My people of inspiration Ōku tāngata tauira
The people around us who help us to be our best selves. Who do you look up to? People can inspire us to identify what we value and bring those values to life. Using the My people cards and My people of inspiration activity sheet, explore the people of inspiration from your past, present and future who are important to you. Then choose one to explore further, using the Ata Challenge and Emotion cards, to understand how they help you and make you feel.
Oho — Resource collection
This activity is part of the Oho resource collection.
Essential info
- Timeframe:
- 1-2 lessons
- Years:
- 4–10
- Format:
- Individual or groups
Learners will
- Explore the personal and wider cultural connections between place, language, time, events, people and identity.
- Express and listen to ideas confidently.
- Describe themselves in relation to the groups within their class and to the whole class.
- Explore and discuss similarities and differences and how they contribute to the unique whānau, culture and identities of each class member.
- Identify personal strengths of theirs and others.
- Develop a deeper understanding of their whānau and personal histories.
- Investigate the factors that shape our identities and how.
- Identify different ways identities, languages, cultures and values are and could be represented in learning communities.
Ways to use the resource
- Connect this activity to Enriching Local Curriculum (ELC) by exploring the names of the places you visit.
- Centre these activities around relevant global, national or community places, events or themes.
- Try the activities as an individual, as a small group and as a whole class.
- Use the resources at home to get a deeper understanding of whānau culture.
- Capture outputs in a format of your choice.
- Use insights from these conversations in your learning design.
- If you don’t have the Ata resource, download and print the cards from hpe.tki.org.nz/ata or use the blank Oho cards to create your own.

Instructions
What you will need
Oho My people cards.
Ata Challenge and Emotion cards.
My people of inspiration activity sheet: One per person or group.
Set up
1. Prepare cards
This activity uses a combination of Oho and Ata cards. Add or remove My people and Ata Challenge and Emotion cards to suit the context of your classroom.
2. Prepare activity sheets
Print or photocopy one My people of inspiration activity sheet for each person or group.
Using the My people cards and My people of inspiration activity sheet, explore the people from your past, present and future who are important to you. Then choose one to explore further using the Ata Challenge and Emotion cards.
Place cards on the activity sheet. Discuss why you made each selection. We suggest introducing the card types, one set at a time, as you work through the steps.
Activity
1. My people
Select up to three My people cards to represent people who are important or you are connected to. Discuss why.
2. My people
Select one of your chosen My people cards to explore further. Place it on the second row.
3. Challenge
Select an Ata Challenge card that represents what makes you connected to them. What do they help you with?
4. Emotion
Select an Ata Emotion card that represents how they make you feel and why.
Discuss and compare
Explore the different perspectives and ideas around people of inspiration and connections. Then, discuss and compare your findings with the group or classroom.
Downloads
-
Oho My people of inspiration activity sheet
The A3-size Oho My people of inspiration activity sheet in pdf format.
Pdf, 96 KB
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Oho My people of inspiration teacher support material
Teacher support material for the Oho My people of inspiration activity.
Pdf, 333 KB
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Oho My people of inspiration Cards jpgs
The Oho My people of inspiration cards in jpg format.
6.7 MB
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Oho My people of inspiration Cards Printable
The Oho My people of inspiration cards on print-friendly A3-size pages. Files are in pdf format.
1 MB
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Oho Blank Cards Printable
Blank Oho cards in an A3-size printable format. Use for capturing ideas and customising the resource.
Pdf, 385 KB
Next steps
Explore other aspects of whānau and identity with activities such as My place in time, I inspire, My unique whānau and My whānau in my place of learning.