Before the Siege

Overview

In this one-hour writing lesson, students begin a historically grounded description of life at Waerenga-a-Hika before the 1865 siege. The teacher uses a short visual prompt and oral rehearsal to help six Year 8 students write from a respectful perspective, focusing on community, safety, relationships and mana rather than beginning with the violence of the siege.

Learning intentions

• WALT describe daily life at Waerenga-a-Hika before November 1865.
• WALT select precise details to create a believable historical setting.
• WALT write respectfully about Rongowhakaata tīpuna and their whenua.
• WALT use sensory language and a first-person or third-person viewpoint.

Success criteria

• I can include at least two accurate details about life before the siege.
• I can describe people, place and activity using specific language.
• I can show Waerenga-a-Hika as a living place of safety, gathering and decision-making.
• I can avoid presenting the community only through the later conflict.

Curriculum links

• Tikanga ā-Iwi — understanding people, place, authority, political autonomy and change through Te Takanga o Te Wā.
• Te Reo Rangatira — developing kōrero, pānui, tuhituhi, mātakitaki and whakaatu through oral rehearsal and descriptive writing.
• Marau ā-Kura — connecting learning with local iwi history, pūrākau, whakapapa, whenua and community aspirations.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–10 minutes · Set the purpose. Teacher displays the opening image and says: “Today we will write about Waerenga-a-Hika before the siege. It was not only a place later attacked; it was a place where people lived, gathered, sought safety and upheld their own authority.” Open with the opening visual and lesson purpose slide. Students listen and prepare to imagine the setting.

2. 10–25 minutes · Build the setting. Teacher briefly gives four historically grounded details: Waerenga-a-Hika was a pā and mission community near Tūranga; people gathered there for safety and strategy; whānau, including wāhine and tamariki, were present; and the community maintained its own systems of authority, spirituality and political autonomy. Students silently choose one person, place or activity to describe.

3. 25–40 minutes · Rehearse language. Teacher displays the sentence frame, “Before the siege, Waerenga-a-Hika was … where …,” and models: “Before the siege, Waerenga-a-Hika was a place of safety where whānau gathered and leaders made decisions.” Students rehearse one sentence aloud to a partner, using a sensory detail such as “voices carried”, “people moved between the whare” or “the whenua felt busy”.

4. 40–60 minutes · Write and share. Teacher distributes the Waerenga-a-Hika descriptive writing starter and asks students to write two connected sentences, then invites one student to read theirs aloud if time allows. Students include one accurate historical detail and one descriptive image, for example: “At Waerenga-a-Hika, whānau gathered together in a place of safety. The pā was alive with conversation, movement and careful planning.”

Resources

• the Waerenga-a-Hika introduction deck
• the Waerenga-a-Hika descriptive writing starter
• Teacher-selected respectful image of Waerenga-a-Hika or the surrounding whenua
• Board or projector
• Pens or pencils

Assessment

• Listen for students’ oral sentences and check that they understand Waerenga-a-Hika as a lived community before the siege.
• Scan writing for one accurate historical detail, a clear viewpoint and descriptive language.
• Collect the worksheet response as a baseline for the next writing lesson; use it to identify students needing support with historical accuracy, sentence construction or vocabulary.

Differentiation

• Provide the sentence frame and a word bank: pā, whenua, whānau, hui, safety, gathering, authority, spiritual, busy and peaceful.
• Allow students to dictate their sentences to the teacher or use speech-to-text if writing fluency is a barrier.
• Invite confident writers to add a second sensory detail or describe the setting through the eyes of a child, rangatahi, kaumātua or visitor.
• Remind students that this is a Rongowhakaata history and should be written with manaakitanga and care; avoid inventing private or sacred details and distinguish known information from imaginative description.