Mapping Our Āhurutanga

Overview

Students explore āhurutanga as the conditions that help people feel safe, valued, included, and ready to learn. Working in groups, they map supportive places, people, routines, and words in their classroom and school, then co-create a shared care plan and practise one agreed action.

Learning intentions

• We are learning to explain how places, people, routines, and language can influence wellbeing.
• We are learning to use a map to represent features of a familiar environment.
• We are learning to listen to different experiences and make fair, practical agreements.
• We are learning to take collective action and review its effect.

Success criteria

• I can identify features of our classroom or school that support āhurutanga.
• I can explain why a place, person, routine, or word may help someone feel safe and valued.
• I can contribute respectfully to a shared map and care plan.
• I can practise an agreed action and suggest how we could review it.

Curriculum links

• Geography — using spatial tools and mapping to identify and discuss important features of familiar surroundings.
• Geography — using simple symbols and a key to create and interpret maps.
• Geography — describing location in relation to nearby features.
• Social sciences — understanding how people participate in groups and communities, make decisions, and take action for collective wellbeing.
• Key competencies — relating to others, participating and contributing, managing self, and thinking.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and purpose. Open with the opening image and āhurutanga question and ask: “What helps a classroom feel like a place where people can learn and belong?” Students privately note one idea, then share with a partner; explain that āhurutanga is about creating conditions of safety, care, belonging, and readiness, not assuming everyone experiences a place in the same way.

2. 5–10 min · Build shared language. Display the four map categories and discussion prompts. Introduce the categories: places, people, routines, and words/actions. Model one example, such as “quiet corner — helps me reset when I feel overwhelmed”, and distinguish a personal preference from an agreement that can support others. Students suggest examples and help create four simple symbols for the class map.

3. 10–23 min · Group mapping. Arrange 30 students into six groups of five and distribute the wellbeing mapping and care-plan sheet. Each group sketches a map of the classroom and nearby school spaces, adds a title, orientation arrow, four-symbol key, and relevant features. They annotate at least one place, person, routine, and word/action, explaining how each can support āhurutanga. Students may describe a general experience rather than disclose personal information.

4. 23–31 min · Compare and prioritise. Groups display their maps. Students circulate quietly, looking for repeated ideas and differences, then return to their group. Use the gallery-walk questions: “What appears on several maps?”, “What might support some people but not everyone?”, and “What is missing or needs checking?” Groups choose two high-impact ideas and justify their choices using “This could help because…”

5. 31–39 min · Co-create the care plan. On the board, combine the class ideas into a shared care plan with four headings: “We will…”, “This supports…”, “We need to remember…”, and “We will know it helps when…”. Guide students to turn broad ideas into observable agreements, such as “use names and respectful language”, “allow quiet thinking time”, or “check before moving someone’s belongings”. Agree on one action that is realistic, inclusive, and safe to practise immediately. Students record the final action on their worksheet.

6. 39–43 min · Practise and review. Use the practice instructions and review prompts. Students rehearse the chosen action in pairs or small groups, then complete a brief review: “What did we do?”, “How might this affect different people?”, and “What would make it easier to keep doing?” Invite two or three responses and refine the wording of the care plan if needed.

7. 43–45 min · Exit reflection. Students complete the final boxes on the reflection and next-step section: one map feature that matters, one care-plan commitment, and one way the class could review its impact later. Collect sheets to identify common strengths, concerns, and follow-up needs.

Resources

• the complete āhurutanga mapping slide deck
• the wellbeing mapping and care-plan sheet
• Large paper or A3 sheets, one per group
• Coloured pens or pencils
• Board or shared digital canvas for the class care plan
• Sticky notes or reusable labels
• Optional classroom or school layout sketch
• the Question Stems Poster displayed during group discussion

Assessment

• During mapping, check whether students use symbols, a key, relative location, and explanations linking features to wellbeing.
• Listen for respectful discussion, evidence that students consider different experiences, and movement from vague ideas to observable care-plan actions.
• Use the exit reflection to assess understanding of āhurutanga and identify an agreed action that needs revisiting. Do not treat personal disclosure as evidence of achievement.

Differentiation

• Provide a partly completed map outline, pre-drawn symbols, a word bank, and sentence starters such as “This helps because…” or “Another person might…”.
• Allow students to contribute by drawing, writing, speaking, or placing labels; offer a quiet planning space and avoid requiring students to name people or places connected with difficult experiences.
• Pair students thoughtfully and assign roles such as mapper, symbol designer, reader, discussion facilitator, and reporter. Rotate roles where practical.
• Extend confident students by asking them to compare how one feature may support different groups, identify a possible unintended impact, and propose a measurable review question.