Unit 1: Te Ao Māori

📖 Unit Overview

A comprehensive 6-8 week journey exploring Māori worldviews, values, and knowledge systems as the foundation for all learning. This unit establishes cultural identity and understanding of Te Ao Māori as a valid and essential knowledge system.

Year Levels: Years 7-10
Duration: 6-8 weeks (20-25 hours)
Learning Areas: Social Studies, Te Reo Māori, The Arts

🌱 Growing Identity

Students reflect on their own identity and cultural positioning, developing awareness of diverse worldviews and knowledge systems.

📋 Kaiako Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga — Learning Intentions

By the end of this unit, students will:

Articulate their own identity and cultural positioning using whakapapa language
Explain Mātauranga Māori as a valid and sophisticated knowledge system
Analyse Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a living document with contemporary relevance
Apply te ao Māori values (manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga) to real-world contexts

Paearu Angitu — Success Criteria

I can describe my whakapapa connections and explain why place matters to identity
I can explain at least two ways Mātauranga Māori differs from and complements Western science
I can use evidence from Te Tiriti to support a claim about partnership or historical agency

Entry / On-level / Extension

Entry: Focus on Lessons 1–2 (whakapapa and identity). Use scaffold cards for key vocabulary. Accept oral responses for identity portfolio evidence.
On-level: Complete the full 5-lesson sequence. Produce a multimedia identity portfolio and a community sprint proposal.
Extension: Research a specific iwi's application of Mātauranga Māori to a contemporary challenge (climate, health, governance) and present findings with citations.

Inclusion Guidance

ESOL / ELL learners: Provide visual whakapapa maps and glossaries. Allow students to build identity pepeha using their own cultural heritage — the whakapapa concept translates cross-culturally. Bilingual buddy pairs where available.
Neurodiverse learners / ADHD: Post lesson purposes visibly at the start of each session. Use the Identity Portfolio as a running visual anchor. UDL: accept audio, video, or drawn responses alongside written work. Break the community sprint into weekly micro-milestones.