Voices and Inclusion

Overview

In this sixth lesson of Our Voice, Our Democracy, students explore how identity, experience, power, and access can shape participation in civic decision-making. They analyse a community scenario from multiple viewpoints, including tangata whenua and diverse identities in Aotearoa New Zealand, then create a practical checklist for inclusive participation.

Learning intentions

• WALT explain why diverse perspectives matter in civic decision-making.
• WALT identify whose voices may be included, overlooked, or missing.
• WALT listen and respond respectfully to different perspectives.
• WALT suggest ways to make participation more inclusive.

Success criteria

• I can identify whose voices are included and whose may be missing.
• I can listen carefully and respond respectfully to a different perspective.
• I can explain why a range of perspectives can improve a decision.
• I can suggest practical ways to make participation more inclusive.

Curriculum links

• Civics and Society: informed citizens are needed to participate in democracy.
• Rights and Responsibilities: having rights also means helping others enjoy theirs.
• Rights and Responsibilities: shared citizenship responsibilities include respecting others and participating in community life.
• Te Mātaiaho capabilities: thinking, relating to others, participating and contributing, and using language, symbols, and texts.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and learning purpose. Open with the hook and learning-purpose slides and display the question, “Who gets heard when a community makes a decision?” Students silently consider a recent decision made at school, home, or in their community, then share one possible answer with a partner. Introduce the WALT and success criteria.

2. 5–12 min · Build respectful discussion. Use the respectful discussion slides to establish expectations: listen to understand, avoid assumptions, speak from your own experience, disagree with ideas rather than people, and allow pass or written contributions. Explain that tangata whenua are the first peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand and that iwi, hapū, whānau, and individuals have varied experiences and perspectives. Students help generate two sentence stems, such as “I hear you saying…” and “Another perspective might be…”.

3. 12–20 min · Model multiple viewpoints. Present the community scenario from the community scenario slides: the local council is deciding whether to redesign a riverside reserve. The proposal could include a playground, native planting, safer paths, and a space for community gatherings. Model thinking aloud about whose views might be sought, including mana whenua, nearby residents, kaumātua, tamariki, disabled people, recent migrants, local businesses, and people who use the reserve in different ways. Students identify one included voice and one voice that could be missing.

4. 20–32 min · Viewpoint investigation. Place students in six groups of five and distribute the perspectives and participation worksheet. Give each group one perspective card on the worksheet, or assign a viewpoint: mana whenua representative, tamariki, kaumātua, disabled resident, recent migrant whānau, or local business owner. Students discuss what this person or group may value, what barriers might prevent participation, what they would want decision-makers to know, and what respectful response they would hope to receive. Groups record ideas without claiming that every person in a group thinks the same way.

5. 32–40 min · Create an inclusion checklist. Show the checklist task and prompts. Groups combine their ideas into a four- to six-point checklist titled “A fair way to hear community voices”. Encourage specific actions, such as consulting mana whenua early, providing accessible venues and information, offering different ways to contribute, using clear language, allowing enough time, and explaining how feedback influenced the decision. Groups share one strongest checklist item while classmates listen for an idea they could add.

6. 40–45 min · Reflect and assess. Revisit the plenary slides and ask, “How can listening to more perspectives lead to a fairer decision?” Students complete the Success Criteria exit ticket slips, identifying one success criterion they met and writing one action that would make participation more inclusive. Collect responses to inform the next lesson.

Resources

• the Voices, Identity, and Inclusion slide deck
• the perspectives and participation worksheet
• the Success Criteria exit ticket slips
• Whiteboard or shared digital board
• Pens, pencils, and group paper
• Timer
• Optional visual map or photograph of a local riverside reserve

Assessment

• During the hook and modelling, listen for students distinguishing between an individual perspective and assumptions about a whole identity group.
• During group work, check whether students identify missing voices, participation barriers, and respectful ways to respond.
• Review the exit tickets for understanding of why diverse perspectives matter and whether suggested actions are practical and inclusive.

Differentiation

• Provide perspective cards with a short first-person context, key vocabulary, and suggested questions for students who need a clearer entry point. Use icons or a simple “values, barriers, message” structure on the worksheet.
• Offer emotion and vocabulary supports, including belonging, access, representation, consultation, mana whenua, barrier, and perspective. Read scenario text aloud and allow students to draw or use bullet points.
• Provide opt-in speaking alternatives: students may contribute through writing, pointing to a prepared sentence stem, appointing a group speaker, or recording an audio response. Do not require students to disclose personal or cultural experiences.
• Carefully scaffold sensitive discussion by reminding students that no learner speaks for all Māori, disabled people, migrants, or any other group. For extension, students evaluate how power, time, transport, language, disability access, technology, and decision-making processes influence whose voices are heard.