16 YEAR OLD MAORI BOY ACHIEVING THROUGH ENGLISH BOOK 1 Phill Callaghan
HE SHE THEY THEM IS Visual Language Chart Verb: A Verb is an action/doing word. Examples: Atareta runs. Kawhia eats everything in the house. Rawiri hits a home run. Noun: A Noun is a naming word. Examples: The chair is grey. The boy is angry. I am going to town. Adjective: An Adjective is a describing word, a word that describes a noun. Examples: My big whare (house) echoes when it is empty. My hairy spider scares me. The smiling cat is full of mischief. Proper Noun: A Proper Noun is a proper name. Examples: I work at Bunnings (Proper name of a hardware store). My name is John (Proper name of a boy). I am from Gisborne (Proper name of a town). Pronoun: A word that is used to replace a noun. They can include but are not limited to; I, me, they, them, he, she. Examples: He is going to the beach. I am tired. They went to the marae. Metaphor: A direct comparison, saying one thing IS another. Examples: My aunty is a raging bull. My car is a dinosaur. My koro is a rock. 6
MISS T S FAMOUS WRITING TEMPLATE: LETSCE Lived experiences Teacher Schema Conventions Example Kina adjective full stop Seagull verb comma Rough noun conjunction Calm proper noun new paragraph Fish n chips pronoun accurate spelling Pāua Crayfish Boat Sand Blue sea Golden glow Tamanuiterā assonance alliteration TANGAROA THE MIGHTY, by Hemi The sea is calm today. Tamanuiterā (sun) is shining high above the bay. The golden sand shimmers in the early morning sun. My uncle Tawhaki is diving for kina, because we have a birthday in the whanau. Mere, my sister, has built a huge sandcastle. I run across the sand, because it is very hot. A sudden gust of wind catches aunty Kara by surprise. Above us, Tamanuiterā (sun) has hid behind a cloud. The air has turned cool. NB: A new paragraph is always added, when a change of setting, time, action or character takes place in the story. In my story, the change is when the weather goes from hot to cold, so I need to insert a new paragraph. A change in setting can also create negative or harsh words, depending on how the mood changes in the story. In the above story, Tangaroa goes from calm to rough. See if you can make a list of nice adjectives and harsh adjectives. 22
The first language feature we look at is called a metaphor. A quick way to remember it, is to say, one thing is another. If I said Peta is a rock, I'm not saying he is a rock literally, but that he is strong, big and immovable. This is figurative language, not literal. Take a look at the symbol used for metaphor. I reckon they drew my nanny for this symbol, because she loves to kangakanga (curse) and get really mad when you have a kai and don t clean up your mess. Remember that a metaphor is a direct comparison, so one thing is definitely another. Example: Aunty Mere is a raging bull (to make aunty look angry). Now have a look at the following metaphors and see if you can also provide your own example in the spaces provided. Example: The field is a carpet of grain (to show how brown and thick the grain is). Example: My mountain is a fierce warrior (to show how tall and up-right my mountain is). Metaphor 10
Sometimes we are able to extend the metaphor and expand on characteristics that are similar to something else. An extended metaphor continues the image or comparison over several different examples, all strengthening the image of tall, big, huge and mountainous. Have a look at the poem about Hoani s aunty Shine. I bet he got a mean as growling for this one. ELEPHANT My aunty is an elephant She is colossal, a beast, a mammoth, Her hands are a valley Her voice a trumpet. Now you have a turn at extending a metaphor. Think about your marae, your awa, skate-boarding, hunting, diving and see if you can use three metaphors in your story to make it more creative. Hemi reckoned his Koro was a bolt of thunder when he got angry. I bet he got a hard clip around the ears for that one. 11
Personification The next language feature we focus on is personification. The definition of personification is: Giving an animal or something which is non-living a person or human characteristic. Look at the visual symbol above for personification and remember that every time you see this symbol, we are giving an animal or a non-living thing a person or human characteristic. Personification is also a type of metaphor, but can also be a simile as well, e.g, the house was like a hollow famished refugee, bones showing, sunken eyes and open weeping sores. Examples: My maunga peered down at me (to show how big and aloof he is). The marae stands regally in the early morning sun (I ve given my marae a pair of legs to show that he is up-right and sturdy). The waves creep softly upon the sandy shoreline (I ve given the ocean a pair of arms to show how soothing he is on a calm day). The car eats up the road (I ve given the car a mouth to show you how fast he is). The grave reaches out to grab him (I ve given the grave some arms to make it memorable). Ranginui cradles the land (I ve given the sky some hands to show the love it has for Papatuanuku). 12
Now look at the example of the poem which has given the mountain human characteristics. My Maunga The mountain arched its back (I have given the mountain a back to show you how strong he is). It peered out at the lonely land (I have given the mountain eyes to show how lonely it is). Its long mossy hair, scraggy and un-kept. (I have given the mountain messy hair to show you that he is un-kept, because he is lonely, he has no friends). The mountain wept for its loved ones (I have given the mountain eyes to cry, because the village he has cared for have been killed by a war party). Now you have a go at using personification to describe an animal or non-living thing. You might give your maunga (mountain) human-like characteristics, or your marae. Think about a recent trip you ve taken to the ocean, maybe you can personify Tangaroa. 14
Whakawhanaungatanga: Sharing out works Let s have a look at another story written by one of the boys in the class. Have a look at Waata s story below about Black Ops. No-one knew that Waata could write, because all he used to do in class was draw pictures and dream about Lakquiqui, man he had it bad for her. Anyway here s his story called Black Ops. I ve included some of the language devices and features from the chart that we ve been using through-out the book, it might help you to remember them. Can you spot some of the language features Waata uses from the visual language chart in his story? We ve put them underneath to trigger your memory. ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE ENEMY (A PIECE OF DESCRIPTIVE WRITING ABOUT MY PARENTS) My world has come to a crashing halt. Her gigantic hand, sweeps across the screen, like a rogue tornado. I scream Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! My life flashes before my eyes; friends, girls, Black Ops, my world of virtual reality, like a fading beacon in a sea of peril. Babies scream, breakfast plates hit the table with a loud thud, Dad looks me over, like a lion ready to devour its prey. I arch my back and sit up straight, ready to battle the beast. Mum looks on while Dad growls. Eat properly boy. Sit up straight, do your homework last night? Yes dad, I reply promptly. I m going to be late home, Jimmy s helping me out with homework, is that OK Dad? Dad has a big smile on his face. His big tree trunk arms reach across and give me a bear hug. Proud of you boy, at least one of us is going to do well in school. I look at Mum, her face like a stone. Got you I whisper to myself. 1 to me, 0 to you Mum. I smile to myself, that s the one good thing about playing Black Ops that parents don t realise, it teaches you to always be one step ahead of the enemy. 26
Post Test: The 16 Year old Māori boy Assessment material. After completing all of the exercises in the book and making yourself familiar with all the parts of speech, language features and syntax, put your knowledge to the test and see if you can identify the correct language tool by placing the correct name alongside it and then provide an example to go with it (place the example underneath the definition). Language feature: Name of language feature: 45