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Kai, Culture and Climate — Curriculum Alignment

How this Phase 3 (Years 7–8) unit plan aligns to verified Te Mātaiaho statements

Core Alignment

Social Sciences (Ngā Mahinga Ohaoha)

plu_code: SocialSciencesPhase3EconomicAc40
"The economy is made up of different sectors: the primary sector involves getting raw materials, such as farming, fishing, and mining..."

How it is taught

Students explore the global and local food production sectors. They contrast traditional agricultural practices (kūmara cultivation) with monoculture export cash crops (wheat/potatoes) and globalized commodity networks (rice trade).

Aligned Lessons:

Core Alignment

Social Sciences (Ngā Mahinga Ohaoha)

plu_code: SocialSciencesPhase3EconomicAc3
"Personal budgets help people prioritise spending and make informed money decisions."

How it is taught

Students build personal and household food budget pie charts, analyzing the trade-offs families must make under conditions of rising prices and limited resources.

Aligned Lessons:

Strong Connection

Social Sciences (Ngā Mahinga Ohaoha)

plu_code: SocialSciencesPhase3EconomicAc68
"People use various strategies to make informed money decisions (e.g. gathering information and comparing prices to consider value for money, budgeting, recording expenses, setting savings goals, considering which product best meets their wants, considering the ethics of the product)."

How it is taught

During the Lesson 5 roleplays and budgeting exercises, students simulate consumer choices under scarcity, identifying opportunity costs and evaluating food security versus personal wants.

Aligned Lessons:

Strong Connection

Aotearoa New Zealand's Histories (Do)

plu_code: AotearoaNewZealandsHistoriesPhase3Do7
"I can construct a narrative of cause and effect that shows relationships between events. By comparing examples over time, I can identify continuity or changes in the relationships. I can recognise that others might interpret these relationships differently."

How it is taught

Students research colonial Māori agricultural expansion in the 1850s, looking at how the adoption of European crops and technologies (wheat, flour mills) created new trade networks before political conflict and land confiscations disrupted them.

Aligned Lessons:

Supporting Connection

Technology (Biotechnology)

plu_code: TechnologyPhase3DesignMake104
"Processing methods can be evaluated for nutritional value, their alignment with cultural practices and values (cultural connectedness), and their potential for innovation."

How it is taught

Students study kūmara cultivation and the innovation of rua kūmara (storage pits) as traditional biotechnology, reflecting on how technological preservation methods are aligned to seasonal values.

Aligned Lessons: