Best for
Place-based inquiry, science and social-studies integration, local environmental action, or evidence-gathering before a class project.
Science / Social studies ā¢ Years 7-12 ā¢ Local inquiry scaffold
Environmental Literacy: Kaitiakitanga Inquiry Framework
Use this handout to help Äkonga investigate a local environmental issue with structure: notice what is happening, gather evidence, identify people and places affected, and plan a realistic next action.
Free inquiry scaffold, premium adaptation path
This framework is ready to print. Te WÄnanga becomes useful when you want a version tuned to your local awa, maunga, ngahere, waste stream, or community campaign with class-specific prompts and vocabulary support.
- Swap in your own local environmental issue and rohe language.
- Generate junior support or senior extension versions of the same inquiry frame.
- Save the best localised version to My Kete and keep refining it in Creation Studio.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 30-45 minutes in class, or as the planning sheet for a longer local inquiry sequence.
- Grouping: Pairs or small groups work well if the issue has multiple perspectives.
- Prep: Choose a specific local issue so students are not left with āthe environmentā as a vague topic.
- Teaching move: Keep asking for place, evidence, and consequence: Which whenua or wai? What proof? Who is affected?
- Support / stretch: Give a shared issue for support; ask groups to propose multiple actions with trade-offs for stretch.
Resources already provided
- A local issue framing prompt
- Evidence and stakeholder planning spaces
- A cause-and-consequence reflection
- An action-planning section
- A curriculum companion for teacher-only planning and reporting
This page is designed to help kaiako move from generic ācare for the environmentā talk into specific, place-based inquiry.
NgÄ WhÄinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning how to investigate an environmental issue in our local place.
- We are learning how to use evidence and perspectives to understand what is happening.
- We are learning how to propose a realistic action that reflects kaitiakitanga.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can name a specific local issue and explain why it matters.
- I can record evidence and perspectives connected to the issue.
- I can propose a practical action and justify why it could help.
Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment
The companion page makes the links explicit around place and environment, community challenge, perspective-taking, and evidence-based inquiry.
Why this matters in Aotearoa
Environmental literacy in Aotearoa is strongest when students know the places they are talking about. Kaitiakitanga is not an abstract slogan; it is a relationship with whenua, wai, moana, ngahere, and the communities connected to them.
Using a mÄtauranga MÄori lens means asking not only what is damaged, but what responsibilities, relationships, and histories are connected to that place.
Choose your local issue
My issue is: _________________________________________________
It is happening in / near: _____________________________________
Why this place matters: _______________________________________
Gather evidence and perspectives
What evidence do we have?
List what you have seen, measured, photographed, read, or heard from reliable people.
Who is affected?
Think about whÄnau, hapÅ«, iwi, local residents, wildlife, the school, and future generations.
Causes, consequences, action
What seems to be causing the issue?
What could our class or community do next?
Hononga Marautanga Ā· Curriculum Alignment
Health and Physical Education ā Hauora
Level 3ā4: Identify and develop strategies to maintain and enhance hauora across the four dimensions of Te Whare Tapa WhÄ; understand how relationships, identity, and cultural connections shape wellbeing.
Social Sciences ā Tikanga Ä-Iwi
Level 3ā4: Understand how social and cultural factors affect health equity; recognise the impact of community, whÄnau, and cultural identity on individual and collective wellbeing.
Aronga MÄtauranga MÄori
Te Whare Tapa WhÄ reminds us that wellbeing is not a single dimension but a balance across taha tinana (physical), taha hinengaro (mental and emotional), taha wairua (spiritual), and taha whÄnau (family and social). MÄori frameworks for health do not separate the individual from their relationships, their culture, or their place in the world. This means that supporting student wellbeing in an Aotearoa classroom means supporting the whole person ā including their cultural identity, their connection to whÄnau, and the practices and places that nourish their wairua. Health education that ignores culture misses the most powerful determinants of wellbeing for many students in our classrooms.
NgÄ Rauemi Tautoko Ā· Support Materials
This handout is designed to be used alongside the broader unit resources available at Te Kete Ako handouts library. Related resources from the same unit are linked in the unit planner. All resources are provided ā no additional preparation is required to use this handout in your classroom.
Curriculum alignment
- Reading ā Making Meaning: Students will select and use sources of information, processes, and strategies to identify, form, and express ideas across a range of texts.
- Writing ā Creating Meaning: Students will select and use sources of information, processes, and strategies to write in a range of text types for a variety of purposes and audiences.