Whakairo Conventions and Contexts

Overview

This is lesson 2 of 12 in Changing Whakairo Practices. Students build from their initial inquiry into whakairo by examining how Toi Māori design elements, principles, materials, technologies and purposes communicate cultural and social contexts. Through teacher modelling, guided discussion and collaborative analysis, they classify evidence from selected exemplars and prepare a shared vocabulary for later drawing and practical development.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• define whakairo conventions, cultural contexts, social contexts and technologies in relation to visual arts practice
• identify Toi Māori design elements and principles in selected exemplars
• classify visual evidence according to context, convention, material, tool and purpose
• use culturally respectful, specific language when discussing whakairo and Māori visual culture
• connect analysis to the development of their own systematic body of work

Success criteria

• I can explain what a convention is and identify conventions operating in an exemplar.
• I can distinguish cultural context, social context, material, tool and purpose.
• I can support an interpretation with specific visual evidence.
• I can record useful observations that may inform my own art-making decisions.

Curriculum links

• Produce a systematic body of work that integrates conventions and regenerates ideas within painting or design practice.
• Use drawing to demonstrate understanding of conventions appropriate to painting or design.
• Produce a resolved work demonstrating purposeful control of skills appropriate to a visual arts cultural context.
• New Zealand Curriculum Level 8 Visual Arts: understanding arts in context, developing practical knowledge, developing ideas, and communicating and interpreting.

Lesson structure (120 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Reconnect and provoke. Teacher welcomes students, revisits the previous lesson’s inquiry questions, and opens the hook and lesson overview slides with two contrasting images or details of whakairo, asking: “What can be learned from the choices made here, and what cannot be assumed from looking alone?” Students silently record two observations and one question, then share with a partner. Establish that interpretation must be grounded in evidence and supported by appropriate cultural knowledge.

2. 10–30 min · Model key concepts. Teacher uses the conventions and contexts teaching slides to define convention as a characteristic or constraint fitting a field, then models the difference between observation, interpretation and assumption. Introduce relevant Toi Māori elements and principles, such as line, shape, pattern, repetition, rhythm, balance, contrast, form, symmetry and negative space, while explaining that meanings are context-dependent rather than universal. Discuss cultural context, social context, technology, material, tool and purpose. Students complete the first section of the whakairo conventions and contexts analysis sheet using the teacher’s think-aloud.

3. 30–45 min · Cultural and ethical framing. Teacher presents selected information from Mead, museum and gallery sources, and appropriate marae-related material through the cultural context and source-awareness slides. Explain the importance of identifying creator, title, collection or website, and access date for reproduced images. Discuss why some knowledge, designs and contexts require care, permission or local guidance, and avoid presenting whakairo as a timeless decorative style. Students annotate a source example, noting what information strengthens an interpretation and what claims should be qualified.

4. 45–80 min · Exemplar classification investigation. Teacher forms five groups and distributes teacher-created exemplar cards alongside the evidence classification table. Each group analyses three or four exemplars, recording evidence under: convention, design element or principle, cultural context, social context, material, tool or technology, and purpose. Students must quote or describe visible evidence before offering an interpretation. Teacher circulates, questions precision, and uses the group investigation instructions and question prompts to maintain focus. Groups select one exemplar for a short report.

5. 80–105 min · Shared annotation and critique. Teacher displays a large exemplar and models annotation using the shared annotation guide and discussion slides: notice, name, locate evidence, interpret cautiously, connect to context, and identify implications for practice. Groups present their selected exemplar in two minutes, while peers add one supported observation and one question to their worksheet. Teacher gives formative feedback, correcting inaccurate terminology or unsupported cultural claims and highlighting analysis that moves beyond description.

6. 105–120 min · Synthesis and exit response. Teacher returns to the opening question and asks students to review their first response. Students complete the final worksheet prompts: “Which convention is most significant in one exemplar, and why?” and “Which contextual factor must an artist understand before adapting or regenerating an idea?” Students write one revised definition of convention and one evidence-based insight they will carry into the next lesson. Invite two or three responses, collect worksheets, and preview the next stage: using drawing to test and regenerate ideas responsibly.

Resources

• the complete Whakairo Conventions and Contexts slide deck
• the whakairo conventions and contexts analysis sheet
• Teacher-created exemplar cards
• Reproduced exemplar images with creator, title, collection or website, and access date
• Selected extracts and notes from Mead (1986)
• Museum, gallery and appropriate marae-related information
• Projector or interactive display
• Large paper or whiteboard for shared annotation
• Pencils, highlighters and sticky notes

Assessment

• Teacher listens for accurate distinctions between observation, interpretation, convention, context, material, tool and purpose during group work.
• Review worksheet annotations for specific visual evidence, culturally respectful language and justified interpretations; provide verbal feedback during the investigation and presentations.
• Exit responses show whether students can define convention, identify contextual factors and connect analysis to future art-making.

Differentiation

• Provide a completed model row, a visual glossary and sentence starters such as “I notice…”, “This may suggest… because…” and “The source identifies…”.
• Pair students strategically and assign group roles such as reader, evidence finder, recorder and presenter; allow oral responses before written recording.
• Support EAL learners with key terms, labelled examples and opportunities to rehearse ideas with a partner. Read source extracts aloud and provide enlarged, high-contrast images for students with visual or processing needs.
• Extend students by asking them to compare how one convention changes across two exemplars, evaluate the reliability and limits of a source, or propose a respectful contemporary application without copying culturally specific forms.