Personal and Collective Hauora

Overview

In this fifth lesson of Mahitahi and Wellbeing, students revisit Te Whare Tapa Whā as one framework for understanding hauora. They examine how personal and collective choices, protective factors and barriers influence wellbeing, then identify realistic, non-judgemental supports in school and the community.

Learning intentions

We are learning to:

• explain how the dimensions of Te Whare Tapa Whā are interconnected
• identify protective factors and barriers in different wellbeing situations
• recognise how equity and circumstances influence people’s choices
• select realistic strategies and supports without judging others’ experiences

Success criteria

• I can describe how taha tinana, taha hinengaro, taha whānau and taha wairua can support one another.
• I can identify protective factors and barriers in a fictional situation.
• I can suggest a wellbeing strategy that fits the person and their circumstances.
• I can name school or community supports and explain when they might help.

Curriculum links

• Health Education — Bodies | Minds: how nutrition, sleep, movement and hygiene support physical and emotional wellbeing.
• Health Education — investigating how sleep, daylight, physical activity, outdoor opportunities and healthy eating contribute to good health.
• Health Education — Growing bodies: how sleep, nutrition and movement affect growth and body function, and vary with age, lifestyle and health needs.
• Health Education — developing calming strategies and exploring how sleep, movement and nutrition influence thinking, feelings and coping; connected to the key competencies of managing self, relating to others and participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–6 min · Welcome and anonymous hook. Teacher establishes the safety agreement: use fictional examples, pass is always available, and no one must disclose personal information; open with the hook and learning intentions and ask, “Can one choice improve every part of someone’s wellbeing?” Students make a private prediction, then share ideas with a partner if comfortable.

2. 6–16 min · Revisit hauora. Teacher uses the Te Whare Tapa Whā visual and model explanation to revisit hauora, mauri and the four dimensions: taha tinana (physical), taha hinengaro (mental and emotional), taha whānau (relationships and belonging), and taha wairua (values, identity, purpose and connection). Acknowledge that Te Whare Tapa Whā is one model and that other cultural models and understandings of wellbeing exist. Students annotate the hauora connections and case-study worksheet with one example of how two dimensions can affect each other.

3. 16–35 min · Case-study carousel. Teacher places students in groups of four or five and explains that all scenarios are fictional. Groups rotate through case studies involving sleep, movement, connection, stress, digital balance, food access, identity and safe environments. At each station, students discuss: What options are available? What protective factors are present? What barriers might exist? Which dimension or dimensions of hauora are involved? Students record concise responses on the case-study response pages. Offer the stress response and coping strategy cards at the stress station as optional strategy prompts. Teacher circulates, asks “What makes that support realistic?” and challenges assumptions such as “They should just…”.

4. 35–47 min · Wellbeing menu. Teacher models a fictional student choosing a menu of supports, including one personal strategy, one relationship-based support and one school or community support. Emphasise that strategies are choices, not rules, and that access to food, sleep, transport, safety, privacy and trusted people is not equal for everyone. Students create a personal or fictional “wellbeing menu” on the wellbeing menu template, selecting supports for a chosen situation and explaining how each could strengthen hauora. Students may write, draw or prepare a spoken response.

5. 47–55 min · Support mapping. Teacher displays the support-mapping prompts and provides the school’s current wellbeing information, including the counsellor, trusted adults, pastoral or dean support and appropriate community services. Discuss when a student might seek help, how to approach a trusted adult, and what to do if a situation is unsafe or urgent. Students add at least three possible supports to the school and community support map and identify one barrier plus a way the barrier might be reduced.

6. 55–60 min · Private reflection and close. Teacher revisits the success criteria using the plenary and reflection instructions and reminds students not to include identifying details. Students submit a private 3-2-1 reflection: three supports, two barriers and one next step. They may write, draw or ask to give the response verbally. Invite anonymous questions through the question box and clarify that personal concerns can be discussed privately with a trusted adult.

Resources

• the complete Personal and Collective Hauora slide deck
• the hauora, case-study, menu and support-map worksheet
• the stress response and coping strategy cards
• Te Whare Tapa Whā visual or model
• Fictional case-study station sheets
• Current school counsellor and wellbeing information
• Local school and community support map
• Anonymous question box
• Timer and pens

Assessment

• Listen for accurate use of hauora vocabulary and interconnected explanations during paired and group discussion.
• Check case-study responses for identification of protective factors, barriers, realistic strategies and non-judgemental language.
• Use the private 3-2-1 reflection to assess whether each student can name supports, recognise barriers and identify a feasible next step. Follow up privately where a response indicates concern.

Differentiation

• Provide a visual model, word bank, sentence starters such as “A protective factor is…” and “A possible barrier could be…”, and read-aloud or audio versions of scenarios.
• Use fictional or invented situations throughout; students can choose a personal, fictional or fully hypothetical wellbeing menu and may pass on any discussion.
• Provide a quiet workspace, mixed-format responses and additional processing time. Accept written, spoken or drawn work, and check privately with students who need communication or literacy support.
• Extend students by asking them to compare how the same strategy might work differently for two people, explaining the role of equity, access and context rather than making assumptions.