🧺 Te Kete Ako

Weather Calendar Graphs

Weather Calendar Graphs · Years 7–9

Year LevelYears 7–9
TypeStudent handout — classroom resource

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions

  • Investigate a scientific concept or phenomenon using observation and evidence
  • Apply scientific understanding to explain natural processes and systems
  • Connect scientific knowledge to environmental decision-making and kaitiakitanga
  • Evaluate how both mātauranga Māori and Western science contribute to understanding

Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria

  • I can describe the key concept or phenomenon accurately using scientific vocabulary
  • I can explain how evidence supports my scientific understanding
  • I can connect scientific knowledge to at least one real-world environmental application
  • I can identify where mātauranga Māori and Western science perspectives intersect or differ
🌦️ Science 📊 Mathematics 🎓 Year 7–9 🇳🇿 NZC Level 3–5

Weather Calendar Graphs

🌧️ Maramataka · data collection · climate literacy
"Ko te hau kāinga, ko te hau āraara" — The wind of home, the wind of warning.
(In te ao Māori, weather was not merely meteorological — it was relational. Wind direction, cloud patterns, and bird behaviour were signs that skilled observers could read to know when to plant, fish, travel, or shelter. This handout develops that observational intelligence using modern data tools.)

Before meteorological stations, Māori communities used the maramataka — a sophisticated lunar-solar calendar — to predict and track weather patterns, sea conditions, and seasonal cycles. The maramataka encoded generations of careful observation into a system that guided planting, fishing, harvesting, and travel. This handout asks you to do the same thing — but with a data table, a graph, and a critical eye.

Part 1 — Te Maramataka: Reading the Sky the Old Way

🌙 Key Maramataka Indicators (across different iwi traditions)

Indicator What it signals Modern equivalent
Matariki (Pleiades) rising, June–July New year; time to reflect, remember, plan the garden Winter solstice / seasonal calendar
Pipiri season (June) Cold, frost expected; tapu on certain foods Mean minimum temperature <5°C
Kōanga (September–October) Planting season — kūmara goes in the ground Last frost date, soil temperature >12°C
Kāmokamo clouds (anvil-shaped) Thunderstorm approaching; don't go fishing Cumulonimbus formation
Ika (fish) behaviour changes Tide and pressure shift — good or bad fishing Barometric pressure fall
Huatau moon (full moon in haze ring) Rain within 48 hours High-altitude cloud, falling pressure
  1. Choose ONE indicator from the table. Research the modern meteorological science behind it — why would that sign actually predict the weather it is said to predict? Write 3–4 sentences that link the traditional knowledge to the scientific explanation.
  2. The word "maramataka" literally means "turning of the moon." Why do you think it was the moon — rather than the sun — that was the primary timing reference for many Pacific calendar systems? What agricultural or marine activities are more reliably guided by lunar cycles?

Part 2 — He Tūtaki Raraunga: 14-Day Weather Data Collection

Record weather data every day for 14 days. Collect at the same time each day (e.g. 9am). A simple thermometer, cloud observation, and weather app for rainfall data is enough. Add a "maramataka note" for any natural signs you observe.

Day Date Temp °C (max) Temp °C (min) Rainfall mm Wind (N/S/E/W) Cloud cover (0–8) Maramataka note
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
TOTALS / AVERAGES Total: Most common: Average:

Part 3 — Ngā Kauwhata: Creating Your Graphs

Use your 14-day data to draw TWO of the following graphs. Label axes carefully. Include a title with your location and dates.

📈 Graph A — Temperature Range (Line graph)

X-axis: Day 1–14 · Y-axis: Temperature °C
Draw TWO lines in different colours: daily max + daily min

📊 Graph B — Rainfall (Bar graph)

X-axis: Day 1–14 · Y-axis: Rainfall (mm)
Draw one bar per day. Shade or colour it blue.

🌬️ Graph C — Wind Direction (Tally/frequency)

Make a compass rose. Draw arrows showing how many days each direction. Which wind dominated?

☁️ Graph D — Cloud Cover (Scatter plot)

X-axis: cloud cover (0–8) · Y-axis: rainfall mm
Put a dot for each day. Do you see a relationship?

  1. Calculate: the range of temperatures over your 14 days (max temperature − min temperature). What was the most variable day? What was the most stable?
  2. Looking at your cloud cover vs. rainfall scatter plot (Graph D): is there a pattern? Is higher cloud cover always associated with more rain? Describe what you see in 3–4 sentences using the words: correlation, outlier, relationship, pattern.
  3. Compare to climate normals: NIWA publishes 30-year climate averages for NZ regions. Look up your region's average rainfall and temperature for this month. How does your 14-day data compare? Is this month typical, wetter, cooler, or unusual?

