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Years 7–8 Tikanga-ā-Iwi / Social Sciences

Lesson 7: Our Connections Project

Bring it all together — make something that shows a real connection with another Indigenous people.

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Lesson 7: Our Connections Project

Show what you've learned — make something that connects

Duration: 60 minutes (plus sharing time) | Year level: Years 7–8 | Subject: Social Studies / Tikanga-ā-Iwi

Lesson at a Glance — this is your turn

"Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini" — My strength is not the strength of one, but the strength of many.

This is the final lesson, and it is the one where you do the making. Across this unit you have learned that Māori belong to a big family of Indigenous peoples, that we share deep values, that peoples have been through hard times, and that they stand strong together. Today you take one of those connections and turn it into something real — something you can show, share, or even send.

What We Are Learning (Ngā Whāinga Ako)

I am learning to…

  • bring together what I have learned about Indigenous connections
  • create something that shows a real connection between Māori and another people
  • explain my choices — who, what we share, and why it matters

I will know I can do this when…

  • my project names one Indigenous people and one thing we share
  • I can explain why I chose that people and that connection
  • I have shared my work with someone else

The Project (learn by doing)

Step 1: Choose (10 minutes)

Look back through your unit. Choose one Indigenous people we have met — the Kānaka Maoli of Hawai‘i, another Pacific people, an Aboriginal people, or another people you learned about. Then choose one thing Māori share with them: a value (whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga), a shared word, a shared history, or the way they look after their language.

Step 2: Make (30 minutes)

Pick one way to show your connection. Every option is worth the same — choose what suits you.

🖼️ "What We Share" poster

Name the two peoples, and show three things they share with words and pictures.

✉️ A message of friendship

Write a short message to that people, telling them what Māori share with them and why it matters to you.

🎨 An artwork

Make an artwork that shows a value both peoples hold — like caring for the land, or family.

🗣️ A spoken introduction

In the style of a pepeha, introduce yourself and name the wider family of peoples you feel connected to.

Planning box — fill this in first

  • The people I chose: ______
  • Where they live: ______
  • One thing Māori share with them: ______
  • What I will make: ______
  • Who I am making it for: ______

Step 3: Share (15 minutes)

Show your project to a partner, a small group, or the class. Say one sentence out loud: "I chose ______ because Māori and this people both ______." If your project is a message, talk with your kaiako about whether it could really be sent or shared.

Whakaaro Whakamutunga — Final Reflection (5 minutes)

  1. What is one new thing you now know about who Māori are connected to?
  2. Why does it matter that peoples around the world are connected?
  3. What is one thing you could do to keep a connection strong?

Assessment & Differentiation

What a strong project shows

  • Names it: one Indigenous people and where they live.
  • Shows the connection: at least one clear thing the two peoples share.
  • Explains why: the student can say why they chose it.
  • Shared: the project was shown to someone else.

Differentiation (Years 7–8)

  • Need more support: the spoken option and the planning box let students succeed without heavy writing; offer a partly-made poster template.
  • Ready for more: connect to two peoples, or research one extra fact about the people they chose.
  • Every project counts equally — poster, message, artwork, and kōrero are all valid ways to show learning.

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions

Summative lesson for the Years 7–8 Global Connections unit. Students draw the whole unit together into one made artefact that shows a real connection between Māori and another Indigenous people. It is deliberately a learn-by-doing task — students demonstrate understanding by creating and explaining, not by sitting a test. The four make-options give genuine choice of mode (visual, written, artistic, oral) while holding the same success criteria.

Running the summative

Assessment focus: can the student name a people, show one genuine shared thing, and explain their choice? Keep the bar about clarity and connection, not polish. Collect the planning boxes as evidence alongside the finished projects.

Make it real where you can: a friendship message can sometimes actually be sent (to a sister school, a Pacific community, an online forum) — check appropriateness with your kaiako and community first. The learning deepens when the audience is real.

Mātauranga Māori lens: the pepeha option lets students locate themselves in a wider whakapapa of peoples — an expression of whanaungatanga that reaches beyond Aotearoa.

Curriculum alignment

  • Social Studies / Tikanga-ā-Iwi — Phase 3 (Years 7–8): communicating understanding about connections between peoples, and taking action that reflects belonging and shared values. (Verbatim Te Mātaiaho statement to be confirmed by the curriculum verification lane — cited here at learning-area + phase level.)