Journeys of Waka

Overview

This 180-minute unit lesson introduces how Māori navigators used knowledge of ocean, sky, and landforms to arrive and settle in Aotearoa. Students will explore key waka, identify associated regions and iwi, and create a detailed voyage map poster with annotations about navigation challenges and significance for settlement.

Learning intentions

• WALT explain possible ways Māori arrived in Aotearoa and how settlement spread across regions.
• WALT identify several great Māori explorers (waka), and match each waka to its associated iwi and rohe (region).
• WALT describe navigation methods and challenges using evidence from knowledge of voyaging.
• WALT create a map poster that includes waka routes, major landscape features (maunga, awa), and key kōrero.

Success criteria

• I can describe (in my own words) one or two ideas about how Māori arrived in Aotearoa using appropriate historical language.
• I can name at least 3 waka and state a region/rohe and iwi connection for each.
• I can annotate my map with navigation challenges and explain why they mattered for safe travel and settlement.
• I can include maunga, awa, and one taniwha/kōrero element, and explain its significance in a map-friendly way.

Curriculum links

• Social sciences: History / New Zealand history (how Māori arrived, who settled, and how settlement is connected to specific waka journeys).
• Social sciences: History (using evidence and historical thinking to interpret information about the past).
• Social sciences: Developing skills for finding, using, and communicating information.
• Key competencies: Thinking; Relating to others; Participating and contributing (group map work and discussion).

Lesson structure (180 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Hook: “How do we know?”

• Teacher asks: “What clues can maps, stories, and named places give us about the past?”
• Students quick-write: 3 clues they think a voyage story might include (landmarks, routes, people, challenges).

2. 10–35 min · Build knowledge: Arrival and settlement (short input + discussion)

• Teacher presents a teacher-made overview showing that Māori oral histories and traditions describe waka arrivals and settlement across regions.
• Students use a provided “Big ideas” graphic organiser to record: arrival ideas, settling regions, and why routes matter.

3. 35–60 min · Great Māori explorers: waka focus sets

• Teacher rotates through 4–6 waka (chosen for class ability and local relevance) using prompt cards: waka name, general route idea, associated rohe and iwi, and one key navigation challenge.
• Students in pairs complete a “Waka connection” sheet: match each waka to (a) rohe/region and (b) one iwi name from the class resource pack.

4. 60–80 min · Mapping skills mini-lesson

• Teacher demonstrates map elements: title, compass direction cues, scale note (even if not precise), symbols/legend, and route arrows.
• Students annotate a sample blank map with: at least two route arrows, legend symbols, and a label for one maunga and one awa (from the teacher’s template).

5. 80–145 min · Main task: Detailed voyage map poster

• Teacher sets up table groups (4–5 students) with one poster per group and a kit of cut-out labels and writing strips (waka routes, iwi/rohe, maunga, awa, taniwha/kōrero notes, legend).
• Students create their poster with these required sections:
• Map title (“Waka Voyages to Aotearoa”)
• Waka routes from origin point to Aotearoa (route arrows + labels)
• Annotations for each waka: 2 navigation challenges (e.g., weather, currents, night travel) and a short significance statement about how the journey supported settlement for the associated iwi
• Landscape features: include at least 2 maunga and 2 awa across the poster
• Culture links: include one taniwha reference and one kōrero snippet (teacher-provided, culturally safe wording) linked to a location on the map
• Legend showing symbols used

6. 145–165 min · Gallery walk: peer feedback

• Teacher provides “Glow and Grow” feedback prompts focused on accuracy, clarity, and explanation of significance.
• Students view two other groups’ posters and leave one “Glow” and one “Grow” comment using sentence starters.

7. 165–180 min · Exit ticket: historical thinking + evidence

• Teacher asks students to answer: “Choose one waka on your poster. Explain (1) one navigation challenge and (2) one reason the waka journey mattered for settlement.”
• Students submit exit tickets and tidy materials for next lesson.

Resources

• Large poster paper (one per group) and markers/colour pencils
• Waka resource pack: waka cards, origin/route prompts, rohe/region labels, iwi label list (teacher-selected)
• Blank map templates with an outline of Aotearoa and simple regional divisions for locating maunga/awa
• Map skill strips: legend examples, compass cue cards, route arrow templates
• Pre-selected maunga and awa label cards (age-appropriate and safe to share)
• Taniwha and kōrero note cards with teacher-provided wording for student-friendly transcription
• “Waka connection” sheet and “Big ideas” graphic organiser
• “Glow and Grow” feedback prompt slips
• Sentence starters for writing and feedback (adapted versions available)

Assessment

• Formative: observation during waka connection matching (check for correct iwi/rohe links and vocabulary use).
• Formative: teacher conferencing while students build annotations (ensure students explain challenges and significance, not just label places).
• Summative (for today): exit ticket showing understanding of one waka journey, one navigation challenge, and one settlement significance statement.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters (“One navigation challenge was… This mattered because…”) and a partially completed poster template with some labels pre-placed.
• Support: offer a “word bank” for historical language (arrival, settlement, voyage, navigate, evidence, significance).
• Extension: ask groups to add a “reasoning line” under one annotation: “How does this map feature help us understand settlement?”
• EAL/SEN: allow drawing + short sentence responses for the exit ticket; provide visuals for route and legend requirements; reduce copy load by using cut-out labels.

Next lesson note (for continuity)

In the next session, students can refine posters using peer feedback and add a short paragraph explaining how navigation knowledge (sky/ocean/land cues) connects to settlement choices across different iwi.