Part 4 — Tātarihanga: Analysis and Reflection

  1. If you were using the maramataka: Based on your 14 days of observations, what patterns would a skilled observer notice? Write 3–4 "rules" you could pass down about weather in your area during this season — the way maramataka knowledge is passed on.
  2. Climate change link: NIWA data shows that New Zealand's average temperature has risen 1.1°C since 1909, and heavy rainfall events are becoming more frequent and intense. How would this make maramataka knowledge less reliable over time — and what would it mean for communities that depend on traditional seasonal cues for planting and fishing?
  3. Data quality reflection: Was your data collection consistent? List ONE thing that might have made your data inaccurate (e.g. measuring temp in sun vs shade). How would a scientist address this problem?

🌦️ Whakamutunga — He Aromatawai Āhuarangi

Weather is not background noise — it is the medium through which life on earth is organised. Every culture has developed systematic ways of reading it, because survival depended on getting it right. The maramataka was not superstition — it was empirical science developed over centuries of observation and refined through community use. The question your data should leave you with is: what would you need to observe for 30 years before you could predict the weather of your region as reliably as your tīpuna could?

Te wero: Interview an older person in your community — a kaumātua, a farmer, a fisherman — about the weather signs they use. Compare what they tell you to your data. What have modern meteorological tools added, and what might they have replaced?

🌿 Ngā Rauemi Hono — Related Resources

Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment

Science — Pūtaiao

Level 3–4: Investigate how living and physical systems work; understand relationships between organisms and their environments; collect, interpret, and evaluate scientific evidence to explain natural phenomena.

Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi

Level 3–4: Understand how human activity affects natural environments; explore the connection between ecological health and community wellbeing; recognise the role of cultural knowledge in environmental decision-making.

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

Mātauranga Māori is a sophisticated knowledge system built through centuries of careful observation, hypothesis, testing, and refinement — the same processes that define scientific inquiry. Māori knowledge of ecology, weather patterns, seasonal change, and animal behaviour guided sustainable resource management for generations before Western science arrived in Aotearoa. Understanding science through a dual-knowledge lens — bringing mātauranga Māori and Western science into dialogue rather than hierarchy — produces richer, more contextually grounded understanding. The concept of kaitiakitanga reminds us that scientific knowledge carries obligations: understanding how natural systems work means accepting responsibility for how we treat them.

Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided

This handout is designed to be used alongside other resources in the same unit. Related materials are linked in the unit planner. All content is 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 build pāngarau (mathematical) understanding — developing number sense, pattern recognition, and mathematical reasoning through hands-on, culturally grounded activities that connect to tamariki's world.

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

  • ✅ Students can explain their mathematical thinking using words, objects, drawings, or symbols.
  • ✅ Students can apply the number or pattern concept in this resource to a real or everyday context.

Differentiation & Inclusion

Scaffold support: Use concrete materials (blocks, counters, fingers) for entry-level engagement before progressing to abstract representations. Offer extension challenges asking students to generalise a pattern, write their own word problem, or explain their strategy to a partner.

ELL / ESOL: Mathematical language is a discipline-specific barrier — pre-teach key terms (e.g., equals, more than, fewer, pattern, factor) using visual representations. Allow students to demonstrate mathematical understanding non-verbally or through drawing. Pair with a bilingual buddy where possible.

Inclusion: Embed choice in how students engage — oral, written, or diagrammatic responses are all valid. Neurodiverse learners benefit from short, chunked task sequences with immediate feedback loops. Avoid timed drills in favour of exploratory tasks that reward curiosity. Make the maths classroom a safe place to be wrong and try again.

Mātauranga Māori lens: Pāngarau is a living tradition in Te Ao Māori — from the geometric precision of tukutuku and kōwhaiwhai patterns to the navigational mathematics of waka hourua, and the seasonal calculations embedded in maramataka. Framing early number sense within these contexts shows tamariki that mathematics is a human, culturally rich endeavour — not a foreign import. Encourage students to see counting, measuring, and patterning as acts of knowing their world.

Prior knowledge: Designed for early learners. No prior formal mathematics knowledge required. Teachers should assess current number knowledge before selecting appropriate entry points.

Curriculum alignment