Culture in Everyday Life

Overview

This is lesson 3 of 5 in Our Unique Aotearoa. Students explore how everyday objects and practices—such as Māori traditions, local celebrations, sports, food, music and Weet-Bix—can express identity, belonging and connection to place.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify examples of culture in everyday life.
• WALT explain how an object or practice can show identity or belonging.
• WALT recognise that people in Aotearoa may have different cultural experiences and traditions.
• WALT listen respectfully to other people’s ideas.

Success criteria

• I can name or describe examples of culture in Aotearoa.
• I can explain why an object, activity or tradition may be important to someone.
• I can make a connection between culture and belonging.
• I can listen, share and respond respectfully.

Curriculum links

• Social Sciences: understand how people participate individually and collectively in communities.
• Social Sciences: understand how cultural practices and traditions help shape identity and belonging.
• Social Sciences: explore people, places and environments that are familiar and meaningful.
• Key competencies: relating to others; participating and contributing; thinking; managing self.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 minutes – Welcome and visual hook

Open with the culture picture hook. Show a striking collage of kai, a kapa haka performance, a rugby ball, a festival, a song or instrument, and a familiar breakfast product such as Weet-Bix. Ask: “What might these tell us about people and places in Aotearoa?” Emphasise that no single object represents everyone.

2. 4–9 minutes – Build shared understanding

Explain that culture includes ways people live, celebrate, communicate, eat, play, create and show what matters to them. Introduce identity as ideas about who we are, and belonging as feeling connected, welcomed or part of a group.

Use the culture examples slides to introduce examples: Māori traditions such as pōwhiri, waiata or kapa haka; local celebrations; sports; favourite foods; music; and iconic or familiar objects. Clarify that Māori culture is central to Aotearoa, while New Zealand also includes many other cultures and communities.

3. 9–16 minutes – Group picture investigation

Place students in five groups of four and distribute the Group Role Cards to support shared responsibilities. Give each group one or two culture images or object cards prepared by the teacher, such as a rugby ball, hangi, musical instrument, festival decoration, waka, school uniform or Weet-Bix box.

Display the investigation questions. Groups discuss:

• What can you see?
• Who might use, enjoy or value this?
• How could it show identity or belonging?
• Would it mean the same thing to everyone?

Students should not be expected to speak for an entire culture. They may say, “Some people might…” or “In my experience…”

4. 16–23 minutes – Worksheet response

Distribute the culture investigation worksheet. Students draw or write about one example from their group. They complete the sentence frames: “This is…”, “It may be important because…”, and “It can show belonging by…”.

Support students to use words, labelled drawings or dictated responses. Encourage students to include a personal, whānau, school or local example if they wish, but never require them to disclose private cultural information.

5. 23–27 minutes – Share and compare

Invite each group to share one idea, with the speaker chosen by the group. Use the sharing prompts to guide responses: “I noticed…”, “This could be important to…”, and “This is similar to/different from…”.

Model respectful responses, such as “That is different from my experience” or “Can you tell us more?” Reinforce that people can belong to several groups and that culture changes and grows over time.

6. 27–30 minutes – Plenary and evidence of learning

Return to the final reflection slide. Ask students to turn and talk: “What is one way culture can show belonging?” Take two or three responses, then collect worksheets. Briefly preview lesson 4: investigating a cultural place, event or story connected with our community.

Resources

• the culture picture hook
• the culture investigation worksheet
• the Group Role Cards
• Teacher-prepared picture or object cards
• A real Weet-Bix box or photograph, if available
• Whiteboard and markers
• Pencils, crayons or coloured pencils
• Optional culturally appropriate images of local events, kai, music and sport

Assessment

• Listen during group discussion for students identifying cultural examples and explaining possible links to identity or belonging.
• Check worksheets for a named or drawn example and a reasonable explanation of its importance.
• Note whether students listen respectfully, take turns and acknowledge that cultural experiences can differ.

Differentiation

• Support: use clear photographs, gestures and the sentence frames; allow drawing, oral explanation, partner scribing or home-language discussion before sharing.
• Support: pre-teach culture, identity, belonging, tradition and community with simple examples.
• EAL/SEN: provide a reduced choice of two or three images, repeat instructions one step at a time, and pair students with a supportive peer.
• Extension: ask students to explain how one example may be meaningful to different people in different ways, or compare a family practice with a school or community practice.