Global Connections: Aotearoa & the World
He Whānau o ngā Iwi Taketake — A Family of Indigenous Peoples
A seven-lesson Years 7–8 Social Studies unit. Students discover that Māori are part of a wide family of Indigenous peoples — sharing ancestry, values, and a way of belonging to the land — and that these peoples stand together, care for the earth, and keep their stories strong. The unit starts close to home and reaches out across the world, ending with a project students make themselves.
Unit Overview Map
| Lesson | Title | Big idea |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Family of Peoples | Who Māori are connected to, and the values we share. |
| 2 | Hard Times, Shared Story | A hard chapter many peoples share — and how they brought their languages back. |
| 3 | Standing Strong Together | How peoples support each other across the world. |
| 4 | Caring for Our Earth Together | Indigenous peoples as kaitiaki of land and sea. |
| 5 | Helping Each Other | What real support looks like, close to home and far away. |
| 6 | Telling Our Own Stories | Keeping identity strong — and why it matters who tells the story. |
| 7 | Our Connections Project | Summative: make something that shows a real connection. |
Curriculum Alignment
Social Studies / Tikanga-ā-Iwi — Phase 3 (Years 7–8): connections between peoples and places, and how identity and belonging are shaped by the groups we are part of.
Cited at learning-area + phase level. The verbatim Te Mātaiaho statement is to be confirmed by the curriculum verification lane.
What Students Learn (Ngā Whāinga Ako)
- Describe who they are connected to, and name Indigenous peoples that Māori are connected to.
- Identify values Māori share with other Indigenous peoples, with real examples.
- Describe a hard experience many peoples share, and a way peoples have kept their culture strong.
- Give real examples of peoples supporting each other and caring for the earth.
- Explain why it matters that peoples tell their own stories — and make something that shows a connection.
Unit Journey — Lesson by Lesson
Lesson 1: A Family of Peoples
Students start from their own connections, then discover that Māori share ancestry, language, and values with other Pacific and Indigenous peoples — proved with a real shared-word table and the story of waka hourua voyaging.
Lesson 2: Hard Times, Shared Story
A gentle, age-appropriate look at a hard chapter many peoples share — loss of land and language — and the strong comeback, through the te reo Māori kōhanga reo and Hawaiian Pūnana Leo language nests.
Lesson 3: Standing Strong Together
Peoples support each other across distance. The Standing Rock haka is the concrete anchor — a real moment when Māori sent tautoko across the world — and students think about how they could stand with others.
Lesson 4: Caring for Our Earth Together
Indigenous peoples as kaitiaki — rāhui, maramataka, cultural burning, and reading the ocean — and how this knowledge is increasingly valued today.
Lesson 5: Helping Each Other
What genuine support looks like — building real relationships (whakawhanaungatanga) rather than empty gestures — close to home and far away.
Lesson 6: Telling Our Own Stories
How peoples keep identity strong through pūrākau, waiata, and whakairo — and why it matters who tells a story.
Lesson 7: Our Connections Project (summative)
Students bring it together — choosing a people and a shared connection, and making a poster, message, artwork, or pepeha to show it. They learn by doing.
Kaiako Notes (Teacher Guidance)
This unit works best when it starts close to home — the students' own connections and te ao Māori — before reaching outward. Tamariki engage most when they can see themselves in the story: their whānau, their languages, their place.
Lesson 2 (shared hard history) carries the most emotional weight. Preview it, and check in quietly beforehand with tamariki whose whānau may have close experience. Keep the framing on resilience and revival, not only loss.
Where you can, make it real: a friendship message in the final project can sometimes actually be sent, and a local rāhui or restoration effort brings Lesson 4 to life. Invite whānau and community voices in, especially for the language and stories lessons.
Assessment Overview
Assessment is by the learn-by-doing summative in Lesson 7, supported by simple formative checks each lesson (exit tickets, pair-shares, and the tables students complete).
- ☐ Connection map and shared-word table (Lesson 1)
- ☐ "Same story, different places" sentence and language-nest understanding (Lesson 2)
- ☐ Kaitiakitanga examples and a personal kaitiaki action (Lesson 4)
- ☐ Connections Project — names a people, shows one shared thing, explains why, and is shared (Lesson 7)
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ I can describe who I am connected to, and name an Indigenous people Māori are connected to.
- ✅ I can name a value Māori share with another people and give an example.
- ✅ I can describe one hard thing many peoples share, and one way a people kept their culture strong.
- ✅ I can give a real example of peoples helping each other or caring for the earth.
- ✅ I can make and explain a project that shows a real connection.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Need more support: the sentence starters, part-filled tables, and draw-or-say options across the unit let every student succeed. Start each lesson from something familiar before reaching outward.
ELL / ESOL: the shared-word and home-language tasks turn multilingual students into experts. Invite (never require) students with family overseas to connect their own experience.
Cultural safety: preview Lesson 2, and let students engage with hard material in the way that feels right for them. Never ask a student to speak for their whole people.