Manaaki kai service

Overview

In this lesson (lesson 4 of 6), students practise serving kai using hospitality expectations and tikanga. They focus on professional communication with manuhiri while protecting mana through service decisions.

Learning intentions

• WALT practice service sequences that are safe, respectful, and consistent with tikanga for hospitality.
• WALT communicate clearly with manuhiri, including listening, acknowledging needs, and responding appropriately.
• WALT evaluate how service choices uphold mana and trust in a hospitality context.
• WALT reflect on personal strengths and next steps for improvement during service practice.

Success criteria

• I can follow a service flow (set-up, greet, serve, check-back, thank) that is safe and orderly.
• I can demonstrate respectful verbal and non-verbal communication that supports manuhiri comfort.
• I can apply tikanga-informed service actions (for example, respectful handling, appropriate pacing, and considerate interaction).
• I can give and act on feedback to improve service quality and manaakitanga.

Curriculum links

• NCEA Hospitality and Business learning through applying knowledge to real service situations and customer communication.
• Responsible business practice: meeting people’s needs ethically and safely.
• Communication for service: using appropriate strategies to interact with customers respectfully.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 5 mins – Opening karakia and purpose

• Teacher establishes the manaaki kai focus, safety expectations, and what “upholding mana through service” looks like today.
• Quick reminder: today is practice with feedback, not “performance” judgement.

2. 6 mins – Model service walkthrough

• Teacher demonstrates a complete service cycle: greet, offer choice, serve, manage allergens/needs as appropriate, check-back, clear space, thank.
• Teacher explicitly highlights communication moves (tone, pacing, listening) and tikanga-aligned behaviours (respectful handling, awareness of protocols as taught by your local school/community).

3. 8 mins – Micro-skills station briefing

• Students rotate through two fast stations (whole class watches and then each station has a 2-minute practice window).
• Station A: greet + information-gathering (two respectful questions).
• Station B: serving + check-back (one verbal check and one non-verbal cue).

4. 16 mins – Service roleplay rounds (small groups)

• Divide into 4 groups of 5 (or 2 groups with 10 if space needs). Each group has manuhiri roleplay and kai service roleplay.
• Each round: 3 minutes service practice + 1 minute reset, then switch roles.
• Teacher circulates using a simple observation checklist: clarity of communication, respectfulness, timing, safety, and tikanga-informed actions.

5. 7 mins – Feedback “Glow & Grow”

• Each group shares one “Glow” (what upheld mana well) and one “Grow” (specific improvement for next time).
• Teacher ties feedback back to service excellence: customer experience, trust, and wellbeing.

6. 3 mins – Individual reflection (exit ticket)

• Students complete a short reflection prompt: “One communication move I will use next time is…” and “One tikanga-aligned behaviour I will practise is…”
• Collect for teacher to plan lesson 5 adjustments.

Resources

• Set of simple food items/props for roleplay (or safe mock samples): bowls/plates, serving utensils, napkins.
• Service sequence cards (greet → offer/confirm → serve → check-back → thank → clear safely).
• Allergy/need scenario slips (non-medical, just role context such as “doesn’t eat spicy”, “has a food intolerance”).
• Observation checklist for teacher (communication, respect, safety, service flow).
• Student feedback sheet: Glow & Grow prompts.
• Hygiene and safety reminders displayed (handwashing, utensil handling, cleaning as taught).
• A quiet space marker for reset between rounds.
• Pen/paper or device for exit tickets.

Assessment

• Formative observation during roleplays using the teacher checklist (service flow, communication, and tikanga-informed practice).
• Group feedback quality: students justify a Glow/Grow using service evidence (what was said/done).
• Exit ticket reflection to confirm next steps and areas needing coaching.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for manuhiri communication (for example, “Kia ora, would you like…?” “Thanks for letting me know—…” “Is everything to your liking?”).
• Support: assign clear service roles in each group (greeter, server, check-back person, timekeeper) so every student has a meaningful responsibility.
• Extension: introduce a “complication” scenario (delay, spilled napkin, guest requests minor change) where students must adapt while still upholding mana and safety.
• EAL/SEN: allow additional time for rehearsal; use visual cue cards for key phrases; accept oral responses in a scaffolded format.

Extension (optional)

Not requested.