Kaitiakitanga and Guardianship

Overview

This is lesson 5 of 24 in Auckland: Sustainable New Home. Students explore kaitiakitanga through pūrākau, Pacific values, and local Auckland examples, then compare it with another cultural understanding of caring for place. The lesson builds respectful discussion, reading, speaking, and visual interpretation skills for English-language learners.

Learning intentions

• WALT explain kaitiakitanga respectfully using evidence from a short text.
• WALT compare kaitiakitanga with another cultural understanding of caring for place.
• WALT discuss how values influence people’s relationships with places.
• WALT use appropriate geographical and cultural language when speaking and writing.

Success criteria

• I can explain kaitiakitanga as a relationship of guardianship and responsibility towards the natural world.
• I can identify a related idea from my own culture or another culture.
• I can describe one similarity and one difference between the ideas.
• I can support my comparison with an example from a text, image, or local place.

Curriculum links

• Social Sciences: exploring how societies function and change, including New Zealand’s place in a globalised world.
• Social Sciences: engaging with concepts such as ethics, power, inequality, and decision-making when analysing challenges.
• Social Sciences: exploring cultural understandings, governance, and human rights, including the significance of te Tiriti o Waitangi.
• Geography: applying geographical data and examples to evaluate approaches for improving urban areas.

Lesson structure (70 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Hook and prior knowledge. Teacher displays a photograph of a polluted stream beside a cared-for stream using the opening comparison slide, and asks, “Who is responsible for the health of a place?” Students use think-pair-share, then contribute words or phrases; the teacher records ideas without judging them.

2. 7–18 min · Build shared understanding. Teacher introduces kaitiakitanga as a Māori understanding of guardianship, explaining that people have responsibilities and relationships with the natural world; clarify pronunciation: kai-tiaki-tanga. Open the key ideas and visual definition slides and model the sentence, “Kaitiakitanga means caring for and protecting a place because we have a responsibility to it.” Students annotate a visual definition on the kaitiakitanga comparison worksheet and practise saying the word with a partner.

3. 18–30 min · Read and notice. Teacher distributes the worksheet text set: a short, age-appropriate pūrākau extract or retelling, a Pacific values paragraph, and a local Auckland example such as restoration of a stream, harbour, ngahere, or maunga. Students read in pairs, using the glossary and highlighting actions, responsibilities, and relationships with place. The teacher reads aloud first, pauses to check meaning, and asks students to identify one sentence that shows guardianship.

4. 30–43 min · Jigsaw comparison. Teacher forms six groups of five and assigns each group one text or example; display instructions on the reading and jigsaw task slides. Students become “expert readers”, complete the evidence table on the worksheet, and prepare a 30-second explanation using the frame: “This understanding shows care for place by…”. Each group then shares its evidence with a mixed group. Students listen for one similarity and one difference.

5. 43–56 min · Cultural connections discussion. Teacher establishes discussion agreements: speak respectfully, avoid claiming to speak for a whole culture, and say “some people” where appropriate. Display the discussion prompts and sentence frames. Students choose a related idea from their own experience, Bengali or Pasefika heritage, another culture, or a provided example such as stewardship, vanua, fonua, respect for ancestors, or community responsibility. They discuss: “What is cared for?”, “Who has responsibility?”, and “How is that responsibility shown?” Students may respond orally, draw and label, or write.

6. 56–65 min · Apply to Auckland. Teacher presents a local decision, such as improving a stream, protecting a coastal area, or creating a new housing development near a valued place, using the Auckland scenario and policy question slide. Students write or record a response: “If kaitiakitanga influenced this decision, people might…” Include one action and explain how a value supports it. Advanced students explain how the value could influence a council policy, rule, or everyday behaviour.

7. 65–70 min · Plenary and assessment. Teacher revisits the WALT and success criteria on the plenary slide. Students complete the final comparison box on the worksheet: define kaitiakitanga, name a related idea, and state one similarity and difference. Invite two students to share; collect worksheets as students leave.

Resources

• the Kaitiakitanga and Guardianship slide deck
• the kaitiakitanga comparison worksheet
• Short, accessible texts: pūrākau, Pacific values, and a local Auckland example
• Bilingual glossary sheets for key terms
• Images of Auckland waterways, coastline, ngahere, maunga, or restoration projects
• Board or digital display
• Highlighters and coloured pencils
• Headphones or text-to-speech option, if available

Assessment

• Listen for accurate, respectful explanations during partner and group discussion; prompt students to use evidence rather than stereotypes.
• Check the worksheet evidence table for reading comprehension, comparison language, and links between values and actions.
• Use the final comparison box to assess whether students can define kaitiakitanga and identify a meaningful cultural connection.

Differentiation

• Provide pronunciation modelling, syllable marking, visual definitions, a bilingual glossary, and icons for place, care, responsibility, relationship, and protection.
• Support reading through teacher read-aloud, paired reading, chunked texts, bolded key sentences, and purposeful highlighting. This supports ELLPs reading and visual development.
• Provide speaking frames: “Both ideas…”, “One difference is…”, “An example is…”, and “This value could influence…”. Allow rehearsal before sharing and accept oral, written, drawn, or recorded responses to support ELLPs speaking and writing.
• Use mixed-ability groups with clear roles, privately check understanding, and avoid requiring students to disclose personal cultural knowledge. Extension students explain how a value could shape policy, resource allocation, behaviour, or an urban development decision.

Extension

• Compare kaitiakitanga with a second cultural understanding and evaluate which actions each might encourage in Auckland.
• Write a short recommendation to Auckland Council explaining how one value should influence a sustainable housing or restoration decision.