Building phases and sentences
Your students could build phrases and sentences from a selection of words you have prepared on cards, playing a game similar to Last Card. Get them to do this activity in groups of four, five, or six. Give each player three to five cards on which you have written starter words in capital letters (for example, HE).
The aim is for the students to take turns to build a phrase or sentence that makes sense, for example:
| Maori vocabulary | English translation |
|---|---|
| HE paramu pāpura. | A purple plum. |
Any player who cannot contribute picks up a card from the pack. The winner is the first person with no cards.
You can make this card game more challenging by including more difficult words so that the students create more complex sentences.
For example:
| Maori vocabulary | English translation |
|---|---|
| HE pai ki ahau ngā āporo. | I like apples. |
| HE kawa ngā rēmana. | Lemons are sour. |
| HE pai ki a koe te mīti? | Do you like meat? |
| HE pai ki a ia te tiakarete. | She/He likes chocolate. |
| HE pai ngā rōpere ki ahau, nō te mea he reka. | I like strawberries, because they are sweet. |