Voyaging and Evidence

Overview

Students investigate how tūpuna Māori migrated to Aotearoa and how historians use different kinds of evidence to understand this history. They will distinguish pūrākau and oral traditions from archaeological, linguistic and scientific evidence, then write an NCEA-style paragraph about significance.

Learning intentions

• WALT describe Polynesian origins and migration to Aotearoa.
• WALT identify and compare evidence used to understand the past.
• WALT explain why Māori migration is significant to Aotearoa New Zealand.
• WALT construct a Point-Evidence-Explain-Link paragraph.

Success criteria

• I can describe at least two features of Polynesian migration and voyaging.
• I can identify what a source suggests and recognise its strengths or limitations.
• I can use specific evidence without presenting the “Great Fleet” as uncontested fact.
• I can explain significance using a clear P-E-E-L paragraph.

Curriculum links

• NCEA Level 1 History: significance of a historical context.
• NCEA Level 1 History: historical concepts, including evidence, interpretation and significance.
• NCEA Level 1 History: use of relevant, specific historical evidence to describe, explain and examine.
• Supports respectful engagement with mātauranga Māori and different knowledge traditions.

Key vocabulary

• tūpuna — ancestors; too-poh-nah
• pūrākau — traditional narratives; poo-rah-kow
• whakapapa — genealogical connections; fah-kah-pah-pah
• mātauranga Māori — Māori knowledge; mah-tow-rahng-ah
• waka hourua — double-hulled canoe; wah-kah hoh-roo-ah
• taonga — treasured things or knowledge; tah-oh-ngah
• significance — importance or meaning in relation to people, identity, consequences and continuity

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and purpose. Display the question, “How can we know what happened more than 700 years ago?” using the hook and learning-intention slides; students write one possible kind of evidence and share with a partner. Explain that this is preparation for an NCEA response: historians do not simply collect facts; they interpret evidence and consider significance.

2. 5–15 min · Accessible teacher briefing. Use the migration overview and evidence map and distribute the migration evidence and paragraph worksheet. Briefly explain that Polynesian ancestors developed long-distance voyaging knowledge across the Pacific before reaching Aotearoa, traditionally dated to approximately the thirteenth century. Emphasise that whakapapa, pūrākau, waka traditions and mātauranga Māori are important knowledge systems, while archaeology, linguistics and environmental science provide other forms of evidence. The “Great Fleet” story should not be treated as settled fact: traditions vary, and evidence does not prove one single organised fleet event.

3. 15–30 min · Three-source analysis. Students read the three extracts on the source-analysis page independently or in pairs, then answer the questions. The teacher circulates and asks: “What does this source tell us?” “What makes it useful?” and “What can it not prove?” Students label each source as oral tradition/pūrākau, archaeological evidence, or modern scientific/linguistic evidence, and record one strength and one limitation.

Source A: Oral tradition/pūrākau “In traditions associated with Kupe, the waka and the journeys of ancestors, knowledge of routes, places and relationships was remembered and passed through generations. Different iwi and hapū hold different accounts and emphases.”

Source B: Archaeological evidence “Archaeologists have found evidence of early settlement in Aotearoa, including material remains and kūmara, a crop that could not grow naturally in New Zealand. Radiocarbon dating places initial settlement broadly in the late thirteenth century.”

Source C: Scientific and linguistic evidence “Linguistic comparison connects te reo Māori with other Eastern Polynesian languages. Research into DNA, ocean currents, winds and Pacific navigation supports movement of people through the Pacific, but it cannot identify every individual voyage or confirm a single fleet.”

4. 30–38 min · Feedback and significance discussion. Check answers using the source-comparison and discussion slides. Invite students to explain why evidence should be used together rather than ranked simplistically. Co-construct three significance ideas on the board: Māori identity and whakapapa; settlement and adaptation in a new environment; continuing knowledge and relationships with the Pacific. Clarify that significance can include importance to people, consequences, continuity and relevance today.

5. 38–51 min · NCEA writing practice. Display the question from the practice-question and P-E-E-L slides: “Explain why the migration of tūpuna Māori to Aotearoa is a significant historical context. Use specific evidence.” Students complete the P-E-E-L scaffold on the P-E-E-L writing frame:

• Point: State one reason the migration is significant.
• Evidence: Give a precise example, such as late-thirteenth-century settlement, kūmara, waka traditions, whakapapa or linguistic links.
• Explain: Show how the evidence supports the point and acknowledge that sources provide different kinds of knowledge.
• Link: Connect back to significance for Aotearoa, Māori identity or the present.

6. 51–56 min · Model and improve. Read the model on the model-answer and improvement prompts: “The migration of tūpuna Māori is significant because it established Māori communities and identities in Aotearoa. Archaeological evidence, including early settlement remains and kūmara, supports settlement in the late thirteenth century. This is important because it shows how people adapted Pacific knowledge to a new environment. Oral traditions and whakapapa also maintain connections between people, ancestors and places. Therefore, migration is significant not only as a movement of people but as the foundation of Māori life and identity in Aotearoa.” Students underline the evidence and explanation. To lift towards Merit, add comparison between two evidence types and explain their relevance. To move towards Excellence, examine how the evidence connects across contexts and discuss why different knowledge systems matter.

7. 56–60 min · Exit ticket. Students complete the final box on the exit ticket: “One reliable or useful piece of evidence is… because…” and “One reason this context is significant is…”. Collect responses before students leave.

Resources

• the migration and evidence slide deck
• the source-analysis, P-E-E-L and exit-ticket worksheet
• Whiteboard and markers
• Projector or interactive display
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Optional headphones or text-to-speech access

Assessment

• Formatively assess source annotations, especially whether students distinguish what a source shows from what it cannot prove.
• Check paragraphs for a clear point, specific evidence, explanation and link.
• Use exit tickets to identify misconceptions, including treating the “Great Fleet” as uncontested fact or viewing one evidence type as automatically superior.

Differentiation

• Provide the worksheet in a dyslexia-friendly layout: sans-serif font, 1.5 line spacing, short paragraphs, bold source labels and increased spacing. Allow students to use text-to-speech, coloured overlays, a reader, or audio-recorded extracts.
• Support ELL learners with the vocabulary list, pronunciation, a visual evidence map and sentence starters: “This source suggests…”, “A strength is…”, and “This is significant because…”.
• Pair students strategically; allow oral rehearsal before writing and provide a partially completed P-E-E-L frame for students needing additional structure.
• Extension: students write a second paragraph comparing the value and limitations of oral tradition with archaeological or linguistic evidence, then make a justified judgement about which combination gives the strongest understanding.