Maaori-medium educators are deeply committed to the revitalisation of tikanga and te reo Maaori in order to enhance the cultural setting in which aakonga learn and kaiako teach. This article originates from a project which set out to explore the teaching, learning and achievement in paangarau of learners in a Maaori- medium puna maatauranga kiritoa/modern learning environment (PMK/MLE) located in a small town in Aotearoa New Zealand. In this two- year study, a total of 106 year 4–6 aakonga were supported to consider the teaching and learning of paangarau in their PMK.