Best for
Local stream, bush, coast, school-ground, or marae-adjacent inquiry where students need a practical structure for observation and reflection.
Te Taiao • Kaitiakitanga • Years 7-9 • Local place inquiry
Kaitiakitanga Field Journal
Use this journal to help ākonga observe a local place carefully, notice tohu taiao, connect field notes to tikanga and responsibility, and move from looking to action. It is designed for local inquiry rather than generic “nature worksheet” work.
Free classroom starter, premium localisation path
This journal is ready to print now. If your school needs a version built around a particular awa, mahinga kai site, maramataka focus, or local environmental issue, Te Wānanga can adapt it around your place and partnership context.
- Add local species names, iwi and hapū guidance, or site protocols.
- Create support, core, and stretch versions for different fieldwork roles.
- Save the adapted sequence into My Kete or Creation Studio.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 35-60 minutes depending on travel and observation time.
- Grouping: Small groups with clear roles such as observer, sketcher, recorder, and speaker.
- Prep: Confirm local tikanga, safety expectations, and who should be acknowledged before the visit begins.
- Teaching move: Keep the focus on noticing relationships and responsibilities, not just collecting disconnected facts.
Resources already provided
- Observation, sketching, and note-taking spaces
- Tikanga and group-role prompts
- Tohu taiao and pressure/imbalance questions
- Action-planning scaffold
- Curriculum companion for teacher-only planning clarity
If the lesson mentions observation boxes, action prompts, or reflection space, those supports already exist on this page.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning how kaitiakitanga links observation, care, and action.
- We are learning how to notice tohu taiao and other signs in a local place.
- We are learning how to record evidence and respond respectfully as a group.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can record useful observations about a local place.
- I can explain at least one responsibility our group has in that place.
- I can suggest a realistic next step that reflects kaitiakitanga.
Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment
Use the companion page to make the curriculum link explicit around tikanga, local environmental signs, and interaction that is guided by whanaungatanga and manaakitanga.
Why this matters in Aotearoa
Kaitiakitanga is not only “looking after nature”. It is about relationship, responsibility, and the way people move with care in a place. Strong fieldwork in Aotearoa needs that wider lens.
Different iwi and hapū hold different tikanga, maramataka practices, and local environmental signs. This journal is designed to help students notice and act respectfully, not pretend one national rule covers every rohe.
Before you begin
Site and conditions
Group roles and karakia / tikanga note
Who should we acknowledge here?
What do we notice?
Record biotic, abiotic, and human-made signs. Use words, labels, or quick sketches.
Tohu taiao and place relationships
One sign of the season or weather is: _________________________________
One sign of pressure, imbalance, or harm is: _____________________________
One relationship between species, people, or place is: __________________
One local question I still have is: _____________________________________
Kaitiaki reflection
What responsibilities do we carry here? Who should be consulted before any action is taken?
Action planning
Small action
Who needs to be involved?
How will we show manaakitanga and tikanga?
Support, core, and stretch pathways
Support
Use one observation box at a time, record orally or with labels first, and work with a partner so the task stays chunked and manageable.
Core
Complete the observation, reflection, and one action-planning section with evidence from the site.
Stretch
Add a comparison with another site, another season, or a local tohu taiao pattern gathered from whānau or community knowledge.
Neurodiversity and inclusion note: allow sketching, voice notes, photo labels, and role-based participation before expecting a full written page from every learner.
Teach this tomorrow
Print or share
- One copy per learner or pair
- Clipboards, pencils, and optional coloured labels
Decide before class
- Local protocol, safety boundaries, and acknowledgement steps
- Whether your focus is observation, restoration, or community action
Good progress looks like
- Students move beyond listing facts and notice relationships
- Action ideas are grounded in place and responsibility, not generic slogans
Natural continuation
- Turn notes into a restoration brief, class report, or local poster
- Adapt it in Te Wānanga for your next field trip or rohe inquiry
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi
Level 3–4: Understand how cultural identity, whakapapa, and tikanga shape people's place in their community and the world; recognise and respect 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 identity, whakapapa, and cultural concepts with accuracy and respect; understand the significance of place names, personal names, and whakapapa as cultural knowledge systems.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Kaitiakitanga is not simply "environmental protection" — it is a relational obligation that flows from whakapapa. Māori are kaitiaki of the taiao not because they choose to be environmentalists, but because the land, water, and living world are kin — connected through whakapapa to the people who care for them. A field journal that observes the natural world through this lens asks a different set of questions: not just "what do I see?" but "what is my relationship to this?" and "what are my obligations to what I observe?" These are the questions that make kaitiakitanga a living practice rather than an abstract value.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
- Unit 1 Guided Inquiry Project (unit-1-guided-inquiry-project.html) — use field journal observations to drive inquiry
- Whakapapa Family Tree Template (whakapapa-family-tree-template-unit1.html) — connect kaitiakitanga to whakapapa
- Te Ao Māori Cultural Concepts Word Search (te-ao-maori-cultural-concepts-word-search-unit1.html) — vocabulary for environmental kaitiakitanga
- Pepeha Builder (pepeha-builder-template-unit1.html) — locate yourself in relation to the taiao you are observing
📋 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.