Reflecting on Heritage

Lesson Overview

This is Lesson 5 of 5 in the unit "Koroneihana: Celebrating Heritage" designed for Year 2 students in New Zealand. The focus is to help students reflect on their learning about Koroneihana (Māori coronation celebrations) and its importance for Māori heritage. Students will express their understanding through a creative project, either drawing or a short presentation.

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Curriculum Links

The New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) — Social Sciences Learning Area

• Strand: Social Studies: "Identity, Culture and Organisation"
• Achievement Objective (Level 2, Year 2):
  Understand how cultural practices reflect and express people's customs, traditions, and social organisation.
• Key Competencies:
  • Participating and contributing – working together, sharing ideas.
  • Thinking – reflecting on ideas and knowledge.
  • Using language, symbols and texts – expressing and communicating understanding through oral and visual means.

Cultural Responsiveness:
This lesson supports the principle of the NZC that schools give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, embracing tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori, and te ao Māori.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the 45-minute lesson, students will be able to:

1. Describe in simple terms what Koroneihana is and why it is important to Māori heritage.
2. Reflect on what they have learned about Koroneihana during the unit.
3. Express their understanding creatively via a drawing or a short class presentation.
4. Listen and respond respectfully to their peers' reflections.

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Resources Needed

• Chart paper or whiteboard
• Drawing materials: coloured pencils, markers, crayons, paper
• Optional: digital device for short presentations (if available and appropriate)
• Examples of images or artefacts related to Koroneihana (from previous lessons)
• Reflection sentence starters (e.g., "I learnt that...", "Koroneihana is important because...")

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Lesson Structure

Time	Activity Description	Teaching Notes
5 min	Warm-up: Group Discussion	Invite students to share their favourite thing learned about Koroneihana. Note responses on chart paper for communal reflection. Use simple language and encourage all voices.
15 min	Creative Reflection Project	Students choose between: - Drawing a picture representing something they learned about Koroneihana - Preparing to share a short oral reflection (sentence or two) with the class. Prompt them with sentence starters. Scaffold support for oral presentation if needed.
15 min	Sharing and Presenting	Students take turns sharing their drawings or oral reflections in small groups or whole class. Encourage respectful listening and positive feedback from peers to support confidence and engagement.
7 min	Connect and Reflect	Lead class to identify common ideas from reflections about Koroneihana and discuss why heritage celebration matters. Highlight Māori values such as whanaungatanga (relationships) and manaakitanga (care).
3 min	Closing & Assessment	Recap learning objectives and ask a couple of students to share what they enjoyed most about the unit. Provide positive feedback on creativity and understanding.

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Differentiation & Inclusivity

• Provide extra sentence starters or visual aids for students needing more support with expression.
• Allow drawing alone as an alternative to speaking for students less confident orally.
• Encourage use of te reo Māori greetings or terms from the unit when they share (e.g., Koroneihana, whānau).
• Create mixed ability small groups to foster peer support.

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Assessment and Evidence of Learning

Formative assessment will be gathered through:

• Observation of student participation and verbal contributions during the warm-up and sharing.
• Review of students’ creative projects drawing connections to Koroneihana and Māori heritage values.
• Student ability to use reflective language to express understanding.

Teachers can use an informal checklist:

• Can the student identify key ideas about Koroneihana?
• Did the student successfully express thoughts via drawing or speaking?
• Does the student engage positively with peers’ ideas?

This aligns with the NZC emphasis on authentic communication and cultural understanding at Year 2 level.

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Teacher Tips to 'Wow' Your Class

• Use a 'Reflection Gallery Walk': Display every student's drawing around the classroom. Let students walk around and view others' work before sharing. This makes reflection active and social.
• Incorporate music or waiata related to Koroneihana as a background during the creative activity to build atmosphere.
• Invite students to record their short reflections on an audio device, making a podcast-style collection to share with families or school whānau.
• Use a simple digital story app to compile photos of drawings and audio reflections (if tech is available), giving the learning a modern, multimedia dimension.

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This plan carefully addresses the specific curriculum aims for Year 2 Social Sciences, focusing on cultural identity, participation, and communication, while honouring the kaupapa of Koroneihana and Māori heritage.

If you would like a detailed timing breakdown or specific language phrase examples for the students, please let me know!

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References
New Zealand Curriculum: Social Sciences achievement objectives Year 2
Teaching for cultural responsiveness and heritage reflection
Key Competencies development for Year 2 students