Reading Changing Landscape

Overview

This is lesson 1 of 4 in Mapping Petone Through Time. Students examine historical and contemporary maps and photographs to investigate how Petone’s coastline, streets, waterways and land use have changed, recording visual observations and questions in an inquiry journal.

Learning intentions

• WALT investigate how a place changes over time.
• WALT use maps and photographs as sources for visual-art inquiry.
• WALT notice and describe changes in Petone’s physical and cultural landscape.
• WALT respond to place by recording ideas, observations and questions visually and in words.

Success criteria

• I can identify at least three changes between historical and contemporary sources.
• I can use art and map vocabulary to describe what I notice.
• I can record observations with labelled sketches, notes or symbols.
• I can ask a relevant question about Petone’s past, present or future.

Curriculum links

• Visual Arts: developing practical knowledge by observing and interpreting the visual qualities of places and images.
• Visual Arts: developing ideas in response to a place, its history and its changing meanings.
• Visual Arts: communicating and interpreting by explaining observations and responding to the work of others.
• Social Sciences: understanding how people interact with and shape places over time; using sources to investigate change.
• Key competencies: thinking; participating and contributing; managing self; relating to others.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Engage with a visual hook Open with the Petone before-and-after hook. Show a striking paired image of Petone’s foreshore or streetscape from different periods without initially giving the date. Ask: “What has changed, and what might have caused it?” Students silently notice one detail before sharing with a partner.

2. 5–13 minutes – Introduce the inquiry Explain that the class is beginning a four-lesson investigation: Mapping Petone Through Time. Use the unit question and learning intentions to introduce the focus question: “How has Petone changed, and how can visual artists help us understand those changes?” Briefly clarify physical landscape features, such as coastline and waterways, and cultural features, such as roads, buildings, industry and public spaces.

3. 13–23 minutes – Learn how to read visual sources Model a simple “notice, compare, wonder” process using one historical map and one contemporary map or photograph in the source-reading model. Think aloud: identify location and viewpoint, compare shapes and features, then infer possible reasons for change. Demonstrate distinguishing an observation (“the shoreline is in a different position”) from an assumption (“the sea level rose”). Refer students to the map skills reference mat for orientation, symbols, scale and map-reading reminders.

4. 23–40 minutes – Paired source investigation Place students in 13 pairs and provide each pair with a different source set or projected source detail. Distribute the Petone visual inquiry journal. Pairs record at least three changes across the maps or photographs, using labelled sketches, arrows and short notes. They should include one physical change, one change connected to people or land use, and two questions. Circulate and prompt with: “What evidence supports that idea?” and “What can you see, rather than simply guess?”

5. 40–50 minutes – Share and build a class map of ideas Invite pairs to share one strong observation and one question. Use the whole-class comparison prompts to sort responses verbally into coastline, streets and transport, waterways, buildings or land use. Record key ideas on the board, acknowledging that maps and photographs show particular viewpoints and may not tell the whole story.

6. 50–57 minutes – Individual visual response Students choose one change that interests them and create a quick visual response in their journals: a before-and-after thumbnail drawing, an annotated map detail, or a symbolic composition. They add a sentence beginning, “This change matters because…” and a question they would like to investigate in the next lesson. Show the visual response choices while students work.

7. 57–60 minutes – Plenary and collect evidence Use the reflection slide. Students hold up or read one observation and place their worksheet in the collection tray. Finish by asking: “What can visual sources reveal about a place, and what might they hide?”

Resources

• the Petone changing-landscape slide deck
• the Petone visual inquiry journal
• Historical and contemporary Petone maps and photographs, printed or projected
• the map skills reference mat for pairs
• Projector or interactive display
• Whiteboard and coloured markers
• Pencils, coloured pencils and erasers
• Pre-arranged pairs and source sets
• Collection tray or folder for inquiry journals

Assessment

• Observe pair discussions and question students about the evidence behind their interpretations.
• Check inquiry journals for three supported observations, a physical and cultural change, labelled visual recording, and relevant questions.
• Use the final visual response to identify students’ ability to communicate a developing idea in response to place.

Differentiation

• Provide enlarged, high-contrast source images and a word bank including coastline, waterway, street, land use, industry, harbour, evidence, change and question.
• Allow students to dictate observations, use labelled sketches, or record ideas with arrows and symbols before writing full sentences.
• Pair students strategically; give targeted prompts such as “I notice…” and “I wonder…” to support EAL learners and students needing writing assistance.
• Extend confident students by asking them to compare the reliability or viewpoint of two sources and explain whose experiences may be missing.