Awa Evidence Gallery
Tūāhanga Māramatanga · Curating Your Best Evidence for Display
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Select the strongest evidence from your awa investigation — not all of it, but the best of it
- Organise evidence by type (photo, quote, data) and explain why each piece matters
- Present evidence clearly enough that someone who wasn't there can understand your awa's story
- Connect your evidence to a specific action or message for your poster or speech
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- Each gallery tile has one photo description, one quote, and one data reading
- Every piece of evidence has a date, location, or name — context that makes it real
- I can explain why each piece of evidence matters for the awa's health or story
- I have chosen my strongest tile and know where I'll use it — poster or speech
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Level 3–4: select and present information for a specific purpose; organise ideas and evidence logically; understand that evidence without context is incomplete.
Level 3–4: communicate findings using appropriate evidence; evaluate which evidence is most relevant; understand that strong conclusions require multiple types of evidence.
Gallery Tile 1 — Your Strongest Set of Evidence
Choose your BEST evidence. One photo, one quote, one data reading. This is your centrepiece — the evidence that tells the awa's story most powerfully.
Whakaahua · Photo
What it shows:
Why it matters:
Kōrero · Quote / Voice
"
Who said it:
Their connection:
Raraunga · Data
Location tested:
What this shows:
This tile goes in my: ☐ Poster ☐ Speech ☐ Both
Together, these three pieces tell us:
Gallery Tile 2 — Supporting Evidence
Whakaahua · Photo
What it shows:
Why it matters:
Kōrero · Quote / Voice
"
Who said it:
Their connection:
Raraunga · Data
Location tested:
What this shows:
This tile goes in my: ☐ Poster ☐ Speech ☐ Both
Arowhai Angitu · Quick Success Check
☐ Each tile has a photo, a quote, AND a data reading
☐ Every piece of evidence has context (who / when / where)
☐ I have explained why each piece matters — not just what it is
☐ I know which tile is my strongest and where I will use it
My overall evidence set shows that the awa is:
The single most important thing my evidence proves:
Tauira · What a Strong Gallery Tile Looks Like
Exemplar Evidence Set — Mangakōtukutuku Stream
Photo: Close-up of algae growing on rocks near the stormwater outlet — shows the effect of nutrient runoff on the stream bed. Used in poster.
Quote: "When I was a girl, we drank from this awa. We swam every summer. Now I wouldn't let my mokopuna near it." — Whaea Aroha, kaumātua, 60+ years living near the stream.
Data: pH 6.2 (slightly acidic), temp 14°C, litter count 22 items (mostly plastic). Tested at the stormwater outlet, 9am, Wednesday.
Why this is strong: Three different types of evidence working together — visual (shows the problem), human (shows it was once better), and numerical (gives a specific, measurable picture). Someone who wasn't there can understand exactly what is happening and why it matters.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
In te ao Māori, knowledge is held collectively — it belongs to the whānau, the hapū, the iwi. An evidence gallery transforms individual observations into shared knowledge. When you select your best evidence and explain WHY it matters, you practice the kaitiaki skill of bearing witness — of saying "I saw this, I recorded this, and I believe it matters." The gallery is also a taonga — a record of your class's relationship with the awa that future classes can build on. Treat it with that care.
Notice how the three types of evidence reflect three ways of knowing: the photo (kite, what the eye sees), the quote (kōrero tuku iho, knowledge passed down through speech), and the data (āhuatanga, measured quality). Kaitiaki have always used all three — reading the tohu, listening to kaumātua, and counting what they observed — to understand the health of the taiao.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
Resources already provided:
- This evidence gallery organiser — complete during and after the awa visit
- Awa Evidence Capture sheet (awa-evidence-capture.html) — your raw field notes
- Poster Planner (awa-poster-planner.html) — use your strongest tile to plan the poster
- Oral Rubric (awa-oral-rubric.html) — check which evidence type is strongest for speaking
Aronga Rerekē · Differentiated Pathways
Tīmata · Entry Level
Complete Tile 1 only (photo + quote + data). Write one sentence explaining why your strongest piece of evidence matters. Mark which tile goes in your poster.
Paerewa · On Level
Complete both tiles. For Tile 1, write a paragraph explaining how the three types of evidence work together to tell the awa's story. Mark where each tile will be used.
Tūāpae · Extension
Complete both tiles plus the overall evidence synthesis at the bottom of Tile 1. Then write a paragraph answering: "What does your kaumātua quote add that your pH reading cannot? Why do we need both?" This is the question every kaitiaki environmental advocate must be able to answer.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will explore awa (river/water) as taonga, developing understanding of kaitiakitanga through water guardianship — connecting indigenous environmental knowledge with scientific and civic action.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain the significance of awa in te ao Māori and their local community.
- ✅ Students can identify actions that reflect kaitiaki responsibilities for local waterways.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters and graphic organisers for inquiry tasks. Offer entry-level observation activities and extension challenges involving community advocacy or environmental data analysis.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key te reo Māori terms (awa, kaitiaki, wāhi tapu, tūrangawaewae). Allow visual and diagrammatic responses. Bilingual glossaries strongly recommended.
Inclusion: Connect to students' own waterways and places of belonging. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured field investigation templates and clear step-by-step inquiry protocols.