Ngā Manu o te Taiao — Local Birds & Habitats

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere. Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao.

The bird that eats the miro berry — theirs is the forest. The bird that feasts on knowledge — theirs is the world.

Year Level Years 7–8

Curriculum Areas Science · Social Studies · Te Reo Māori

Duration 6 lessons

Assessment Field survey report + community action poster

He Aha Tēnei? — What Is This?

Students investigate the native birds of their local area — identifying species, understanding habitats, exploring threats to bird populations, and taking kaitiakitanga action in their school community. The unit blends science inquiry with Māori ecological knowledge and student-led community action.

Students Will

Identify at least 8 native bird species of Aotearoa by sight and call
Explain the relationship between bird species and specific habitats
Investigate one local habitat and record bird presence/absence data
Analyse threats to native birds (predators, habitat loss, disease)
Design and carry out a kaitiakitanga action (e.g. trap check, planting day, community notice)
Use te reo Māori bird names and connect to mātauranga Māori bird knowledge

Raupapa Akoranga — Lesson Sequence

Lesson	Lesson	Focus	Resources
1	Meet the Manu	Introduce native species; te reo names; bird ID basics	Bird ID Tally Sheet · Native Bird Lifecycles
2	Habitats	Forest, wetland, coastal habitats; what birds need to survive	Habitat Map Activity
3	Threats	Predators (rats, stoats, possums), habitat loss, climate change	Cause & Effect Graphic Organiser · Evidence Capture Sheet
4	Field Survey	Design and conduct a bird count in a local green space	Bird ID Tally Sheet · Permission Slip
5	Kaitiakitanga Action	Plan a community action; interview local expert or DOC ranger	Interview Prompts · Action Planner
6	Share & Celebrate	Present findings; create awareness poster; celebrate learning	Poster Rubric · Success Criteria · Reflection Sheet

He Kōrero mā te Kaiako — Teacher Notes

Mātauranga Māori

Māori have extensive knowledge of native birds — their behaviour, seasons, and ecology were used as tohu (signs) for weather, planting, and navigation.
Invite a local kaumātua or DOC ranger who holds mātauranga about local manu.
Kaitiakitanga framing: we are not just observers, we are guardians. What is our responsibility to these species?
Use te reo Māori names: kiwi, kākāpō, tūī, pīwakawaka, kererū, kea, mohua, takahē.

Field Trip Safety

Collect permission slips (template provided) before Lesson 4.
Brief students on low-impact observation: no running, no loud voices, no touching nests.
Pre-identify 2–3 suitable local sites: school grounds, nearby reserve, riparian zone.

Cross-Curricular Connections

English — Writing field notes, interview skills, poster design
Maths — Data collection, graphing bird count results, percentages
Arts — Scientific illustration of native species
Te Reo Māori — Bird names, whakataukī about manu

Ngā Rauemi — Resources

Lesson Files

Handouts & Templates

Aromatawai — Assessment

Field Survey Report

Students document their Lesson 4 field survey: location, date, species observed, count data, habitat description, and one inference about what the data suggests about bird health in that area. Assessed using the success criteria .

Community Action Poster

Students design a poster to share with their school community about one native bird species and a kaitiakitanga action others can take. Assessed using the poster rubric .

Curriculum Alignment

Science L4 — Living World: ecology, adaptation, interdependence
Social Studies L4 — People and the environment; sustainability
Aotearoa NZ Histories — Māori relationships with the natural world

Curriculum alignment

Social Studies — Understanding: Students understand how economic decisions affect people and communities and how Māori economic models reflect cultural values and environmental responsibility.

🔗 Unit Progression & Next Steps

The 12 lessons in this unit, in teaching order:

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

Differentiation & Inclusion

Instructions for Phase 3: Differentiation is NOT generic (e.g., "pair with buddy"). It's specific to THIS unit's content and structure. Know your learners; adapt by evidence.

Pedagogical Foundations | Ngā Tūāpou Akoranga

The Mānuka Enterprise unit asks students to understand an economy — not to play-act one. Three thinkers whose frameworks explain why learning through real economic participation is more demanding, and more powerful, than learning about economics from the outside.

Kaupapa Māori

Graham Smith

Smith’s principle of economic tino rangatiratanga — Māori authority over Māori resources and enterprises — is the political context behind this unit. Mānuka honey is one of the clearest examples in NZ where kaupapa and economic sovereignty intersect. The unit’s grounding in whānau-enterprise models, not just generic business thinking, is a Kaupapa Māori design choice.

Place-Based Education

Wally Penetito

Penetito’s place-based framework asks that enterprise education begin with the specific whenūa, the specific plants, the specific relationships to land that make an economy possible. Mānuka is not a generic case study — it belongs to a particular rohe with a particular history. Teaching enterprise through it rather than a hypothetical product is the pedagogical choice his framework demands.

Learning Through Doing

John Dewey

Dewey placed occupations — real work with real purpose — at the core of his curriculum. Studying a business from the outside is passive; participating in the economic decisions, costing, and communication of a real enterprise is active learning. The unit’s structure (investigate → design → pitch) follows Dewey’s sequence of experience → reflection → concept.

→ Explore all theorists at Te Whare Ako — Teaching Theory