Power, Place, and Change

Overview

Students explore how colonisation began as an imperial project involving exploration, trade, settlement, and claims to land and authority. Using a simple Aotearoa New Zealand example, they consider how individuals and communities made choices, protected their mana, negotiated, or challenged actions that changed their lives.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• understand that colonisation was connected to imperial ideas about power, land, and resources
• identify different perspectives on an historical event
• explain one way an individual or community exerted or contested power
• use notes and a simple organiser to communicate an informed historical idea

Success criteria

• I can explain what colonisation and power mean in this lesson.
• I can identify who is making a decision and who is affected by it.
• I can describe one way Māori communities responded to or challenged colonial actions.
• I can support my idea with a detail from a source.

Curriculum links

• Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories: understanding how people, places, and events have shaped Aotearoa.
• Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories: examining perspectives, power relationships, and the ways people respond to change.
• English writing: building knowledge through reading, discussion, note-taking, and planning.
• English writing: using a simple organiser to plan a clear paragraph.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook: Who gets to decide? Teacher opens the introduction slides with two contrasting images: a British ship arriving in Aotearoa and a busy local settlement, then asks, “If someone arrives at your home, can they decide who owns it?” Students silently choose “yes”, “no”, or “it depends”, then share their reason with a partner. Emphasise that today’s discussion is about decisions and power, not judging people by modern standards alone.

2. 4–9 min · Build shared knowledge. Teacher uses the colonisation explanation slides to introduce:

• colonisation: when a country or group takes control of another place and its people
• imperial project: a plan by a powerful country to extend its influence, trade, settlement, and control
• mana and tino rangatiratanga: authority, standing, and the right to make decisions for oneself and one’s community Explain that Māori communities were already organised, connected, and making decisions in Aotearoa. Students repeat the key terms and give a possible example of power in a classroom or community.

3. 9–16 min · Read and discuss perspectives. Teacher presents the short, age-appropriate source cards on the paired-perspectives slides. Read aloud a condensed account of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840: many rangatira signed an agreement expecting relationships and protection of authority; the English and Māori texts did not communicate exactly the same ideas, and later Crown actions increased control over land and government. Students discuss in pairs: “What might each group have expected?” and “Where could power be shared, and where could it be taken?” Accept varied responses and avoid suggesting that all Māori or all settlers thought alike.

4. 16–24 min · Power pathways activity. Distribute the power and perspectives organiser. Model one example in the first row: “Crown representatives sought authority” → “They used agreements and later laws” → “Rangatira and communities negotiated, adapted, or resisted.” Students complete two further rows from the slides, choosing from examples such as protecting whenua, negotiating agreements, refusing unfair control, maintaining language and tikanga, or organising collective action. They should record brief notes rather than full sentences. Circulate and ask, “Who had the decision-making power here?” and “How do you know this was a response?”

5. 24–28 min · Share and refine. Teacher invites three pairs to share one response. Class listens for the words “power”, “perspective”, “choice”, and “response”. Students improve one answer by adding a specific detail from the lesson. Clarify that contesting power can include speaking up, negotiating, refusing, protecting culture and whenua, or working together—not only fighting.

6. 28–30 min · Exit reflection. Students complete the final box on the power and perspectives organiser: “One way a person or community exerted or contested power was… This mattered because…” Collect the organisers as students leave.

Resources

• the introduction, explanation, paired-perspectives, activity, and plenary slide deck
• the power and perspectives organiser
• Projector or interactive display
• Whiteboard and pens
• Teacher notes with accurate local iwi and hapū names, where appropriate
• Six mixed-ability pairs or groups of three

Assessment

• Listen during the hook and discussion for students distinguishing personal opinion from a historical perspective.
• Check organisers for accurate use of colonisation, power, perspective, and response, and for a detail drawn from the lesson.
• Use the exit reflection to identify students who can explain both an action and its effect. Confer with students who describe colonisation only as “people moving” without recognising control or unequal power.

Differentiation

• Provide a word bank and sentence starters: “The Crown wanted…”, “The community responded by…”, and “This shows power because…”.
• Read all source text aloud, use visuals and icons, and allow students to dictate ideas or draw before writing. Pair students strategically and provide an adult scribe where needed.
• For EAL learners, pre-teach the key terms with gestures and examples from familiar settings; accept oral responses before written recording.
• Extend confident writers by asking them to compare two perspectives and explain why the same event could be understood differently by different groups.
• Use localised examples only when they are accurate and appropriate; consult iwi or trusted local sources when developing the next lesson.