Voices from Aotearoa

Overview

This is lesson 3 of 6 in Every Voice Matters. Students meet people and groups from Aotearoa who used their voices and actions to seek fairness and change. Through simple stories, images and partner talk, they identify the issue each voice addressed and consider how people showed mana motuhake—standing with strength, care and self-determination.

Learning intentions

• WALT listen to stories about people and groups who helped create change in Aotearoa.
• WALT identify an issue or unfairness that each voice addressed.
• WALT describe one action people took to make a difference.
• WALT understand that mana motuhake can mean having the strength and right to stand for your people and what matters.

Success criteria

• I can name or recognise a voice from Aotearoa.
• I can say what issue that voice cared about.
• I can describe an action people took.
• I can listen respectfully when someone has a different perspective.

Curriculum links

• Social Sciences — History: people from the past are remembered because they changed things, helped others, or did something important.
• Social Sciences — Civics and Society: exploring rights, responsibilities, laws and how to engage respectfully with diverse perspectives and public issues.
• Social Sciences — Years 11–13 contexts: people and groups participate locally, nationally and internationally to contribute as citizens and work towards social change. This lesson introduces these ideas in an age-appropriate way.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Welcome and wonder. Teacher opens with the opening image and wonder question: “What can people do when something is not fair?” Establish that a voice can be speaking, singing, writing, marching, caring for others or working together. Students think quietly, then share one idea with a partner.

2. 4–11 min · Meet four voices. Teacher uses the four story slides to tell brief, respectful stories:

• Kīngitanga: Māori leaders and communities worked together to protect whenua, identity and the mana of Māori people.
• Women’s suffrage: women and their supporters asked for women to have the right to vote and take part in decisions.
• Land marches: people walked together to speak up for whenua and to ask leaders to listen to Māori concerns.
• Contemporary activism: people today use peaceful gatherings, art, kōrero and online messages to speak about issues such as protecting te taiao or ensuring people are treated fairly. Teacher explains that these stories are connected to different times and experiences, and that people may have different views. Students listen and show a quiet thumbs-up when they hear an action taken by a group.

3. 11–15 min · Model issue and action. Teacher models one example on the board using the issue-and-action model: “Issue: women could not vote in elections. Action: people organised, spoke publicly and gathered signatures.” Introduce mana motuhake as “having the strength to stand for what matters to you and your people, and to make decisions together”. Students help identify the issue and action in a second example.

4. 15–24 min · Match and record. Teacher places four picture prompts around the room, rereads the stories as needed, and distributes the Voices from Aotearoa picture response sheet. Students work in pairs to choose two voices, draw or circle the group, and complete the oral or written frames: “They cared about…” and “They acted by…”. Partners may use the four images as memory prompts. Teacher conferences with pairs, asking, “What was the problem or concern?” and “What did people do together?”

5. 24–28 min · Share with manaaki. Teacher displays the respectful sharing prompts and invites three or four pairs to share one response. Students practise listening with manaaki: eyes or body facing the speaker, no interruptions, and a kind response such as “I heard you say…” or “That action helped because…”. Teacher affirms that change can happen through many kinds of participation.

6. 28–30 min · Exit reflection. Teacher shows the closing reflection slide and asks students to complete the final box on their worksheet: “One voice I remember is… They acted by…”. Students may draw, dictate to an adult or write a sentence. Collect responses to plan the next lesson.

Resources

• the Voices from Aotearoa teaching deck
• the Voices from Aotearoa picture response sheet
• Four age-appropriate photographs or illustrations representing the groups
• Whiteboard and marker
• Pencils, crayons and clipboards if needed
• Clear space for partner discussion
• Optional teacher notes with pronunciation and cultural context

Assessment

• Listen during partner talk for whether students can distinguish an issue from an action.
• Check worksheets for recognition of a voice, the issue it addressed and one action taken; accept drawings, oral responses or dictated language.
• Use the exit reflection to identify students who need further support with the ideas of rights, collective action or mana motuhake.

Differentiation

• Provide picture choices, repeated oral storytelling and sentence starters: “They wanted…”, “They did…”, and “This was important because…”.
• Allow students to respond through drawing, pointing, speaking, shared writing or scribing; pair learners strategically and check understanding of unfamiliar terms.
• For EAL learners, pre-teach voice, fair, rights, whenua, group and mana motuhake with gestures and images. Use “mana motuhake” respectfully and avoid presenting it as a single simple translation.
• Extend confident learners by asking, “Who needed to listen?” or “How did working together make the voice stronger?” Avoid asking students to compare the importance of different groups.