Winter Mural Creation

Level

Preschool (Years 0-1, ages 3-5)

Duration

30 minutes

Context

This is Lesson 6 of 7 within the unit "Winter Wonders in Te Reo". Children will collaborate to create a winter-themed mural, focusing on winter scenes, clothing, and food using Te Reo Māori vocabulary introduced in earlier lessons. The activity encourages verbal expression, collaboration, and cultural connection.

Curriculum Links

Learning Area: Te Reo Māori; The Arts; Social Sciences

(Aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum)

Key Competencies:
Participating and Contributing: Children will work together, listen to each other, and contribute ideas vocally and through art creation.
Using Language, Symbols and Texts: Use and reinforce previously learned Māori vocabulary to express ideas about winter.
Strands & Achievement Objectives (Early Childhood focus as per Phase 1 guidelines):
Language and Communication:
Experience, share, and respond to a growing vocabulary of Māori words related to the natural world, seasons, clothing, and food.
Use simple sentences (verb + noun), practising pronunciation and fluency.
The Arts (Visual Arts):
Explore ideas through collaborative visual art using a variety of materials.
Express and represent ideas with creativity and imagination.
Social Sciences:
Explore the environment and community; understand seasonal changes and customary Māori practices related to seasons.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, students will be able to:

Identify and use key Māori vocabulary related to winter scenes, clothing, and food learned in previous lessons.
Collaboratively create a mural representing winter using art materials.
Express ideas verbally in Te Reo Māori about the objects and scenes they include.
Demonstrate simple sentence structures when speaking (e.g., "Kei te kakahu ahau i te koti." — "I am wearing a jacket.").

Resources Needed

Large mural paper or board
Variety of art materials: coloured paper, paint, crayons, glue, scissors (child-safe)
Pictures or flashcards of winter vocabulary in Te Reo Māori (e.g., huka (snow), koti (jacket), tīhi (cheese), matua kāmura (potato))
Visual vocabulary aids/posters from previous lessons
Whiteboard or chart paper and markers for modelling
Labels/stickers with Te Reo Māori words for children to place on their art

Lesson Outline & Timing

1. Warm-Up & Vocabulary Review (5 minutes)

Begin with a brief whole-class korero (talk) reviewing key Māori vocabulary from previous lessons using flashcards or images.
Use a call-and-response chanting technique to reinforce pronunciation. Example vocabulary:
Huka (snow)
Koti (jacket)
Kāhu (clothing)
Kai (food)
Encourage students to repeat words and form short, simple sentences with teacher support.
Use sentence stems: "Kei te..." (I am...), "He mea..." (It is a...) to facilitate expression.

Teaching Tip: Use encouraging body language and gestures to support comprehension and engagement.

2. Mural Introduction and Planning (5 minutes)

Show the blank mural paper and explain the project: "Today we will work together to create a winter mural that shows what winter means to us."
Point to the categories: Scenes (te āhua o te takurua), Clothing (ngā kākahu), Food (ngā kai).
Briefly discuss ideas with the children, eliciting responses in Te Reo Māori, e.g., "He aha ngā mea e kite ana koe i te takurua?" ("What things do you see in winter?")
Model one example: "Kei te mahi au i tētahi koti mō te takurua." ("I am making a jacket for winter.")
Assign children to small pairs or groups to work together on different parts of the mural.

3. Collaborative Mural Creation and Verbal Expression (15 minutes)

Children create their parts of the mural using the art materials.
Teachers and classroom assistants circulate to:
Prompt use of vocabulary by asking questions, e.g., "He aha tō ingoa?" ("What is your name?"), "He aha tāu e mahi ana?" ("What are you making?").
Model and encourage use of verbal phrase structures in Te Reo Māori.
Support collaborative decision-making and turn-taking.
Encourage children to place labels or stickers of vocabulary words next to their artwork, reinforcing word recognition.
Celebrate contributions with positive feedback in Māori, e.g., "Kei te pai koe!" ("You are doing well!").

4. Sharing and Reflection (5 minutes)

Assemble the children around the completed mural.
Invite several children to stand and describe their contribution in Māori, supported by teacher sentence stems:
"Kei te mahi au i..." ("I am making...")
"Ko tēnei he..." ("This is a...")
Celebrate the collective effort using inclusive language: "Ka mahi ngātahi tātou katoa." ("We all worked together.")
Teacher summarises the vocabulary and encourages children to use the words at home.

Assessment

Formative assessment through teacher observation of verbal expression in Te Reo Māori during the mural creation phase. Note ability to recall and use vocabulary and sentence structures.
Oral feedback checks for understanding during sharing time.
Anecdotal records of participation and language use for each student.
Use of art as evidence of comprehension of winter themes and vocabulary.

Differentiation and Inclusion

Use visual cues, gestures, and real objects to support learners needing extra language support.
Offer sentence stems for children still developing verbal skills.
Provide opportunities for children to express themselves non-verbally through art if needed.
Ensure accessible materials and manageable task parts for all ability levels.

Teacher Reflection Prompts

Were students able to recall and use winter-related vocabulary in context?
Did children engage positively in collaboration and verbal sharing?
Were the sentence stems effective scaffolds for verbal expression?
What adaptations would enhance participation or language development for all learners in future lessons?

This session maximises oral language development alongside visual arts, aligns with the New Zealand Curriculum's focus on language, identity, and community, and offers a culturally rich and engaging learning experience for young learners in Te Reo Māori within a thematic unit on winter.