Science Phase 1 — Ecosystems + Health and Physical Education Phase 2 — Physical Education

"Habitats are places where organisms interact with other organisms and can find the resources they need for survival (e.g. Maui dolphins live in coastal waters where they can catch small fish)."

"Identifying and explaining how the structural features and behaviours of organisms support their survival in their habitats (e.g. pāua have a large, muscular foot to stick to rocks)"

"Identifying ways to engage responsibly with natural environments during outdoor activities (e.g. 'leave no trace' principles, demonstrating guardianship — tiakitanga)"

Lesson–Curriculum Map

• Habitats and survival → Lesson 2 (Living Things Around Us): The scavenger hunt is not just a fun activity — it is the curriculum's habitat statement made physical. When students find a wētā under a rock or observe tūī feeding in a pōhutukawa, they are observing the relationship the statement describes: organism + habitat + resources + survival. NZ-specific examples (Māui dolphin, pāua) matter here because they anchor abstract ecology in the actual taiao students will encounter.
• Structural features supporting survival → Lesson 2 + Kaitiaki Action Project: Understanding why organisms look and behave the way they do in their habitats gives students a reason to protect those habitats — not just because "nature is good" but because the pāua's foot, the kiwi's beak, the pōhutukawa's salt-tolerance are all finely tuned adaptations that vanish when habitats are degraded. Students who understand this have ecological literacy, not just environmental sentiment.
• Tiakitanga in outdoor environments → Lessons 3–4: The HPE curriculum names tiakitanga as an outdoor education responsibility — not a separate cultural add-on but a standard of conduct in natural environments. Lesson 3 (kaitiaki promises) and Lesson 4 (taking action) are the practical expression of this statement. "Leave no trace" is the minimum; the unit asks students to go further — not just avoid harm but actively care.

Tūāhu — Entry-level Extension

Kaitiaki Map

Students draw and label a detailed map of their special place (school garden, local reserve, backyard, or marae grounds). They mark at least 5 living things they found and where each one lives, using te reo Māori labels. The map includes one note explaining why each living thing needs that specific spot — what does it find there that it needs to survive?

Deliverable: Illustrated map with te reo Māori labels, displayed in the classroom.

Kauanuanu — Developing Extension

Taonga Species Fact File

Students choose one NZ native animal or plant they encountered (or would like to protect) and create a fact file covering: where it lives and why it needs that habitat, what it eats or how it grows, what threatens it, and what kaitiaki can do to help. The fact file includes a drawing and at least one te reo Māori name or whakataukī connected to the species.

Deliverable: 1-page illustrated fact file, added to the class kaitiaki resource wall.

Māiatanga — Mastery Extension

Kaitiaki Report for a Real Audience

Students prepare a short report or presentation for a real audience — their class, the school assembly, whānau evening, or local council — explaining: one environmental problem they identified in their place, what action they took during this unit, and what they are asking others to do. The report must include evidence from their observation journal and name at least one living thing whose survival depends on the action being taken.

Deliverable: Oral report, poster, or short video — presented to an actual audience beyond the classroom.

Learning arc: Four lessons move from feeling to knowing to promising to doing. The arc is designed for Y3–6, which means the cognitive progression is from concrete and personal (my special place) to relational and ecological (what lives here and why) to ethical and active (what am I responsible for). The unit resists the temptation to start with environmental problems — it starts with love for a place, because care without connection does not last.

• Lesson 1 — Our Special Place (Tō Tātou Wāhi Pai): Students identify a place that matters to them and observe it closely — not yet as scientists, but as people who belong there. The whakataukī "Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au" is not decoration; it is the epistemological starting point: we are not separate from our environment, we are in relationship with it. This lesson creates the emotional ground on which all subsequent learning grows. Students who love a place want to understand it and protect it.
• Lesson 2 — Living Things Around Us (Ngā Mea Ora): The scavenger hunt makes the curriculum's habitat statements physical — students find wētā under logs, trace food chains from leaf to insect to manu, and learn the te reo Māori names for what they find (rākau, manu, ngāngara). The key learning is ecological: everything in this place needs something this place provides. When that relationship breaks, living things cannot survive. This lesson builds the scientific literacy that makes caring meaningful rather than sentimental.
• Lesson 3 — How We Care (Me Pēhea Tātou e Tiaki): Kaitiakitanga shifts from concept to responsibility. Students identify one real environmental problem in their special place — litter, damaged plants, degraded habitat — and make a kaitiaki promise: specific, observable, and personally chosen. The lesson teaches that tiakitanga is not a feeling or an attitude; it is a commitment expressed in action. The promise is written and kept visible through Lesson 4.
• Lesson 4 — Taking Action (Ka Mahi Tātou): Students implement their kaitiaki promises — planting native seedlings, cleaning their place, creating habitat features, documenting changes. The work is documented in observation journals and gathered into the Kaitiaki Action Project (poster, display, or presentation). The lesson ends with sharing: what did we do, what did we notice, what will we keep doing? The unit closes with commitment, not with completion — kaitiakitanga is ongoing.

Beyond the unit: Students who complete this unit carry the concept of kaitiakitanga as a lived practice, not a vocabulary word. It connects forward to Environmental Mātauranga (Y9–10), where ecological science and indigenous knowledge systems are held alongside each other. At any year level, a student who has acted as a kaitiaki understands sustainability from the inside out — not as a topic to learn but as a role they have already held.

Ngā Whāinga Akoranga — Learning Intentions

• Understand that kaitiakitanga means being a guardian and caring for living things and places
• Identify plants, animals, and natural features in our local environment
• Explain one way I can take action to care for my place

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

• ✅ I can explain what kaitiakitanga means using my own words (LI 1)
• ✅ I can find and name at least 3 living things in our local environment, including using te reo Māori (LI 2)
• ✅ I can describe one environmental problem in our place and one action I took to help (LI 3)

Whakarereke — Differentiation & Inclusion

Entry-level learners: Provide bilingual picture cards (image + te reo + English) for the scavenger hunt so naming is supported, not a barrier. Focus on 1–2 living things rather than completing the full hunt. Use body movement to make concepts concrete — be a seed growing toward light, be a bird finding food. For the kaitiaki promise, offer sentence starters: "I will look after _____ by _____."

ELL / ESOL: This unit is naturally supportive for multilingual learners because it consistently pairs te reo Māori and English. Use real objects and living things wherever possible — language is learned fastest when it is attached to direct experience. Allow oral and drawn responses as alternatives to written work. Students' existing relationships with land and environment in their home cultures are a strength — invite them to share how their family cares for a place.

Accelerated learners: Research a specific taonga species (kākāpō, huia, giant wētā, tuatara) and design a community action plan: what habitat does it need, what threatens it, and what can people in this community do? The Mastery Extension (Kaitiaki Report for a Real Audience) is the appropriate challenge pathway.

Neurodiverse / Inclusion: Natural environments can be deeply regulating for many neurodiverse learners — outdoor time is not a reward but core to the unit. Sensory engagement (touch, smell, sound of nature) is built into every lesson. Offer genuine choice in how students document their learning (drawing, photograph, recorded voice note, physical collection with labels). Predictable lesson structure (go outside → observe → record → reflect) reduces transition anxiety.

Cultural Safety: Kaitiakitanga is a living concept, not a museum exhibit. If your school has relationships with local iwi or hapū, this unit is an ideal opportunity to invite a kaumātua or kaitiaki to share their connection to the local environment. Ensure that te reo Māori is used throughout with correct pronunciation — model it, practise it, celebrate it.