🏭 Week 3: Human Impacts & Actions
Students analyze how human activities positively and negatively impact our waterways. Through cause-and-effect mapping and role-play, they identify realistic actions to improve awa health.
Focus Question
What are the causes of pollution in our awa, and what can we do to help?
Ngā Mahi - Week 3 Activities
1. Impact Analysis: Stormwater vs Wastewater (15 mins)
Activity: Explore common pollutants and how they enter our waterways through infrastructure like drains and runoff.
- Gallery Walk: Compare photos of drains, litter, and planting
- Learn: Stormwater vs Wastewater — where does the water go?
- Identify never-goes-down-the-drain items: soap, paint, oil
Stormwater Explained
2. Planning Solutions: Cause & Effect (25 mins)
Activity: In pairs, use the Cause -> Effect -> Action Organiser to map out 2-3 impact chains.
- Example: Soap in drain (Cause) -> Dead fish (Effect) -> Car wash on grass (Action)
- Link findings from Week 2 (pH/litter data) to justify actions
- Groups share their "strongest" action with the class
3. Voices of the Awa: Role-Play (20 mins)
Activity: Students take on roles as the Awa, a Native Fish, a Local Farmer, or a Kaitiaki to explore different perspectives on water health.
- Use Interview Prompts to guide the dialogue
- "The Awa says: 'I feel choked with silt today...'"
- Kaitiaki responds with a solution or action
💡 Differentiation Strategies
- Scaffolding: Provide pre-filled causes or effects for matching
- Support: Offer sentence stems: "If people ___, the awa ___, so we can ___."
- Extension: Research the path of stormwater from your school playground to the sea
Curriculum alignment
- Ecosystems — Knowledge: Human activity and technology impact the environment.
- Body Systems — Knowledge: Some animals, like fish, respire using gills, which take oxygen out of water.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will explore awa (river/water) as taonga, developing understanding of kaitiakitanga through water guardianship — connecting indigenous environmental knowledge with scientific and civic action.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain the significance of awa in te ao Māori and their local community.
- ✅ Students can identify actions that reflect kaitiaki responsibilities for local waterways.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters and graphic organisers for inquiry tasks. Offer entry-level observation activities and extension challenges involving community advocacy or environmental data analysis.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key te reo Māori terms (awa, kaitiaki, wāhi tapu, tūrangawaewae). Allow visual and diagrammatic responses. Bilingual glossaries strongly recommended.
Inclusion: Connect to students' own waterways and places of belonging. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured field investigation templates and clear step-by-step inquiry protocols.
Awa are not simply waterways — in te ao Māori they are tupuna (ancestors) with mana and mauri (life force). The principle of kaitiakitanga places obligations on communities to protect awa for future generations. Marama Muru-Lanning's research on the Waikato River demonstrates how mātauranga Māori environmental knowledge (ngā tohu o te awa — signs of the river) integrates with ecological science. Water guardianship is simultaneously cultural, legal, and scientific.