Ngā Manu o te Taiao • Goal setting and progress • Years 4-8 • Teach tomorrow

Manu Success Criteria Tracker

Use this tracker across the unit so students can see what success looks like, note evidence of progress, and identify one next step. It turns the unit goals into something visible and usable rather than leaving success criteria hidden on a lesson plan.

Ingoa / Name
Akomanga / Class

Best for

Whole-unit tracking, midpoint check-ins, student-led conferences, or a simple self-assessment before the final action day and poster share.

Kaiako use

Return to this page often. It is most useful when the class revisits it after observation, mapping, action planning, and final communication rather than only at the end.

Ākonga use

Students can tick progress, give evidence, and identify what they still need to improve so the unit feels coherent from start to finish.

Free progress core, premium localisation path

This tracker is ready now. Te Wānanga and Creation Studio can adapt it into a junior checklist, a bilingual progress page, or a school reporting version while keeping the same print-safe structure.

  • Create entry, on-level, and extension checkpoints for mixed-readiness classes.
  • Add school reporting language or specific local action milestones.
  • Save your adapted progression tracker into My Kete.
Adapt this in Te Wānanga Open Creation Studio Compare paid workflow options

Kaiako planning snapshot

  • Use length: 5-10 minute check-ins across the unit.
  • Grouping: Individual reflection with occasional peer explanation.
  • Prep: Decide when students will revisit the tracker and what evidence they should have available each time.
  • Differentiation: Support learners can focus on the first four criteria first; stretch learners can add examples and next-step targets.
  • Neurodiversity support: Highlight one row at a time, allow oral evidence before writing, and use the tracker as a calm progress anchor rather than a rushed compliance task.
Goal setting Progress monitoring Reflection

Resources already provided

  • Whole-unit success criteria in student-friendly language
  • Check, evidence, and next-step columns
  • Space for noticing strengths and stretch goals
  • Linked curriculum companion for teacher planning

All tracking tools are already on this page, so you do not need a second assessment log to make student progress visible.

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions

  • We are learning to notice and explain our progress across the unit.
  • We are learning to use evidence to show what we can already do.
  • We are learning to set a useful next step for our learning.

Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria

  • I can identify which unit goals I have already met.
  • I can give evidence for my progress.
  • I can name one goal I still need to work on.

Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment

Use the companion page to connect this tracker with English goal-setting and reflective language. The page is strongest when learners can talk about what helped, what changed, and what they will do next.

English Reflection Goal setting
Open curriculum companion

Why this matters in Aotearoa

Students often complete environmental units without being able to say what they learned or how they grew. This tracker helps make learning visible and supports mana-enhancing feedback, especially when the class is working with a mixture of cultural knowledge, scientific observation, and community action.

My progress tracker

I can... Tick or date What evidence shows this? My next step
Identify local manu using te reo Māori and English names.
Collect observations or count data carefully.
Explain what helps or harms a habitat.
Use kōrero or evidence from others respectfully.
Plan or take a realistic kaitiakitanga action.
Communicate a clear message about helping local manu.

Strength and stretch

One thing I am proud of

One thing I still want to improve

Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment

Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi

Level 3–4: Investigate social, cultural, environmental, and economic questions; gather and evaluate evidence from diverse sources; communicate findings and reasoning clearly for different audiences and purposes.

English — Communication

Level 3–4: Read, interpret, and evaluate information texts; write clearly and purposefully for specific audiences; apply critical thinking skills to evaluate sources and construct well-reasoned responses.

Aronga Mātauranga Māori

This resource sits within a kaupapa that recognises mātauranga Māori as a living knowledge system with its own frameworks, values, and ways of understanding the world. The New Zealand Curriculum calls for learning that reflects the bicultural partnership of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which means every subject area has an obligation to engage authentically with Māori perspectives — not as cultural decoration but as substantive contributions to how we understand our topics. The concepts of manaakitanga (care for others), kaitiakitanga (guardianship), whanaungatanga (relationship and belonging), and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) provide a values framework applicable across all learning areas, and all are relevant to the work in this handout.

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