Lesson 5: Asking the Right Questions

🦅 Main Activity: The Mystery of the Missing Moa 25 minutes

Historical NZ Mystery Investigation

The Scenario:

Moa were massive flightless birds that lived in New Zealand for millions of years. Archaeological evidence shows they disappeared around 600-700 years ago, shortly after Polynesian settlement. But what exactly happened? Your job is to solve this mystery using evidence and expert questioning.

Evidence Package:

Clue 1: Moa bones found in middens (ancient rubbish dumps) alongside tools and oven stones

Clue 2: Māori oral traditions mention hunting large birds, but few specific moa stories survive

Clue 3: Pollen records show forest clearance began soon after human arrival

Clue 4: Moa egg fragments found in archaeological sites throughout NZ

Clue 5: No evidence of moa bones in sites dated after 1400 CE

Clue 6: Climate records show no major environmental changes during extinction period

Student Investigation Process (Groups of 4):

Initial Hypothesis (5 minutes): What do you think happened to the moa?
Evidence Analysis (10 minutes): Examine each clue, discuss what it suggests
Expert Questions (10 minutes): Generate questions you'd ask specialists

Types of Experts & Sample Questions:

Archaeologist: "What dating methods did you use? How certain are these dates?"

Māori Elder: "What do oral traditions say about relationships with large birds?"

Paleontologist: "How quickly can large bird populations decline? What are the warning signs?"

Ecologist: "What role did moa play in forest ecosystems? What changed when they disappeared?"

Teacher Facilitation Guide:

Encourage students to question the evidence itself: "How do we know this bone is 600 years old?"
Push for deeper inquiry: "What assumptions are we making about Māori hunting practices?"
Connect to modern parallels: "How is this similar to current species extinctions?"
Emphasize multiple contributing factors rather than single causes

📋 INVESTIGATION WORKSHEET - PRINT SECTION

The Mystery of the Missing Moa

Names: _________________________________ Date: ___________

Part 1: Initial Hypothesis

1. What do you think happened to the moa? (Before examining evidence)

_________________________________________________________________________

Part 2: Evidence Analysis

2. Which piece of evidence is strongest? Why?

_________________________________________________________________________

3. Which evidence is weakest or most questionable? Why?

_________________________________________________________________________

4. What patterns do you see across multiple pieces of evidence?

_________________________________________________________________________

Part 3: Expert Questions

5. Write your three best questions for each expert type:

Archaeologist:

a) _____________________________________________________________________

b) _____________________________________________________________________

c) _____________________________________________________________________

Māori Elder/Cultural Expert:

a) _____________________________________________________________________

b) _____________________________________________________________________

c) _____________________________________________________________________

Ecologist/Environmental Scientist:

a) _____________________________________________________________________

b) _____________________________________________________________________

c) _____________________________________________________________________

Part 4: Revised Conclusion

6. After analyzing evidence and generating questions, what's your best explanation for moa extinction?

_________________________________________________________________________

7. What additional evidence would you need to be more certain?

_________________________________________________________________________

Part 5: Reflection on Questioning

8. What makes a question "good" for investigation?

_________________________________________________________________________

9. How did generating questions change your understanding of the mystery?

_________________________________________________________________________

10. Give an example of when you could use this questioning approach in your own life:

_________________________________________________________________________

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions

Students will engage with this resource to develop te whakaaro māramatanga — critical and analytical thinking skills — examining claims, evaluating evidence, identifying bias, and constructing reasoned arguments. This unit frames critical thinking through both Western analytical traditions and the kōrero-based reasoning of Te Ao Māori.

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

✅ Students can identify a claim, evaluate the evidence supporting it, and detect potential bias or fallacy.
✅ Students can construct a reasoned argument using evidence, acknowledging counter-perspectives.

Differentiation & Inclusion

Scaffold support: Provide argument frames (claim → evidence → reasoning → counter-argument) for entry-level access. Use structured controversy activities where students argue assigned positions. Offer extension tasks requiring students to analyse a real media article or policy document using the lesson's critical framework.

ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach argumentative language structures ("I argue that…", "The evidence suggests…", "However, one might counter…"). Allow oral argument as a first step before written production. Sentence frames and argument maps lower the language barrier while maintaining cognitive demand.

Inclusion: Structured debate and discussion formats benefit all learners — particularly neurodiverse students who thrive with explicit rules and clear roles. Affirm that disagreement done respectfully is a high-value academic and civic skill. Allow quiet processing time before group discussion. Offer written alternatives for students who find oral argument challenging.

Mātauranga Māori lens: Te whakaaro māramatanga — enlightened thinking — reflects a long tradition of reasoned debate in Te Ao Māori. The whare (meeting house) is a place of kōrero, where multiple perspectives are heard before decisions are made. Tikanga requires that arguments be made with integrity and respect (mana). Māori oratory (whaikōrero) is a sophisticated critical tradition — whakataukī encode compressed wisdom that often challenges surface-level thinking.

Prior knowledge: Best used within a sequence building critical thinking skills progressively. No specialist knowledge required for entry-level engagement with structured tasks.

Curriculum alignment

Do — Social Studies: Explore perspectives, use evidence to form conclusions, and share ideas — compare viewpoints, evaluate claims, and present reasoned arguments.

Speaking, Writing, and Presenting: Construct and deliver clear, reasoned arguments drawing on evidence and acknowledging multiple perspectives.

Lesson 5: Te Pakirehua

Asking the Right Questions

👨‍🏫 Learning Objectives

🔍 Starter: Question Quality Sorting 8 minutes

Shallow Questions:

Deep Questions:

🦅 Main Activity: The Mystery of the Missing Moa 25 minutes

Historical NZ Mystery Investigation

Evidence Package:

Types of Experts & Sample Questions:

Teacher Facilitation Guide:

💬 Cultural Connection: Māori Oral Histories as Evidence 7 minutes

Understanding Kōrero Tuku Iho

📱 Digital Activity: Padlet Question Gallery 5 minutes

📋 INVESTIGATION WORKSHEET - PRINT SECTION

The Mystery of the Missing Moa

Part 1: Initial Hypothesis

Part 2: Evidence Analysis

Part 3: Expert Questions

Part 4: Revised Conclusion

Part 5: Reflection on Questioning

📊 Assessment Rubric

🏠 Extension Activities

🔗 Curriculum Connections

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

Differentiation & Inclusion

Curriculum alignment