Mapping Raupatu Impacts

Overview

This is lesson 19 of 30 in Whenua, War, and Sovereignty. Students build on prior learning about the New Zealand Wars, Crown policy, and Māori resistance by mapping confiscated whenua and analysing the social, economic, cultural, and political effects of raupatu on affected iwi and hapū. The lesson develops evidence-based examination rather than chronological retelling.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• map selected areas of confiscated whenua and identify patterns in the evidence
• distinguish between evidence that can and cannot support precise quantification
• analyse interconnected social, economic, cultural, and political effects of raupatu
• compare perspectives and explain why raupatu remains significant to New Zealanders
• prepare a supported historical judgement suitable for NCEA work

Success criteria

• I can accurately annotate a map using evidence and identify its limitations.
• I can quantify land loss where the evidence allows, while avoiding unsupported claims.
• I can explain effects of raupatu using specific evidence and more than one perspective.
• I can make a reasoned judgement about the significance of raupatu today.

Curriculum links

• Examine an historical event or place of significance to New Zealanders through coherent explanations, detailed evidence, and significance.
• Carry out an historical inquiry by developing focusing questions, annotating and organising evidence, and evaluating source usefulness and reliability.
• Understand how historical forces and movements influenced causes and consequences, and how interpretations of significant events differ.
• Develop historical thinking through evidence use, perspective-taking, continuity and change, and interconnections.

Lesson structure (120 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Hook and prior knowledge. Teacher opens the hook and learning intentions slides with a before-and-after map comparison and asks, “What can a map show about power, and what can it hide?” Students complete a quick-write, then share one prior-learning connection and one question about raupatu.

2. 10–28 min · Direct teaching: context and vocabulary. Teacher uses the context and key concepts slides to clarify raupatu, confiscation legislation, affected iwi and hapū, rohe, Crown intention, and Māori experience; model the difference between describing an event and examining it. Students create a four-part effects grid and record two important contextual points, including that confiscation was contested and experienced differently across communities.

3. 28–55 min · Source and map investigation. Teacher distributes the raupatu evidence and mapping investigation and provides groups of three with a source pack containing maps, legislation extracts, official statements, iwi or hapū accounts, and reliable land-loss estimates. Students annotate a map, identify the confiscated area, calculate or record land change where figures are provided, and label uncertainty where boundaries, dates, or estimates are disputed.

4. 55–70 min · Evidence conference. Teacher pauses the investigation and uses the evidence-checking and quantification slides to model a source annotation: what the evidence shows, whose perspective it represents, how useful it is, and what caution is needed. Students compare one source with a different perspective, then complete the worksheet’s evidence table using the prompts “supports,” “complicates,” and “cannot establish”.

5. 70–98 min · Collaborative effects analysis. Teacher assigns each group one primary lens—social, economic, cultural, or political—and asks groups to trace immediate and longer-term effects, including links to other lenses. Students use a systems map on the worksheet to connect land loss with displacement, access to resources, authority, language and identity, economic opportunity, political relationships, resistance, and later redress; they must support at least three links with evidence and include Māori and Crown perspectives where available.

6. 98–112 min · Share, challenge, and judgement. Teacher facilitates brief group reports using the group-share and significance discussion slides and asks, “Which effect was most far-reaching, and why?” Students listen for connections, challenge one claim respectfully using evidence, and write a paragraph answering: “How did raupatu change the lives and authority of affected iwi and hapū?”

7. 112–120 min · Plenary and exit assessment. Teacher asks students to complete the final section of the judgement and reflection section and submit it. Students write one evidence-based judgement, one limitation in the evidence, and one reason raupatu remains significant to New Zealanders; invite two students to share, with care taken not to require personal or iwi disclosure.

Resources

• the Land Confiscation and Raupatu teaching deck
• the raupatu evidence and mapping investigation
• Printed maps of relevant confiscation areas and rohe
• Source pack with legislation extracts, Crown records, Māori accounts, maps, and land-loss estimates
• Coloured pens, rulers, sticky notes, and A3 paper
• Projector or interactive display
• Calculators or spreadsheet software for supported calculations
• Group folders or shared digital workspaces

Assessment

• Circulate during mapping to check accurate use of scale, dates, labels, calculations, and statements of uncertainty.
• Use questioning to test whether students are explaining effects and significance rather than listing events; check that claims are linked to evidence and perspective.
• Collect the final paragraph and exit response as formative evidence of coherent explanation, source evaluation, and historical judgement. Provide feedback using “evidence,” “explanation,” and “significance”.

Differentiation

• Provide a partially labelled map, a glossary, colour-coded source excerpts, and sentence starters: “This evidence suggests…”, “However, its usefulness is limited because…”, and “This was significant because…”.
• Give groups a choice of handwritten or digital mapping and provide a worked example of calculating area change before independent work.
• Extend confident students by asking them to compare two conflicting estimates, explain why they differ, and assess which is more useful for the focusing question.
• Use mixed-readiness groups with defined roles such as facilitator, evidence checker, mapper, and reporter; allow text-to-speech, enlarged maps, extra processing time, and verbal recording where appropriate.
• Maintain a respectful approach to mātauranga Māori and iwi or hapū perspectives: avoid treating Crown records as neutral, do not generalise across all iwi, and acknowledge that some evidence and experiences are contested or sensitive.