Women Leading Change

Overview

In this first lesson of the 20-lesson unit, students build a shared understanding of the unit question: how have women in Aotearoa led change? They place key events and people on a timeline from 1890 to 1970, noticing both change and continuity and preparing for deeper investigation in later lessons.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify important moments in women’s leadership in Aotearoa.
• WALT place events in chronological order and use dates as evidence.
• WALT describe how women and groups contributed to change.
• WALT ask questions that could guide our unit learning.

Success criteria

• I can place events between 1890 and 1970 in the correct order.
• I can explain one way a woman or group helped lead change.
• I can use the words chronology, leadership, change, and continuity appropriately.
• I can ask a useful question about women’s lives or leadership.

Curriculum links

• History — Women’s suffrage movement and the 1893 petition, including the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and Women’s Franchise Leagues.
• History — the significance of the Liberal Era and New Zealand becoming the first self-governing nation where women gained the right to vote in 1893.
• Civics and Society — distinctive contributions of wahine Māori, including Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia, Te Puea Hērangi, the Māori Women’s Welfare League, and Dame Whina Cooper.
• Historical thinking — sequencing events and considering continuity, change, significance, and diverse perspectives.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and wonder. Open with the hook image and question showing a visual contrast between a 19th-century petition and a later women-led public action. Ask: “What kinds of change can people lead?” Students silently notice, discuss with a partner, and share one observation or question.

2. 4–9 min · Establish the unit focus. Use the unit focus and key vocabulary slides to introduce the question, “How have women in Aotearoa led change?” Briefly explain that leadership can include organising, speaking, supporting communities, protecting rights, and creating new opportunities. Introduce chronology, change, and continuity. Students complete the sentence orally: “Women lead change when they…”

3. 9–14 min · Mini-teach: people and events. Present the people-and-events overview with concise, age-appropriate snapshots: the 1893 petition and women’s suffrage; Kate Sheppard and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union; Meri Te Tai Mangakāhia’s advocacy; Te Puea Hērangi’s leadership; the founding of the Māori Women’s Welfare League in 1951; and Dame Whina Cooper’s community leadership before 1970. Clarify that women’s experiences were diverse and that leadership was not limited to voting. Students listen for one person, group, or event they want to investigate.

4. 14–23 min · Build the shared timeline. In five groups of three, distribute the continuity and change timeline strips and the timeline thinking sheet. Give each group one or two event strips to read, discuss, and place approximately on a class timeline from 1890 to 1970. Students record the date, event or person, and one reason it shows change, continuity, or leadership. Groups then place their strips on the wall or board and give a 30-second explanation. Support groups to use the sentence frame: “This is significant because…”

5. 23–27 min · Connect and question. Use the timeline discussion prompts to guide a whole-class discussion: “What patterns do we notice?” “Whose leadership is visible?” “Whose experiences might we still need to learn about?” Students identify one connection between two timeline entries and add one inquiry question to their worksheet.

6. 27–30 min · Review and exit ticket. Display the plenary prompts and ask students to complete the final section of the timeline thinking sheet: one key fact, one example of leadership, and one question for the unit. Invite two or three students to share. Collect sheets to identify misconceptions and interests for Lesson 2.

Resources

• the Women Leading Change introduction deck
• the timeline thinking sheet
• the continuity and change timeline strips
• Board or wall space for a class timeline
• Blu Tack or removable tape
• Pens or pencils
• Sticky notes for student questions

Assessment

• Listen during partner and group talk for accurate use of chronology, leadership, change, and continuity.
• Check each group’s timeline placement and explanation; ask, “What evidence helped you decide?”
• Use the completed worksheet to assess sequencing, understanding of significance, and questions for future learning.

Differentiation

• Provide a partially completed timeline, read event descriptions aloud, and pair students strategically. Offer sentence starters: “In ___, …” and “This shows change because …”
• Use clear visuals, short text, and a word bank for students learning English or requiring literacy support. Allow students to explain orally or draw before writing.
• Ensure Māori women’s leadership is presented as significant in its own right, not only in relation to the suffrage movement.
• Extend confident students by asking them to justify which timeline entry is most significant and to distinguish between a change and an ongoing challenge.