So'otaga tāua

Overview

In this lesson, students practise unscripted spoken interaction in Gagana Sāmoa by sharing and responding to ideas about important connections (people, places, and routines). They build conversation using simple interactive strategies and evidence of present + past/future references.

Learning intentions

• WALT use spoken Gagana Sāmoa to share and respond to information and ideas about important connections.
• WALT use interactive strategies (e.g., prompts, questions, clarification) to keep a short conversation going.
• WALT use language connected to the present and at least one reference to the past or future.
• WALT communicate overall despite small errors (aiming for clarity and confidence).

Success criteria

Students can:

• I can ask and answer questions about important connections (who/where/what/when).
• I can add simple detail to my partner’s answers (because, feeling, reason, small description).
• I can refer to today and one of: yesterday/last week or tomorrow/next time.
• I can keep the conversation going using at least two interactive strategies (e.g., “And you?”, “What do you mean?”, “Repeat, please.”)

Curriculum links

• Learning Languages: Interacting — use formulaic language and simple phrases to initiate and sustain short conversations about matters of immediate personal relevance and needs of a concrete type.
• Learning Languages: Interact in spoken Gagana Sāmoa to share and respond to information, ideas, and opinions (Achievement Standard 1.1).
• Te reo and communication focus: use interactive strategies and respond to ideas, not just give single responses.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Do Now (silent + quick share). Teacher displays 3 prompts on the board: “My important person is…”, “My important place is…”, “Today I am…”. Students choose one prompt and write 2 short bullet points in English (teacher provides a model of what it could be in Gagana Sāmoa). Students then pair-share in English first, before turning to te reo during the practice.

2. 5–12 min · WALT unpack + model conversation. Teacher introduces WALT and success criteria, then models a 60–90 second dialogue with a student volunteer. Students listen for: (a) a question, (b) a reply, (c) present + past/future mention. Teacher highlights useful interaction phrases on a mini-card:

• “O ai?” (Who?) / “O fea?” (Where?)
• “Aiseā?” (Why?)
• “O le ā e te fiafia ai…?” (What do you like…?)
• “Ma le mea sa e…?” (And what about…?)
• “E mafai ona e toe fai?” (Can you repeat?) / “E faapefea ona…” (How/what about…)

3. 12–20 min · Direct teach: conversation toolkit + sentence frames. Teacher teaches 3 sentence frames for Year 10 interaction (short, reliable, and expandable):

• Present: “I le taimi nei, ou te…” / “I aso nei, ou te…”
• Past: “Ananafi, na ou…” / “I le vaiaso na te’a, na…”
• Future: “Tommorow/Le isi taimi, o le a ou…” (teacher ensures students can say it clearly) Students practise chorally and then in pairs repeating the frames with the topic “important connections”.

4. 20–32 min · Student Activity: So'otaga tāua — Important connections. Students complete a worksheet in two parts:

• Part A: “My connections” organiser with prompts (Who? Where? What do we do together? Why is it important? Today + past/future). Students fill with 4–5 key ideas (can use a mix of te reo they know and teacher-provided blanks).
• Part B: Partner conversation planner where students underline: one question they will ask, one detail they will add, and one interactive strategy they will use. Teacher circulates giving feedback on clarity and encouraging students to add one detail to their partner’s idea.

5. 32–44 min · Interaction rounds (unscripted, tracked). Students do “speed conversations” in pairs for 3 rounds of 3 minutes. Each round has a different focus:

• Round 1: connection person/place + one present statement
• Round 2: add reason/feeling (because/it makes me…)
• Round 3: include a past or future reference and use one clarification strategy if needed Teacher uses a simple observation checklist for the success criteria (question/answer, detail, time reference, interactive strategy).

6. 44–50 min · Exit ticket (quick oral or written). Option A (oral): each student says one improved sentence to the teacher or to a partner: “Today I… and yesterday/tomorrow I…” Option B (written/dyslexia-friendly): students pick from sentence strips to create one correct mini-sentence and one question.

Resources

• Worksheet: “So'otaga tāua — Important connections” organiser + sentence frame box
• Sentence strips (present + past + future) with clear spacing
• Conversation toolkit mini-cards (questions + clarification phrases)
• Timer for speed rounds
• Teacher observation checklist
• Coloured highlighting pens (for success criteria underlining)
• Dyslexia-friendly supports: large-font sentence frames, audio model (teacher read-aloud), and fewer words per box

Assessment

• Formative: teacher observation during speed conversations (success criteria checklist).
• Formative: teacher feedback during circulation on time reference (present + past/future) and interactive strategies.
• Summative-ish for the period: exit ticket showing ability to produce (or assemble) a present + past/future statement and one question.

Differentiation

• Support: sentence starters in larger font; allow students to rehearse a private “one-page script” before the interaction round (then require them to use it only partly to move towards unscripted speech).
• Support: provide a “question bank” with icons for Who/Where/Why/Today/Past/Future; students only choose 3–4 required questions.
• Challenge: require students to add an extra detail beyond a basic reply (e.g., a reason + feeling, or a description of what they do together).
• EAL/SEN: accept approximate pronunciation; assess communication overall while focusing on clarity and maintaining the interaction.
• Dyslexia-friendly reading options: audio read-aloud of worksheet prompts; use visual cue cards; reduce text density; allow oral recording of Part A ideas instead of writing.