Knowledge Through Time

Overview

This first lesson in the eight-lesson unit introduces sustainable knowledge: knowledge that is preserved, shared and adapted so it can continue to support people and communities. Students connect familiar examples with oral, written and painted forms of knowledge, then create a concept map showing how knowledge travels through people, places and time.

Learning intentions

• WALT explain how knowledge can be preserved and passed between generations.
• WALT identify oral, written and painted ways knowledge is transmitted.
• WALT use examples to explain why knowledge matters to a community.
• WALT communicate connections between people, places and time.

Success criteria

• I can define sustainable knowledge in my own words.
• I can identify at least three ways knowledge is transmitted.
• I can explain why preserving knowledge matters to a community.
• I can show how knowledge travels through people, places and time.

Curriculum links

• Social Sciences — using sources to examine perspectives and build understanding.
• Social Sciences — analysing responses to challenges and events.
• Social Sciences — engaging in Social Sciences dialogue and communicating understanding.
• History — connecting stories about the past with how people remember, record and pass on knowledge.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Hook and prior knowledge. Display a striking image of a kaumātua sharing a story with younger people, alongside an image of a written record and a painted symbol, using the opening image prompt. Ask: “What knowledge might be carried here, and what could happen if nobody passed it on?” Students think independently, then share with a partner before contributing ideas to a class word bank. Acknowledge that knowledge may be held and shared in different ways by different communities; avoid assuming every image has one fixed meaning.

2. 7–17 min · Build the concept. Use the sustainable knowledge teaching slides to introduce the working definition: “Sustainable knowledge is knowledge that is kept alive by being remembered, recorded, practised, shared and sometimes adapted across generations.” Clarify that “sustainable” here means continuing over time, not only environmental sustainability. Students sort examples from the slides into oral, written, painted/visual or more than one category, explaining their choices. Introduce key terms on the knowledge pathways worksheet: preserve, transmit, generation, oral, written, visual, community and adapt.

3. 17–27 min · Source exploration. Show three age-appropriate examples on the oral, written and painted examples: a spoken pūrākau or family story, a written record such as a diary or manuscript, and painted or visual knowledge such as a pattern, map or artwork. Explain that visual knowledge must be interpreted respectfully and in context. In pairs, students complete the source table on the knowledge pathways worksheet, recording what each example communicates, how it could be passed on, and who might help preserve it. Circulate and ask, “What evidence shows that this knowledge is being carried forward?”

4. 27–43 min · Concept-map task. Model one example, such as a community food-gathering practice: an elder teaches a young person; the practice is used in a particular place; it is remembered, recorded or represented; the next generation adapts it responsibly. Students independently create a concept map on the knowledge pathways worksheet, linking one form of knowledge to people, places and time. Require at least three transmission methods and labelled arrows such as “teaches”, “records”, “practises”, “remembers” or “adapts”. Students may choose a familiar community example, a school tradition, a language practice, a story, or one of the class examples.

5. 43–53 min · Dialogue and peer feedback. Use the concept-map discussion prompts to structure a gallery walk or partner exchange. Students explain their map to a peer, who gives two comments: “I can see knowledge travelling through…” and “A question I have is…”. Invite several students to share how knowledge may change while still retaining important meaning. Reinforce that communities decide what knowledge is appropriate to share, with whom and in what context.

6. 53–60 min · Plenary and assessment. Return to the opening question with the plenary and exit prompts. Students complete the final section of the knowledge pathways worksheet: define sustainable knowledge, name three transmission methods, and explain why it matters to a community. Collect responses and ask students to hold up one finger for “oral”, two for “written”, three for “painted/visual”, or a combination to show one method they can now explain.

Resources

• the complete sustainable knowledge slide deck
• the knowledge pathways worksheet
• Projector or interactive display
• Whiteboard and markers
• Coloured pencils or highlighters
• Timer
• Printed or projected culturally respectful images and examples

Assessment

• Listen during the hook and pair discussions for accurate use of “preserve”, “transmit”, “generation” and “community”; note misconceptions for the next lesson.
• Check source tables and concept maps for three or more transmission methods, clear people/place/time links, and an explanation rather than a list.
• Use the written exit response to identify students who can define sustainable knowledge and explain its community importance. Re-teach orally or with a visual model where needed.

Differentiation

• Provide the worksheet vocabulary bank, illustrated examples, labelled arrows and sentence starters: “Knowledge can be transmitted by…”, “This matters because…”, and “It travels through people by…”.
• Allow students to explain their concept map orally, use a scribe or speech-to-text, or create it collaboratively before completing an individual summary.
• Pre-teach vocabulary with gestures and images for EAL learners; pair students strategically and check understanding without requiring personal or culturally sensitive stories.
• Support students who need it with a partially completed map and a choice of examples. Challenge advanced learners to investigate how one form of knowledge has changed as it was passed down, identifying what was retained, what adapted and why.

Extension

• Students choose one form of knowledge and write a short “then and now” comparison explaining how its transmission has changed while its purpose or significance may have continued.
• Students formulate a question for the next lesson about whose perspectives are included, missing or protected when knowledge is preserved.