in a formal context.
• Communicating in the classroom using an extended repertoire of instructions and short interactions.
• Learning Languages practices: participating, interacting, and making meaning with others.
• Key competencies: relating to others, managing self, and participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Reconnect and notice. Display the learning intention and show the opening question and dialogue examples. Teacher performs two very short versions of the same introduction—one appropriate for meeting a friend and one for meeting an elder—and asks, “What changed, and why?” Students identify greetings, names, personal information, identity or whānau words, farewells, tone, and body language. Clarify that invented scripts must not copy or combine ceremonial practices; students should use everyday respectful language.

2. 5–12 min · Model and co-construct. Teacher models a simple dialogue in Spanish, te reo Māori, or a planned combination, supported by teacher/audio pronunciation models. Use the dialogue-building planning sheet to build a class example, such as greeting, name, one personal detail, an identity or whānau connection, and farewell. Students help place the parts in order and suggest which details suit a friend, new person, elder, or visitor. Explain that phonetic approximations may support pronunciation, but students are not expected to imitate an accent.

3. 12–20 min · Dialogue-building card game. Place students in mixed-ability groups of three or four and distribute the Conversation Role-play Cards. Students draw or choose a situation, then select language cards or sentence strips supplied by the teacher to construct a dialogue. One student acts as speaker one, one as speaker two, and others check that the script includes all required parts. Students may use English to discuss meaning and context, but plan the spoken dialogue in their chosen language combination.

4. 20–30 min · Puppet theatre stations. Set up four labelled stations: meeting a friend, meeting a new person, meeting an elder, and welcoming a visitor. Students move to a suitable station, choose or make simple puppet roles, and perform their draft dialogue. Display the station instructions and respectful-choice prompts at each transition. Teacher circulates for brief draft conferences, checking accuracy, register, respect, and intelligibility. Ask, “Who are you speaking to?” and “What makes this choice suitable?”

5. 30–39 min · Rehearsal and feedback. Students rehearse with a partner or group, using the planning sheet and peer-feedback boxes. Partners identify one successful language choice and one improvement, such as adding a farewell, slowing down, or choosing a more suitable greeting. Students may perform live, record an audio version, or co-present with a peer. Support students to practise in short chunks rather than memorising a long script.

6. 39–45 min · Share and reflect. Invite two or three groups to perform, ensuring a range of situations and language choices. Class members listen for the four required dialogue parts and respond with one specific positive observation. Return to the success criteria and reflection prompt. Students complete the final section of the quick reflection: “My respectful choice was…” and “Next time I will…”.

Resources

• the Building Identity Dialogues teaching deck
• the dialogue-building planning sheet
• the Conversation Role-play Cards
• Teacher-prepared sentence strips in Spanish and te reo Māori
• Puppets or simple paper puppet materials
• Four station signs and basic props
• Audio or teacher pronunciation models
• Simple formative conference rubric

Assessment

• During modelling and the card game, listen for accurate sequencing of greeting, personal information, identity or whānau language, and farewell.
• During station conferences, record brief evidence against accuracy, register, respect, and intelligibility. Prompt rather than interrupting fluency.
• Use the reflection to identify whether students can explain how their language choices fit the audience and situation.

Differentiation

• Provide colour-coded sentence strips, picture cues, bilingual word banks, and a completed example. Use a dyslexia-friendly sans-serif font, large print, strong contrast, generous spacing, and avoid requiring students to read dense text aloud.
• Offer role choice: speaker, puppet operator, narrator, pronunciation coach, or co-presenter. Students may perform from a supported script, record their dialogue, or share the performance with a trusted peer.
• Allow students to plan explanations in English and rehearse one line at a time. Accept a planned combination of Spanish and te reo Māori, while checking that the context and register are intentional.
• Extend confident learners by presenting the same message in two registers, such as to a friend and to an elder, and explaining which greeting, tone, or farewell changed and why.