Evolution of Leadership

Overview

Lesson 2 of 9 in Power and Participation in Aotearoa. Students explore how leadership and decision-making have changed over time, comparing leadership in an iwi or hapū, a historical community, and Aotearoa today.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify different ways people have led and made decisions in Aotearoa.
• WALT compare leadership in the past with leadership today.
• WALT explain that different groups have had different opportunities to participate in decisions.
• WALT use pictures and information to ask and answer historical questions.

Success criteria

• I can name at least two leaders or leadership groups from Aotearoa.
• I can describe one way decision-making has changed.
• I can explain how people participated in decisions in the past and today.
• I can use evidence from a picture or short text to share an idea.

Curriculum links

• Understand how people make decisions about access to and use of resources.
• Understand how the past is remembered and represented in different ways.
• Understand how cultural practices and traditions express and shape identity.
• Social Sciences skills: asking questions, using evidence, communicating ideas, and participating collaboratively.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Reconnect and introduce Welcome students and remind them that the unit is about power and participation. Open with the question and picture hook: “Who helps make important decisions in our community?” Accept ideas such as whānau, kaumātua, teachers, leaders, councils, and government. Explain that leadership has changed over time, while some leadership responsibilities have continued.

2. 5–12 minutes – Build shared knowledge Use the three-times comparison to introduce three broad examples:

• In many iwi and hapū, rangatira and kaumātua helped guide decisions, alongside discussion and collective support.
• In early towns and settlements, community leaders and local groups helped organise people and resources.
• Today, people may participate through whānau and community groups, local councils, Parliament, voting, meetings, and petitions. Emphasise that leadership has never been exactly the same everywhere, and that Māori leadership and tikanga remain important in Aotearoa.

3. 12–20 minutes – Think, pair, share Display the leadership comparison questions. Students quietly look at three contrasting images: a hui or community gathering, an early local meeting, and a modern council or community meeting. In pairs, they discuss: “Who might be making decisions?”, “Who is listening?”, and “How might people have their say?” Gather two or three observations without expecting students to identify every historical detail.

4. 20–32 minutes – Evidence activity Distribute the leadership evidence worksheet. Read the short, age-appropriate descriptions aloud while students work in pairs. They match each description to a time period, circle who is participating, and draw or write one difference between past and present leadership. Support students to use the sentence frame: “In the past…, but today…”. Circulate and ask, “What in the picture or words makes you think that?”

5. 32–39 minutes – Class comparison Reopen the class comparison table and invite pairs to contribute one idea. Record responses under “Who leads?”, “How are decisions made?”, and “How can people participate?” Clarify that leadership can involve guiding, caring for others, organising, representing a group, and listening—not only having a formal title.

6. 39–45 minutes – Plenary and check for understanding Show the final reflection prompt: “One thing that has changed is… One thing that is still important is…” Students share with a partner, then complete the final two questions on the reflection section. Preview the next lesson: investigating how people have gained more opportunities to participate in decisions.

Resources

• the Evolution of Leadership slide deck
• the leadership evidence worksheet
• Whiteboard or chart paper
• Pencils and colouring materials
• Optional classroom map of Aotearoa
• Optional locally relevant images of a marae, community meeting, council, or Parliament

Assessment

• Listen to pair discussions for accurate use of ideas such as leader, decision, group, past, and today.
• Check the worksheet for a correctly supported comparison between past and present leadership.
• Use the final reflection to identify students who understand change over time and those needing further modelling.

Differentiation

• Provide picture vocabulary and sentence frames: “A leader helps…”, “People participate by…”, and “In the past…, today…”.
• Read all worksheet text aloud and pair developing readers with a supportive peer; allow drawing, oral answers, or dictated responses.
• Avoid presenting one leadership model as applying to all iwi, hapū, or communities; invite students to connect respectfully with local knowledge where appropriate.
• Extend confident students by asking them to explain why leadership and participation may change, and whether some leadership responsibilities have stayed the same.