💬 Week 5: Collaboration & Communication
Students refine their messages, practice their presentations, and engage with whānau and community partners to prepare for the final action day.
Focus Question
How can we effectively communicate our findings and call others to action?
Ngā Mahi - Week 5 Activities
1. Rehearsal & Feedback (20 mins)
Activity: Practice the 3-minute presentation in pairs using Feedback Slips.
- Model: Teacher demonstrates a 3-part talk using a sample poster
- Partner Check: Does the talk include data and a clear CTA?
- Identify one "Glow" (strength) and one "Grow" (next step)
2. Polishing & Rubrics (20 mins)
Activity: Finalize posters and presentations using standardized rubrics.
- Use the Poster Rubric to check layout and content
- Review the Oral Rubric for voice and eye contact
- Check: Is there one data point and one community quote included?
3. Community Outreach (15 mins)
Activity: Prepare invitations for whānau and community partners.
- Complete the Whānau Invite/Permission forms
- Discuss: "Who else should we invite? (Local iwi, council, neighbors?)"
- Briefly present to the class for final volunteers
4. Media Anchor (10 mins)
Activity: Use this clip to strengthen community-message framing before final rehearsals.
- Pause and discuss: Which message structure in the clip makes people want to act?
- Transfer task: Revise one line of your 3-minute talk using a stronger call-to-action.
💡 Differentiation Strategies
- Scaffolding: Offer buddy-presenting or trios for support
- Support: Provide sentence stems for the Call to Action
- Extension: Draft a newsletter blurb for the school's weekly update
📋 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.
Curriculum alignment
- Science — Ecosystems: Biotic and abiotic factors in ecosystems can affect distribution and abundance of organisms.
- Social Sciences — Place and Environment: Understand how the environment is shaped by the values, attitudes, and actions of people and communities.