Best for
Week 5 drafting, gallery walks, peer feedback rounds, and any class needing a clear quality bar for visual and oral advocacy about local manu.
Ngā Manu o te Taiao • Assessment and feedback • Years 4-8 • Teach tomorrow
Manu Poster Rubric
Use this rubric for self, peer, or teacher feedback on a poster, speech support slide, or short PSA about local manu. It keeps assessment focused on evidence, message, and action rather than decoration alone.
Free assessment core, premium localisation path
This rubric is ready now. Te Wānanga and Creation Studio can adapt it into a school brand, bilingual rubric, or a senior visual-text version with stronger design language without losing the printable format.
- Create junior, on-level, and extension versions for different readiness levels.
- Add school-specific success descriptors or reporting language.
- Save your rubric variants into My Kete for repeated use.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 10 minutes to unpack, then revisit during drafting and final feedback.
- Grouping: Individual self-check, then peer pair or teacher conference.
- Prep: Decide whether this rubric is for posters, slides, short PSAs, or a mixed product set.
- Differentiation: Support learners can focus on three core criteria first; stretch learners can aim for a stronger visual-text and design performance.
- Neurodiversity support: Highlight one criterion at a time, use verbal feedback before written notes, and reduce overload by checking the rubric in stages.
Resources already provided
- Student-friendly rubric descriptors
- Space for self or teacher scoring
- Feed-forward reflection boxes
- Clear link back to the inquiry evidence and action task
- Linked curriculum companion for teacher planning
All feedback tools needed for the task are on this page, so kaiako do not need to build a separate assessment sheet.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning to communicate a clear message about local manu.
- We are learning to use evidence and community voice to strengthen our message.
- We are learning to improve our work through feedback.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can explain the main message of my poster or PSA clearly.
- I can include evidence, a quote, or observations that support the message.
- I can identify one improvement I need to make before sharing.
Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment
Use the companion page to connect this rubric with visual-text creation, oral presentation, and community participation. This assessment tool is strongest when students know it from the start of the task, not just at the end.
Why this matters in Aotearoa
Strong advocacy in Aotearoa needs more than a tidy poster. Students need evidence, careful language, and respectful use of te reo Māori and community voice. This rubric helps make those expectations visible.
Poster or PSA rubric
| Criteria | Beginning | Ready and developing | Strong and convincing | Self / teacher score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear message | The message is hard to understand. | The message is clear most of the time. | The message is memorable, focused, and easy to follow. | |
| Evidence used well | There is little or no evidence. | At least one useful fact, count, or observation is included. | Evidence is chosen well and clearly strengthens the message. | |
| Community voice | No quote or perspective is included. | A quote or viewpoint is included. | The quote or perspective adds mana and helps the audience care. | |
| Te reo Māori and place | Little or no use of relevant local language or place connection. | Some kupu Māori or place references are used appropriately. | Te reo Māori and place-based language are used naturally and respectfully. | |
| Call to action | The audience is not sure what to do next. | The action is clear. | The action is clear, realistic, and motivating. | |
| Visual design or delivery | The layout or delivery makes the message harder to follow. | The layout or delivery supports the message. | The design or delivery choices strongly support meaning and audience impact. |
Feed-forward notes
What is already working well?
What should I improve before sharing?
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
The Arts — Ngā Toi
Level 3–4: Apply design thinking and artistic skills to communicate ideas and meaning; make informed choices about techniques, media, and presentation for specific purposes and audiences.
Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi
Level 3–4: Understand how arts and design reflect and shape cultural identity; recognise how Māori and Pacific artistic traditions carry knowledge, history, and cultural values.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Māori artistic traditions — tā moko, kōwhaiwhai, tukutuku, whakairo, and kapa haka — are not simply aesthetic expressions: they are knowledge systems that encode whakapapa, tribal history, and cultural values in visual and performative form. The design choices made in Māori art are deliberate and meaningful, and the knowledge required to "read" them correctly is part of the mātauranga held by each iwi. When students engage with artistic design, they are participating in a form of communication that Māori practitioners have developed over centuries. Designing with cultural awareness means understanding that images, patterns, and forms carry obligations — especially when they draw on traditions that belong to others.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · 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 — no additional preparation is required to use this handout in your classroom.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will investigate the ecological roles of ngā manu o te taiao — the birds of the natural world — within local habitats, drawing on both science and mātauranga Māori to understand why native birds are taonga and what kaitiakitanga requires of us in their protection.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ I can describe the ecological roles of at least three native New Zealand birds and their habitat needs.
- ✅ I can explain threats facing native manu and evaluate conservation strategies used by kaitiaki.
- ✅ I can connect traditional Māori knowledge of manu to contemporary ecological understanding.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide illustrated species cards with key facts for entry-level learners. Offer extension tasks requiring students to design a habitat restoration plan using ecological principles and mātauranga Māori knowledge systems.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key science and te reo Māori vocabulary for native species. Use visual supports — photographs, recordings of bird calls, and habitat diagrams. Allow students to label and describe in home language first.
Inclusion: Use sound recordings of native bird calls, outdoor observation activities, and tactile materials. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured observation journals and clear inquiry sequences. Ensure field-based tasks have accessible alternatives.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Explore Māori relationships with manu as tohu — birds as environmental indicators and messengers carrying cultural meaning. Connect to traditional ecological knowledge about seasonal patterns of bird behaviour (maramataka), the use of manu feathers in taonga (e.g. kahu huruhuru), and the role of specific birds such as kiwi, huia, and kōkako as taonga species with deep whakapapa significance. Kaitiakitanga of manu is both practical and spiritual.
Prior knowledge: Best used after introductory ecology concepts. Connects well to science food webs and biodiversity units.
Curriculum alignment
- Ecosystems — Knowledge: Biotic and abiotic factors in ecosystems can affect the distribution and abundance of organisms; changes in one part can affect the balance and wellbeing of the whole system.