Reading the Living Whenua

Overview

Lesson 2 of 6 in Whenua: Our Living Place. Ākonga investigate an agreed local site through careful observation, combining mātauranga Māori and Pūtaiao to build a respectful profile of whenua health and mauri.

Learning intentions

• WALT make careful observations of whenua, wai, tipu and kīrehe.
• WALT distinguish between observation, interpretation and evidence.
• WALT recognise tohu of ecosystem health, including kanorau koiora and human impacts.
• WALT use local mātauranga Māori alongside scientific investigation without treating mauri as a scientific measurement.

Success criteria

• I can record what I observe without adding assumptions.
• I can explain the difference between an observation, an interpretation and evidence.
• I can use precise kupu to describe colour, texture, movement and location.
• I can contribute data and mātauranga respectfully to a class whenua-health profile.

Curriculum links

• Understand how people interact with and care for places and environments.
• Understand how cultural practices and mātauranga Māori shape explanations of the natural world.
• Investigate ecosystems, interdependence, patterns and evidence through Pūtaiao.
• Use mathematical language and representations to organise, compare and communicate data.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 minutes – Reconnect and provoke thinking Open with the opening question and local whenua image: “How might whenua tell us that it is healthy?” Revisit the previous lesson and introduce tohu, taunakitanga, hauora, mauri and maramataka. Clarify that mauri is relational and connected to the life force and wellbeing of a place; it is not a number or a single scientific result.

2. 8–16 minutes – Model observation, interpretation and evidence Show a close-up image of a local site using the observation teaching slides. Model three statements: “There are five fallen leaves” is an observation; “The area is dry” is an interpretation; “The soil moisture reading and wilted plants support this interpretation” is evidence. Ask pairs to improve one vague statement using precise Te Reo Māori and English vocabulary.

3. 16–22 minutes – Prepare for field investigation Distribute the field investigation notebook and form five mixed-ability teams of five. Allocate roles: kaitiaki tikanga and safety monitor, recorder, observer/sketcher, equipment kaiwhakahaere and photographer or reporter. Explain the agreed boundaries, buddy system and tikanga for entering the site. Students must not taste or touch unknown organisms, disturb taonga or collect specimens.

4. 22–42 minutes – Investigate the local site Teams complete a fair, consistent survey using quadrats or agreed observation areas. They record soil, water, plants, insects, other organisms and signs of human impact; use tallies, labelled sketches and measurements such as temperature, pH or moisture where appropriate. Encourage sentences such as “I notice…”, “This may suggest…” and “Our evidence is…”. Take photographs only with permission and follow local tikanga.

5. 42–51 minutes – Organise and compare findings Back in class, teams check their tables and calculate simple totals, averages or ratios where useful. Using the data comparison and discussion slides, compare scientific indicators with local mātauranga indicators, such as seasonal changes, species presence, wai condition or other kōrero shared by kaumātua or kaitiaki. If no local expert is available today, use previously shared local kōrero and clearly identify what still needs confirmation.

6. 51–57 minutes – Build a class mauri/health profile Each team contributes one observation, one interpretation and one piece of evidence to a shared class profile. Add a separate mātauranga section: “What relationships, responsibilities or tohu might this suggest?” Discuss why the profile supports understanding but does not measure or define mauri. Peers ask: “What did you observe?” and “What makes you think that?”

7. 57–60 minutes – Reflect and preview Students complete the final reflection on the field investigation notebook: one precise observation, one piece of evidence, and one question for the next investigation. Preview Lesson 3, where the class will examine patterns in the data and consider how to care for the site.

Resources

• the Reading the Living Whenua lesson deck
• the field investigation notebook
• Quadrats or marked observation areas
• Clipboards, pencils, rulers and coloured pencils
• Magnifiers and identification guides approved by local experts
• Gloves, buckets, thermometers, pH strips and moisture tools
• Tablets or digital cameras, if permitted
• Hand sanitiser or soap and water
• Site map, boundaries and completed risk assessment

Assessment

• Check field notebooks for labelled sketches, precise observations, data tables and clear separation of observation from interpretation.
• Listen for respectful use of kupu and accurate peer questioning during the comparison discussion.
• Collect the final reflection to identify whether students can connect evidence with an interpretation while recognising that mauri is not a scientific measurement.

Differentiation

• Use mixed-ability teams with clearly modelled roles, buddy support and scaffolded tables with sentence starters.
• Pre-teach and display maramataka, rauropi, kanorau koiora, one, wai, tipu, kīrehe, pepeke, tohu, taunakitanga and ine; provide audio pronunciation and picture cues.
• Offer tactile tools, enlarged recording sheets, adult scribing, speech-to-text or photographed evidence for ākonga with additional learning needs.
• Provide calculators or a spreadsheet for organising data. Extend confident ākonga by investigating sampling bias, comparing quadrat locations or explaining how repeated trials could improve reliability.