Pounamu Trading Economics Worksheet
Pounamu Trading Economics Worksheet · Years 7–10
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Apply mathematical skills to investigate and solve real-world problems
- Represent and interpret data using appropriate mathematical tools and language
- Identify patterns and relationships in mathematical contexts including cultural settings
- Communicate mathematical reasoning clearly with supporting evidence and working
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- I show clear mathematical working and can explain each step
- I can accurately represent data in at least one graphical or tabular form
- I can identify and explain a pattern or relationship in the data or problem
- I can connect my mathematical findings to a real-world or cultural context
Pounamu Trading — Cultural Context
Before European contact, Māori had sophisticated trading networks across Aotearoa. Pounamu (greenstone/jade) from the South Island (Te Wai Pounamu) was among the most valued taonga — traded across great distances for other resources, food, and goods. These word problems use pounamu trading to explore real mathematical relationships.
Problem Set A — Basic Exchange
Problem 1: A trader has some large pounamu pieces worth 8 kūmara baskets each. After trading 3 pieces, they have earned enough kūmara to buy 2 extra pieces, giving a total of 12 kūmara baskets. How many pounamu pieces did the trader start with?
Show your working:
My equation: Answer:
Problem Set B — Ratio and Trade Routes
Problem 2: Two rangatahi are trading. For every 2 pounamu pieces, Aroha receives 5 kete of dried kūmara. If she trades 8 pounamu pieces, how many kete does she receive? Write this as a ratio and solve it.
Ratio:
Answer:
Explain how you solved it:
Problem Set C — Algebraic Extension
Problem 3: Let p = the number of pounamu pieces and k = kete of food. The trading relationship is: k = 3p + 4. If a trader has 18 kete, how many pounamu pieces can they trade for? Show all working.
Extension: What does the "+4" in the equation represent in terms of the trade context? Discuss with a partner.
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Level 3–4: Apply number operations, statistical analysis, and mathematical reasoning to solve real-world problems; represent data using appropriate tools; interpret and communicate mathematical findings clearly.
Level 3–4: Understand how mathematical data and statistics are used to describe and analyse social, economic, and environmental patterns; recognise how data can reveal or obscure inequality.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
Reflect on your learning. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Mathematics has always been part of mātauranga Māori — in the navigation of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, in the architectural precision of wharenui, in the sophisticated storage and accounting systems of rua kūmara, and in the patterns of kōwhaiwhai and tukutuku that encode mathematical relationships in visual form. When Māori students engage with mathematics, they are not encountering something foreign: they are meeting a domain of knowledge that their tīpuna practised with extraordinary sophistication. Framing mathematical learning through whakapapa — connecting concepts to real Māori contexts — is not "cultural add-on" but recognition of where much mathematical knowledge lives in this land.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
- Mathematical vocabulary glossary — key terms in English and te reo Māori
- Graph templates — for representing data in multiple formats
- Cultural context cards — connecting mathematical concepts to Māori contexts