Roles on the Marae

Overview

Students explore how people contribute to a marae community through different roles and responsibilities. They learn that roles and protocols vary between iwi, hapū, whānau and marae, and practise making respectful decisions in a marae-based scenario.

Learning intentions

We are learning to:

• identify roles people may hold in a marae community
• explain how roles help a community function safely and fairly
• listen to different perspectives and work respectfully with others
• recognise that local tikanga determines how roles and protocols are practised.

Success criteria

I can:

• match a marae role with a responsibility and explain my choice
• contribute respectfully to a group role-play
• explain how a role supports the marae community
• describe why we should not assume every marae works in exactly the same way.

Curriculum links

• Civics and Society — people participate in communities through the roles they hold.
• Civics and Society — tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti are partners in a bicultural society.
• Students consider how community rules and protocols support safety, fairness and participation.
• Social Sciences capabilities: asking questions, considering perspectives, communicating ideas and participating responsibly.

Teacher preparation

Before the lesson, check local guidance with your school’s kaumātua, whānau, iwi or Māori staff where possible. Use local names and examples if they are available. Explain that the lesson is a general introduction, not a description of every marae. Avoid asking Māori students to represent all Māori or to perform tikanga. Do not imitate karakia, pōwhiri, waiata, accents or sacred practices unless guided and invited by an appropriate local expert.

Prepare mixed-ability groups of four or five. Display the discussion expectations: listen carefully, do not interrupt, ask rather than assume, and speak about roles respectfully. Clarify that students are learning about responsibilities, not pretending to be a particular person or copying a formal ceremony.

Key vocabulary: marae (meeting place and community complex), wharenui (meeting house), wharekai (dining hall), tangata whenua (people of the land), tangata Tiriti (people who belong in Aotearoa through Te Tiriti relationships), manaakitanga (showing care and hospitality), tikanga (customs and correct ways of doing things), kaumātua (respected elder), ringawera (people who prepare and serve food; usage varies), kaihautū (leader or guide; meaning and use vary).

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min · Hook and respectful framing. Open with the marae community hook and learning intention and ask: “What jobs help a community welcome people, make decisions and care for everyone?” Students think independently, share with a partner, then contribute examples. Explain that a marae is a living community space and that roles and tikanga differ between marae.

2. 8–18 min · Build shared understanding. Use the roles, vocabulary and tikanga slides to introduce possible roles, including kaumātua, whānau members, kaikōrero or speakers, kaikaranga or callers, ringawera, cooks, cleaners, hosts and people who care for the buildings and whenua. Emphasise that these are examples, not a universal list, and that one person may hold several roles. Students record two roles and responsibilities on the marae roles learning sheet.

3. 18–30 min · Role-card matching challenge. Give each group a set of the Group Role Cards and display the matching challenge instructions. Students match each role with a responsibility, then prepare one explanation using the frame: “We matched ___ with ___ because ___.” Groups compare answers. Invite students to identify matches that could have more than one reasonable answer, depending on local tikanga.

4. 30–47 min · Marae scenario role-play. Display the scenario choices and role-play steps and assign each group one scenario: welcoming visitors, preparing shared kai, caring for the wharenui and wharekai, or planning a community gathering. Groups choose or receive roles, decide what each person contributes, and create a two-minute role-play showing manaakitanga, cooperation and respectful communication. They must include one moment where people listen to different perspectives and make a fair decision. Remind students not to act out sacred ceremony or use invented karakia. Circulate, question and support groups.

5. 47–55 min · Perform and discuss. Groups present their role-plays. After each, ask: “Which roles did you notice?”, “How did the group show care or fairness?”, and “What might be different at another marae?” Students give one specific, kind observation to another group.

6. 55–60 min · Reflection and exit ticket. Revisit the plenary and reflection prompts. Students complete the final section of the marae roles learning sheet: “One role and responsibility I learned is…”, “It supports the community by…”, and “One reason roles or protocols may vary is…”. Collect responses as students leave.

Resources

• the marae community hook, teaching content, instructions and plenary
• the marae roles learning sheet
• the Group Role Cards
• Whiteboard or display screen
• Pencils and highlighters
• Timer
• Open space for group presentations
• Local guidance or approved school resources, if available

Assessment

• Listen during the matching challenge for accurate connections between roles and responsibilities; ask, “What makes you think that?”
• Use a quick group checklist during role-play: identifies a role, explains a responsibility, listens to perspectives, and shows respectful participation.
• Assess exit tickets for understanding that roles support community wellbeing and may vary according to local tikanga.

Differentiation

• Provide picture-supported vocabulary, read scenario cards aloud, and offer sentence starters such as “Our responsibility is…”, “We need to listen to…”, and “This may vary because…”.
• Allow students to demonstrate learning orally, through drawing, or by dictating responses. Give a clearly defined role such as timekeeper, narrator or resource organiser to students who need reduced performance pressure.
• Pre-teach vocabulary and pair EAL learners with supportive peers; accept home-language planning before sharing in English.
• Extend confident students by asking them to explain how two roles depend on one another, or to propose a respectful question they could ask a local knowledge-holder about tikanga rather than making an assumption.

Extension

• Students design a respectful “community roles” diagram showing how three marae roles work together.
• If appropriate local guidance is available, students compare the lesson’s general examples with information about their local marae, identifying similarities and differences without judging either approach.