Unit 2 Lesson 2: Colonisation & Its Impacts | Y8 Systems

Ngā Mahi - Lesson Activities (75 minutes)

1. Promises vs. Reality (25 mins)

Activity: In groups, students get a set of cards. Half the cards state a promise made in Te Tiriti (e.g., "Promise of Tino Rangatiratanga"). The other half state a specific colonial action (e.g., "The New Zealand Land Wars," "Tohunga Suppression Act 1907").

Task: Students must match the colonial action to the Treaty promise it broke. This creates a powerful visual representation of the systematic violation of the covenant.

2. Defending Tino Rangatiratanga (30 mins)

Jigsaw Activity: Divide the class into "expert" groups. Each group studies one example of Māori resistance from the Māori Resistance Case Studies handout (e.g., Parihaka, the 1975 Land March, Bastion Point).

Students then re-form into new groups with one "expert" from each area. Each expert teaches their new group about their case study. The focus is on understanding these events as legitimate political actions to defend Māori sovereignty.

3. The Ripple Effect (20 mins)

Class Discussion: As a class, create a "ripple effect" mind map on the board. Start with a central colonial action (e.g., "Land Confiscation"). Brainstorm the immediate impacts (loss of home, food sources), the medium-term impacts (poverty, forced urbanisation), and the long-term, intergenerational impacts (loss of language, culture, and wealth; poor health and education outcomes).

Differentiation:

Support: Provide a list of potential impacts for students to sort into short, medium, or long-term categories.
Extension: Ask students to find a modern statistic that can be traced back to these historical impacts.

Aromatawai - Assessment & Next Steps

Formative Assessment

Can students connect specific colonial actions to the promises of Te Tiriti?
Do they understand Māori resistance as a defence of sovereignty?
Can they explain how historical events have long-lasting consequences?

Homework & Extension

Research one of the resistance movements in more detail.
Learn about the Waitangi Tribunal and its role in addressing historical grievances.

Whakaaro - Reflection

Confronting the history of colonisation can be difficult and uncomfortable, but it is essential work. It allows us to understand the root causes of many of the inequalities we see in Aotearoa today. This knowledge does not ask us to feel guilty for the past, but to take responsibility for the present. Decolonisation is the work of all of us—it is the process of healing, of restoring justice, and of finally honouring the covenant that was made in 1840.