Influential Kiwi Musicians

Overview

In this 45-minute lesson, Year 12 Music students will explore influential New Zealand musicians, focusing on their backgrounds and impact on the local and global music scenes. This lesson, the 5th in a 30-lesson unit "Exploring New Zealand Music", aligns with the New Zealand Curriculum's Arts learning area and integrates key competencies to develop critical thinking, researching skills, and cultural understanding.

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Curriculum Links

Learning Area: The Arts — Music

• Learning Outcome (Level 7, Year 12):
  Students will investigate the contexts, traditions, and technologies of music from New Zealand and beyond and understand how musicians influence local and global culture. Students demonstrate this by researching, analysing, and presenting findings on New Zealand musicians' cultural and artistic contributions.
• Achievement Objectives:
  • Develop understanding of the cultural significance of music.
  • Use music-specific language to communicate ideas about music and musicians.
  • Explore socio-cultural influences on music in New Zealand.

Key Competencies

The lesson encourages:

• Thinking: Research, identify, and analyse social and cultural impacts of musicians.
• Using language, symbols and texts: Record, organise, and present information in suitable formats.
• Relating to others: Collaborate and share ideas respectfully during discussions.

Principles Underpinning the Curriculum

• Treaty of Waitangi: Acknowledge local tangata whenua perspectives and include Māori musicians and their contributions.
• Cultural diversity: Reflect New Zealand's multicultural context by including diverse musicians.
• Inclusion: Support all learners to participate and contribute.

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Learning Objectives

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

1. Identify at least three influential New Zealand musicians and describe their background.
2. Explain how these musicians have contributed to New Zealand’s music identity and cultural landscape.
3. Reflect on the impact of their music socially, culturally, or internationally.
4. Develop their research and presentation skills using digital and print resources.

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Lesson Structure (45 minutes, class of 30)

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Teacher briefly introduces the focus: Notable New Zealand musicians and their impact on the music scene, incorporating Māori and multicultural influences reflecting NZ's identity.
• Link this to students' prior learning from previous lessons in the unit.

2. Research Task (20 minutes)

• Students paired in groups of 3.
• Each group receives a musician or is assigned one by the teacher. Suggested musicians may include:
  • Lorde
  • Dave Dobbyn
  • Bic Runga
  • Maisey Rika (Māori perspective)
  • Fat Freddy’s Drop (reflecting multiculturalism)
  • Anika Moa
• Groups use classroom devices and prepared resource sheets with biographies, background, and contributions of these musicians to quickly research answers to:
  1. Who is this musician? Name, background, style.
  2. What is their contribution or impact? (musically and culturally)
  3. How have they influenced New Zealand music or identity?
• Students record key points in a shared digital document or worksheet.

3. Group Presentation and Discussion (15 minutes)

• Each group presents a 2-minute summary of their musician highlighting background and impact.
• Teacher facilitates a short class discussion prioritising:
  • Similarities and differences between the musicians’ influences.
  • The significance of including Māori and multicultural artists in understanding NZ music.
  • Connections to key competencies such as critical thinking and relating to others.

4. Reflection and Wrap-up (5 minutes)

• Individual written reflection: Students answer a prompt such as
  “Which New Zealand musician’s story impacted you most and why?”
• Teacher collects reflections or allows sharing.
• Homework preview: Research to prepare a short deeper profile on one chosen musician for future lesson.

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Assessment

• Observation of group collaboration and participation.
• Quality and accuracy of research notes.
• Clarity and relevance of group presentations.
• Individual reflective writing to assess understanding of musicians’ contributions to NZ music culture.

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Teaching Considerations

• Ensure digital literacy support for effective use of online resources.
• Include Māori musicians with background info that reflects local tikanga and mātauranga Māori.
• Provide scaffolding for students who need help with research or presentation skills.
• Encourage respectful listening and valuing diverse musical traditions in NZ.

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This lesson design supports the New Zealand Curriculum principles, promotes key competencies through authentic tasks, and enriches students' knowledge of New Zealand's unique music environment and its influential musicians .