Ruapani Stories

Overview

An engaging 40-minute lesson for Year 6 students centred on the history of Ruapani, focusing on the East Coast of the North Island. The lesson integrates New Zealand history with art and hands-on activities to reflect student interests. It meets the New Zealand Curriculum requirements for Social Sciences and Arts learning areas while developing key competencies.

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Curriculum Links

Learning Area & Achievement Objectives (New Zealand Curriculum, Level 3-4)

Social Sciences (Aotearoa New Zealand’s Histories focus)

• Understand how people’s perspectives on events that happened in the past may differ, and explain why this is important.
• Understand how people remember and record the past in different ways.
• Understand how identity, culture, and heritage influence people’s lives.

The Arts

• Explore and communicate ideas about heritage and identity through visual arts.
• Develop and use skills in media, materials, and technologies to express ideas creatively and meaningfully.

Key Competencies

• Thinking: Engaging in historical inquiry and reflection.
• Using language, symbols, and texts: Reading and creating visual and written histories.
• Relating to others: Sharing ideas and listening to different perspectives.
• Participating and contributing: Collaborating in a group to create artworks.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify who Ruapani was and explain his significance in East Coast history.
2. Understand the geographical context of Ruapani’s tribal area on the North Island’s East Coast.
3. Express historical understanding creatively through a hands-on art activity inspired by Ruapani and Māori heritage.
4. Share their artwork and reflect on the importance of heritage and history.

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Lesson Structure (40 minutes)

1. Introduction & Context Setting (8 minutes)

• Begin with a storytelling segment sharing key facts about Ruapani:
  • Ruapani was a significant rangatira (chief) of the Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (East Coast) region.
  • His lineage and the impact he had on local iwi history.
• Locate Ruapani's area on a map of the North Island East Coast.
• Introduce the concept of whakapapa (genealogy) and tribal heritage.
• Show images of traditional East Coast symbols (e.g., carvings, weaving patterns).

Curriculum Links: Social Sciences — understanding people’s perspectives and historical contexts.

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2. Group Discussion & Questioning (7 minutes)

• Prompt students to share what they know about their own whakapapa or heritage.
• Discuss why it is important to understand and respect different histories.
• Questions to stimulate thought:
  • Why do you think it’s important to learn about Ruapani?
  • How do art and stories help us remember the past?

Key Competencies: Relating to others, Thinking.

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3. Hands-on Art Activity: “Tā Moko Inspired Symbols” (20 minutes)

• Provide each student with paper and art materials (coloured pencils, markers, stencils inspired by Māori motifs).
• Task: Create a stylised representation of Ruapani’s story or symbols connected to East Coast Māori heritage, e.g., key patterns or motifs representing identity and whakapapa.
• Encourage students to incorporate elements such as koru (spirals), manaia (mythical creatures), or symbols introduced earlier.
• Circulate and guide students, reinforcing the connection between their artwork and the history of Ruapani.

Curriculum Links: The Arts — exploring ideas of heritage and identity through visual arts; using language, symbols, and texts.

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4. Gallery Walk & Reflection (5 minutes)

• Display the artworks around the room.
• Students walk around, observe, and share at least one thing they learned or found interesting about Ruapani or the East Coast history.
• Quick reflection: What did you enjoy about learning history through art?

Key Competencies: Participating and contributing, Using language, symbols, and texts.

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Assessment and Next Steps

• Formative Assessment: Observation of participation during discussion and engagement during the art activity.
• Quality of Work: Assess student understanding of historical and cultural significance of Ruapani displayed through their artwork and explanations.
• Provide feedback highlighting connections between history, identity, and creative expression.
• Suggest families share the students' artwork to strengthen home connections with learning.

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Resources Needed

• Map of New Zealand’s North Island highlighting the East Coast.
• Images/examples of Ruapani-related and East Coast Māori symbols.
• Art materials: paper, coloured pencils, markers, stencils of Māori motifs.
• Story outline or summary of Ruapani’s history (teacher-prepared).

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Notes for Teachers

• Use te reo Māori terminology where possible to enrich language acquisition (e.g., rangatira, whakapapa, iwi, hapū).
• Acknowledge diverse student backgrounds and encourage sharing of personal or familial histories.
• Integrate this lesson within a broader unit of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories for deeper context.
• Align with Cultural Responsiveness as emphasized by the New Zealand Curriculum by respecting and validating Māori perspectives.

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This lesson plan brings the past to life through storytelling and creativity, connecting students with the identity and heritage of the East Coast’s history in meaningful ways, adhering closely to the New Zealand Curriculum for Year 6 students.