Pasifika Teacher Aide Project Classroom Resource 1.8 Teaching for vocabulary transfer: Bilingual word picture match: Le Polo Pulu
Rae Si'ilata / Pasifika Teacher Aide Project 26 1.8 Teaching for vocabulary transfer:
Samoan Bilingual Word Match: Le Polo Pulu
rubber pulu / pa’u
machete sapelu
tree la’au
ooze tafetafe lemu
house fale
corrugated iron apa
coconut fibre pulu
latex apulupulu
peel fofo’e
market maketi
Rae Si'ilata / Pasifika Teacher Aide Project 27 1.8 Teaching for vocabulary transfer:
Tongan Bilingual Word Match: Le Polo Pulu
rubber cricket ball fo’i pulu kilikiti ulapa
rubber ulapa
machete helepelu
tree ‘akau
ooze tafe
house fale
corrugated iron kapa
coconut fibre kavele’i pulu
latex to‘i akau
peel fohi
market māketi
Rae Si'ilata / Pasifika Teacher Aide Project 28 1.8 Term & Definition Match:
Vocabulary: Le Polo Pulu
rubber strong, sticky, elastic material (pulu)
ball round object used in games (polo)
tree trunk main stem of a tree (oga la’au)
particles small speck or bit
milky fluid from the rubber tree used latex for making rubber (pulu)
heavy bush knife used for cutting machete (sapelu)
metal sheets used for corrugated iron roofing (apa)
fibres of the coconut stringy, thin threads from husk the coconut (pulu)
ball made from rubber Samoan cricket ball (le polo pulu)
Rae Si'ilata / Pasifika Teacher Aide Project 29 1.8 Using visual text : Making a Kilikiti Ball, source Joshua-Milo Si’ilata 1.8 Using visual text : Making a Kilikiti Ball, source
Rae Si'ilata / Pasifika Teacher Aide Project 30 1.8 Using visual text as a way of expanding language: Strip text: Le Polo Pulu School Journal Part 2 Number 2 1999
Mikaele gets up early to collect latex from the pulu trees near his village.
Mikaele cuts the pulu trees and the milky latex oozes out.
He mixes the latex with water to stop it becoming too thick and sticky.
He paints the latex on to the corrugated iron then peels the strips off when they are dry.
He stretches the latex strips around a ball of old rubber.
He adds his new ball to the other balls he has already made, to sell at the market in Apia.
Rae Si'ilata / Pasifika Teacher Aide Project 31 1.8 Using visual text as a way of expanding language:
Strip text: Le Polo Pulu School Journal Part 2 Number 2 1999
Mikaele makes rubber cricket balls to sell at the market in Apia. The rubber to make the cricket balls comes from the pulu tree. He needs to get up early before school to collect latex from the pulu trees near his village.
Latex is a milky, white liquid found under the bark of the pulu tree. It contains tiny particles of rubber. By the time pulu trees are six years old, they have slash marks and blotchy, white stains from being tapped for latex.
Early in the morning is the best time to collect latex. It is cooler and it flows more freely. Mikaele makes a slanting cut with his machete, being careful not to damage the wood underneath.
The milky latex oozes out, dripping slowly down the trunk. Mikaele scrapes the latex from the bark, onto a large taro leaf with his finger.
When he has collected enough latex for one cricket ball, he takes it back to his fale. He mixes it with water to stop it becoming too thick and sticky.
Next he drags some sheets of corrugated iron into the sun and cleans off any dirt and dust. Then he uses coconut fibre to paint the latex onto the corrugated iron. He leaves the strips of latex to dry.
Then Mikaele finds scraps of old rubber to make the inside of the cricket ball. He squeezes the pieces together in a small ball. When the strips of latex are dry, he peels them off the corrugated iron and rolls them around the ball.
He stretches the rubber carefully around the ball to make the surface of the ball smooth and even. When it is finished, it is very solid and bouncy.
He adds it to the other balls he has already made. Two dozen – enough to sell at the market in Apia on Saturday.
Rae Si'ilata / Pasifika Teacher Aide Project 32