Best for
Use when students are ready to apply ratio and scale to a meaningful architectural context rather than only textbook diagrams.
Mathematics + design • Years 7-10 • Ratio and scale
Marae Blueprint Scaling
Scaling turns a full-size structure into a workable plan. This handout uses marae design to make ratio, proportion, and measurement feel purposeful. The task is not to copy sacred design carelessly, but to understand how scale helps communicate shape, relationship, and mātauranga Māori in context.
Free scaling task, premium localised design variant
This version is already ready to teach. Te Wānanga becomes useful when you want alternate scales, local marae references, or differentiated number sets generated.
- Swap in easier or more complex scale ratios.
- Add a worked example sequence for support groups.
- Save a geometry-and-design pack in My Kete.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 35-45 minutes.
- Grouping: Individual or pair planning.
- Prep: Decide whether students use centimetres, grid paper, or both.
- Teaching move: Ask students to justify why the scale stays constant.
Resources already provided
- Wharenui feature reminder
- Scale formula and example
- Dimension-conversion table
- Blueprint planning space
- Teacher-only curriculum companion
The mathematical quality comes from maintaining proportion, not drawing something elaborate. Keep the context respectful and name mātauranga Māori explicitly.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning how scale drawings represent larger structures.
- We are learning to convert measurements using a fixed ratio.
- We are learning to explain why proportion matters in design.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can use the scale correctly to find new dimensions.
- I can label my blueprint with measurements.
- I can explain how I kept the structure proportional.
1. What does the blueprint need to show?
Wharenui body
Main meeting house footprint and overall dimensions.
Entrance and porch
Important front-facing features that affect the plan.
Proportion
The relationship between length, width, and feature placement.
2. Use the scale
Scaled length = real length ÷ scale factor
Example: at 1:100, a real length of 12 m becomes 12 cm on the plan.
| Part of the wharenui | Real measurement | Scale 1:100 | My working |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 18 m | __________ | __________ |
| Width | 9 m | __________ | __________ |
| Porch depth | 3 m | __________ | __________ |
| Door width | 1.5 m | __________ | __________ |
3. Check the ratio
Why can’t you change only one dimension?
What would happen if the scale changed halfway through?
4. Sketch your scaled plan
Draw a simple top-down plan. Label the measurements that show your scale is consistent.
5. Explain the design choices
Short design explanation
How did scale help you communicate the shape and size of the structure clearly?
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi
Level 3–4: Understand how Māori cultural practices, values, and whakapapa shape identity and community; recognise the significance of te Tiriti o Waitangi and the contribution of Māori culture to Aotearoa New Zealand's national identity.
Te Reo Māori — Language and Culture
Level 3–4: Use te reo Māori to express cultural concepts, identity, and relationships with accuracy and respect; understand the significance of Māori language as a taonga and its role in sustaining mātauranga Māori.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
This resource engages directly with te ao Māori as its subject — the values, practices, language, and worldview that have sustained Māori communities across centuries of challenge and change. Mātauranga Māori is not a supplement to this learning: it is the source. Students approaching this material are invited to engage with it not as outside observers studying a foreign culture, but as people in relationship with a living knowledge tradition that shapes the place they live, the language they may speak, and the obligations they carry as tāngata o Aotearoa — people of this land. That relationship calls for care, curiosity, and respect for knowledge-holders who carry what no textbook can fully contain.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
Reflect on what you have learned today. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?
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 engage with this resource to deepen understanding of Te Ao Māori — exploring whakapapa, tikanga, and cultural identity as living systems that shape who we are in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain key concepts from this resource using their own words.
- ✅ Students can connect tikanga Māori and whakapapa to real-world examples in Aotearoa.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters, visual glossaries, or graphic organisers to give entry-level access for students who need additional support. Offer extension tasks that deepen cultural inquiry — for example, exploring local hapū histories or interviewing a kaumātua.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key kupu Māori (whakapapa, tikanga, mana, mauri) with bilingual glossaries where available. Allow students to respond in their home language as a bridge to English expression.
Inclusion: Use accessible formats — clear headings, adequate whitespace, chunked tasks. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured choice in how they demonstrate understanding (oral, visual, written). Acknowledge that students may hold personal connections to the cultural content.
Mātauranga Māori lens: This unit centres Te Ao Māori as a living knowledge system. Whakapapa is not merely genealogy but a relational framework linking people, place, and time. Tikanga grounds behaviour in kaupapa Māori principles. Approach content with aroha and manaakitanga.
Prior knowledge: No specialist prior knowledge required for entry-level engagement. Best used after relevant lesson sequences, or as a standalone introduction to cultural identity.
Curriculum alignment
- Identity, Culture, and Organisation: Understand how cultural identity shapes participation in society — whakapapa, tikanga, and mana as foundations of Māori identity in Aotearoa New Zealand.