Visual Advocacy Template

Overview

In this ninth lesson of Mauri: Guardians of Awa, students bring together their research and developing artwork concept. They complete a Visual Advocacy Template to clarify the key facts, cultural messages, intended emotions and call to action communicated by their artwork. The lesson emphasises purposeful visual communication, respectful engagement with te taiao and revision before making.

Learning intentions

• We are learning to identify the purpose and audience of an advocacy artwork.
• We are learning to select accurate facts and meaningful cultural messages from our research.
• We are learning to explain how visual art elements can communicate emotion and meaning.
• We are learning to refine an artwork concept so it encourages responsible action for the awa.

Success criteria

• I can state the issue my artwork communicates and identify its intended audience.
• I can include accurate research and explain why it matters.
• I can describe the emotion and cultural message I want viewers to experience.
• I can write a clear, realistic call to action and link it to my developing concept.

Curriculum links

• Visual Arts: students develop and communicate ideas through exploring, developing and refining visual art practices.
• Visual Arts: students use art elements, principles, processes and materials purposefully to communicate meaning.
• The refreshed New Zealand Curriculum: learning is connected to identity, belonging, place and participation in the wider world.
• Key competencies: thinking; using language, symbols and texts; relating to others; managing self; participating and contributing.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Reconnect and hook. Teacher opens the introduction and hook slides with a striking before-and-after image idea of a healthy and polluted awa, then asks, “What might make someone care enough to change their behaviour?” Students complete a brief think-pair-share, referring to emotion, facts, imagery and audience.

2. 7–15 min · Model the template. Teacher displays the advocacy model slides and demonstrates completing one section using a fictional awa artwork; think aloud about choosing a trustworthy fact, expressing a respectful cultural message and avoiding stereotypes or unsupported claims. Students identify how the example connects research, visual decisions and a call to action.

3. 15–20 min · Clarify the task. Teacher distributes the Visual Advocacy Template and explains that students will complete all sections for their own developing artwork, using research notes rather than inventing information. Students highlight or retrieve two relevant research facts and write the name of their intended audience.

4. 20–40 min · Independent concept planning. Teacher circulates, conferences with students and revisits the template instructions and question prompts as needed; prompt questions include, “What do you want viewers to understand?”, “What feeling should remain with them?” and “What action is achievable?” Students complete the sections for key facts, cultural message, intended emotion, audience, visual choices and call to action, then add a small annotated concept sketch or compositional plan.

5. 40–51 min · Peer response. Teacher models respectful feedback using the sentence stems on the peer feedback slides: “I understand…”, “The strongest connection to the awa is…” and “A question I have is…”. In pairs, students explain their template, give specific feedback and record one change they will make; partners check that the call to action is clear and connected to the issue.

6. 51–57 min · Refine and share. Teacher asks students to revise one section in a different colour and invites three or four students to share a strong link between a research fact and an artistic decision. Students make their refinement and briefly explain how it strengthens the artwork’s advocacy.

7. 57–60 min · Exit reflection. Teacher displays the plenary and exit prompt and asks students to complete the final reflection on the worksheet: “My artwork will encourage my audience to… because…”. Students hand in the completed template or place it in their portfolios.

Resources

• the Visual Advocacy Template lesson deck
• the Visual Advocacy Template
• Students’ awa research notes and source records
• Developing artwork concepts, sketches or visual journals
• Pencils, erasers and coloured pencils
• Projector or interactive display
• Timer
• Portfolio folders or collection tray

Assessment

• During modelling, check that students can distinguish a fact, a cultural message, an emotion and a call to action.
• During conferencing, assess whether each student uses research accurately and connects visual choices to intended meaning and audience.
• Collect the completed template and exit reflection to identify students needing support with research accuracy, respectful messaging, visual communication or concept development before the next making lesson.

Differentiation

• Provide a word bank and sentence starters such as “My audience is…”, “This fact matters because…” and “I will use colour/line/shape to…”.
• Allow students to record ideas through labelled sketches, speech-to-text or a teacher conference before writing; read prompts aloud and chunk the template into one section at a time.
• Support EAL learners with paired discussion, visual examples and permission to draft key ideas bilingually where appropriate.
• Extend confident students by asking them to compare two possible audiences or calls to action and justify which would create the greater impact without overstating the research.
• Reinforce manaakitanga by reminding students to represent iwi, Māori knowledge and the awa respectfully, avoiding tokenistic symbols or claims they cannot support.