Years 7-10
Strongest teaching range
Synthesis with judgement
Primary teaching fit
Teacher-only planning note
This page should feel like synthesis, not a pile-up of unrelated evidence. The key teaching move is
helping students decide what each signal contributes and why it deserves that weight.
Strong fit
SCIENCE-502f4d6974: Observing local ngā tohu o
te taiao, such as flowering of certain plants or bird migrations, and explaining why
these indicators can be used to understand and predict other environmental changes using an
ecosystem model.
How this handout aligns
The task explicitly asks students to include local or Māori signals in a final forecast and to
explain how those signals contribute to environmental prediction.
Prediction
Observation
Ecosystem model
This is the clearest science fit because the handout is directly about
using observed signals to forecast change.
Strong fit
MATHEMATICS-8cb7e35600: Communicating findings in context to answer an
investigative question, using evidence, providing explanations, and evaluating whether claims are
supported by the data.
How this handout aligns
The final forecast statement, confidence explanation, and action recommendation all require
students to communicate a claim in context and justify it with evidence.
Communication
Evidence
Confidence
Useful for keeping the forecast as a defensible statistical claim rather
than an unsupported opinion.
Aotearoa lens
Integrated forecasting is strongest in Aotearoa when teachers make the
relationship between data, local observation, and mātauranga Māori
explicit instead of treating one source as decorative.
How to use this resource well
Ask students which signal changes the decision most. That question reveals whether they are
genuinely weighing evidence or only listing sources side by side.
Dual knowledge systems
Weighing evidence
Kaitiakitanga
This keeps the synthesis meaningful and avoids a superficial “science plus
culture” presentation.
Puna Kōrero — Sources
Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2021). Te Mātaiaho: The Refreshed New Zealand Curriculum. Ministry of Education.
Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand. (2021). Tātaiako: Cultural Competencies for Teachers of Māori Learners. Teaching Council.