Tuvalu and Tokelau Perspectives

Overview

In lesson 11 of 24 in Auckland: Sustainable New Home, students examine first-person accounts from Tuvalu and Tokelau about climate change, place, identity and adaptation. They build on previous learning about Auckland as a possible new home by considering why relocation, sustainability and decision-making must be understood through Pacific community perspectives.

Learning intentions

WALT:

• understand Pacific climate experiences through community perspectives
• summarise the main ideas in a first-person account
• distinguish evidence from opinion
• explain why place and identity matter when communities respond to change
• listen, read, discuss and record ideas using appropriate social sciences language

Success criteria

• I can summarise a person’s or community’s perspective accurately.
• I can identify evidence and distinguish it from opinion or interpretation.
• I can explain why place, culture, belonging and identity matter.
• I can compare a community-led adaptation with an outside response.

Curriculum links

• Social Sciences: understanding how societies function and change, including New Zealand’s place in a globalised world.
• Social Sciences: using sources to examine perspectives, analyse responses to challenges, participate in dialogue and communicate understanding.
• Social Sciences: exploring higher-order concepts including inequality, ethics and power, and analysing sources and data.
• Social Sciences: exploring governance, human rights and the constitutional significance of te Tiriti o Waitangi | the Treaty of Waitangi.

Lesson structure (70 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Hook and connection. Display an image of a Pacific island settlement, coastline or community meeting using the opening image and hook question. Ask: “If your home, language and important places were threatened, what would you want outsiders to understand first?” Students complete a think-pair-share, then connect the question to Auckland’s role as a possible new home.

2. 7–17 min · Build context and vocabulary. Use the Tuvalu and Tokelau context slides to locate Tuvalu and Tokelau, clarify that they are distinct Pacific places and communities, and introduce climate change, adaptation, relocation, identity, sovereignty, evidence and perspective. Students annotate a small map or write a familiar-language equivalent, drawing, synonym or example for each word. Emphasise that communities are not all the same and that first-person accounts represent particular experiences, not every Pacific viewpoint.

3. 17–30 min · Model reading and listening. Provide two short, accessible first-person accounts: one from a Tuvalu community perspective and one from a Tokelau community perspective. Students may read independently, follow the teacher’s audio reading, or listen through the source-reading instructions and listening prompts. Model one paragraph aloud, thinking through: “Who is speaking? What do they value? What is the evidence? What is the speaker’s view or interpretation?” Students identify one key idea and one piece of evidence with teacher guidance.

4. 30–50 min · Perspective chart investigation. Distribute the Tuvalu and Tokelau perspective chart. In pairs, students complete sections for speaker/community, place, experience of climate change, evidence, opinion or interpretation, values and preferred responses. They colour-code evidence and opinion as directed on the worksheet, then answer the guided questions: “Why does place matter?” and “How might relocation affect identity and belonging?” Teacher circulates, checks understanding and prompts students to use evidence rather than assumptions.

5. 50–61 min · Community response discussion. In groups of four, students compare their charts and prepare a two-minute response to: “What should decision-makers in Auckland understand before offering support?” Each group must include one accurately summarised perspective, one piece of evidence and one explanation of why identity matters. Groups share responses; listeners record one idea that extends or challenges their thinking.

6. 61–67 min · Compare adaptation approaches. Show the community-led and outside-response comparison prompt. Students briefly compare a community-led adaptation described in the accounts with an outside response, considering who makes decisions, whose knowledge is valued, what support is offered and what risks remain. Advanced learners explain whether the outside response shares power or unintentionally limits community choice.

7. 67–70 min · Exit reflection. Students complete the final three prompts on the perspective summary and exit reflection: “One perspective I can summarise is…”, “One piece of evidence is…”, and “Place and identity matter because…”. Invite two or three volunteers to share; collect worksheets for assessment.

Resources

• the Tuvalu and Tokelau perspective slide deck
• the Tuvalu and Tokelau perspective chart
• Two teacher-selected, age-appropriate first-person accounts from Tuvalu and Tokelau
• Audio recordings or teacher-read versions of both accounts
• Map of the Pacific showing Tuvalu, Tokelau, Aotearoa New Zealand and Auckland
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Projector, speakers and board

Assessment

• Listen for accurate use of perspective vocabulary during pair and group discussion; ask students to justify claims with details from the accounts.
• Check perspective charts for accurate summaries, correctly colour-coded evidence and opinion, and explanations linking place to identity.
• Use the exit reflection to identify students needing further support with summarising, evidence or distinguishing viewpoint from fact.

Differentiation

• Provide audio text, a teacher read-aloud, chunked paragraphs, glossed vocabulary, visuals and sentence starters such as “The speaker believes…”, “The evidence suggests…” and “This matters because…”.
• Use colour-coding consistently: one colour for information or evidence and another for opinions, feelings or interpretations. Pair ELL students with supportive peers and allow planning in a home language before sharing in English.
• For students needing additional support, pre-highlight one relevant detail in each account, reduce the number of chart sections and use guided questions one at a time. Accept labelled diagrams, oral responses or bullet points before requiring full sentences.
• For advanced learners, compare community-led adaptation with an outside response and evaluate who holds decision-making power, whose knowledge is recognised and whether the response protects self-determination. Encourage precise comparative language such as “whereas”, “however” and “in contrast”.

Extension

• Students write a short recommendation to Auckland decision-makers that includes a Pacific community perspective, supporting evidence and one principle for an ethical, community-led response.
• Students compare how Tuvalu and Tokelau perspectives may be similar and different, explaining why it is important not to treat all Pacific communities as one group.