Choose a suitable historical event for our assessment, identify three groups with distinct perspectives on it, and begin gathering evidence from NZ historical databases.
- A Name a historical event and identify at least three distinct groups who held different perspectives on it.
- A Use at least one NZ research database (Papers Past, NZ History, Te Ara) to find a source for my event.
- M Explain, for each of my three groups, why they held their perspective — linking to their specific values, context, and what was at stake for them.
- M Evaluate whether my chosen event is suitable for Level 2 History using the four suitability criteria.
- E WHAKAHŌHONU: Articulate the core value clash that made the three perspectives irreconcilable — the deeper tension the whole assessment will need to explain.
Lesson 7: He Āhua — Choosing Your Event
Research strategies, event suitability, and the beginning of your own internal assessment
Ngā rauemi — Resources for this lesson:
📄 PEE Graphic Organiser (print 1 per student) 📋 Event Selection Planner (print 1 per student) 📰 Approved Events Reference SheetWhakatūwhera — Whakaaro / Cultural Opening 5 min
In te ao Māori, the concept of kōrero tuku iho — stories handed down — is sacred. Every whānau carries its own history: who did what, why decisions were made, what was lost and what was gained. These stories are not neutral. They are told from inside a relationship — from within a tirohanga.
For six lessons, we have studied events together — looking at the Springbok Tour, the NZ Wars, the Dawn Raids. Now the lens shifts: you are choosing your own moment in history. You will be the researcher. You will decide which voices matter, which evidence speaks, what the event means.
"Ko au ko koe, ko koe ko au."
I am you and you are me — when we understand another's perspective deeply, the boundary between self and other blurs. This is the highest aim of historical inquiry.
He aha te āhuatanga pai? — What Makes a Good Event for Level 2 History? 10 min
Not all historical events work equally well for this assessment. Before you commit to an event, check it against these four criteria. An event that fails any criterion will make the assessment very difficult to write well.
Ngā Āhuatanga Whakaaetia — Approved Events Gallery Walk 12 min
The following events have been pre-approved for Level 2 History. Each has clear multi-group perspectives, good evidence availability in NZ databases, and the required tension. Walk the room (or browse below), then rate each event 1–5 for how interested you are in researching it.
Three groups debated the meaning of sovereignty, land rights, and the future of Aotearoa at the moment of signing — and disagreed fundamentally.
Groups: Māori rangatira · Crown · MissionariesLand confiscations (raupatu) brought Māori, the Crown, and Pākehā settlers into direct conflict over sovereignty, whenua, and identity.
Groups: Māori hapū · British Crown · SettlersThe Crown's invasion of a peaceful Māori settlement raised fundamental questions about power, resistance, and whose law applied in Aotearoa.
Groups: Parihaka community · Māori nationalists · CrownKate Sheppard's suffrage movement divided colonial NZ society — and the Māori women's voice in the movement is often overlooked.
Groups: Pākehā suffragists · Māori women · Opposition506 days of occupation by Ngāti Whātua challenged the Crown's right to Māori land in central Auckland, dividing NZ over property, protest, and tino rangatiratanga.
Groups: Ngāti Whātua · Auckland Council/Crown · General publicThe decriminalisation of male homosexuality provoked a cultural, religious, and civil-rights debate that revealed deep divides in NZ society about identity, law, and morality.
Groups: Reform advocates · Church/conservative NZ · GovernmentAlready studied in Lesson 6. Strong choice if you want to deepen research into Pasifika communities, Māori solidarity, and the politics of two successive governments — Labour began the raids in 1974, National revived them in 1976. (Recommended for students who found Lesson 6 compelling.)
Groups: Pasifika overstayers · Māori solidarists · the government of the day (Labour 1974, National 1976)Already studied in Lesson 5. Rich evidence base. Strong choice if you want to write about sport as political action, the anti-apartheid movement, and Māori solidarity with South African Black communities.
Groups: HART · Rugby unions · Māori community🔍 Ngā Puna Kōrero — Research Databases 15 min
For Level 2 History, you must use specific, citable sources. The following NZ databases are free, reliable, and provide the primary and secondary sources you need. Your teacher will walk through each one live — then you try each for your event.
Digitised historic NZ and Pacific newspapers, plus magazines and journals including Te Ao Hou (all 76 issues, 1952–1975) and Māori niupepa. Search your event by keyword and date. 🪤 Check the coverage dates of each title before you rely on it — the newspaper collection is largely 19th and early-to-mid 20th century, so for a 1980s event Papers Past will usually return nothing. The Auckland Star, for example, ends in 1945.
Best for: Primary sources, comparing newspaper perspectives from the time
Government-curated NZ history — clear summaries, key figures, primary documents, images. Well-structured for NCEA research. Strong coverage of the Treaty, NZ Wars, women's suffrage, and 20th-century events.
Best for: Context, timelines, secondary sources, key quotes
Encyclopaedic coverage of NZ history, culture, and society — with strong Māori content. Includes media, maps, and first-person accounts. All entries are peer-reviewed and citable.
Best for: Māori perspectives, social history, cultural context
Official reports on Crown breaches of Treaty principles. If your event involves land or Māori rights, Tribunal reports provide high-quality analysis and primary sources — and are treated as authoritative evidence.
Best for: Māori land claims, Treaty disputes, official Māori perspectives
- Start broad: type your event name in Papers Past + NZ History. Read 2–3 articles to understand the landscape.
- Go specific: find at least one primary source — a speech, letter, petition, or contemporaneous newspaper report — for each of your three groups.
- Go deep: find one piece of evidence that shows the conflict between perspectives — e.g. a government response to a Māori petition, or a counter-march report.
📋 Ngā Mahere — Event Selection Planning 23 min
Using your Event Selection Planner, complete the following for your chosen event. This becomes the blueprint for your entire internal assessment — take time to do it carefully.
Event Selection Planner — in-lesson completion
Name of event. Approximate dates. Why this event is historically significant. Why you chose it.
For each group: Name. What they believed / what their perspective was. One specific piece of evidence (source, date, quote or summary). Why they held this view — context, values, identity.
In 2–3 sentences: why were these three perspectives irreconcilable? What fundamental value, worldview, or assumption prevented them from agreeing? This will become your Excellence conclusion.
🤝 Aromatawai ā-hoa — Peer Feedback Protocol 10 min
Share your Event Selection Planner with a different partner (not your Section B partner). Your peer asks you these three questions — you answer verbally, without looking at your planner:
Your peer writes one piece of positive feedback and one question on a sticky note. You keep the sticky note — it becomes your first piece of formative feedback for the assessment.
Aromatawai — Formative Check 5 min
Exit Ticket — Event Readiness Check
Before leaving, each student shows their planner to the teacher. Teacher stamps or signs off if:
- Three groups named with distinct perspectives
- At least one source identified per group (even if not found yet)
- Core clash articulated (even roughly)
If not ready: Student uses the first 10 minutes of Lesson 8 to complete their planner before writing begins.
He kitenga — What to Watch For
- Students choosing events too broad: "World War Two" is not suitable. "New Zealand soldiers' experience at Gallipoli — perspectives of Māori, Pākehā recruits, and the military command" is specific enough.
- Students who can't name evidence: They are describing the event from general knowledge, not from sources. Redirect to Papers Past or NZ History and give a 5-minute targeted search task.
- Students who say "all groups basically agreed": They haven't found the tension. Ask: "Who opposed this? Who lost something? Whose perspective is missing from your current plan?"
Whakaaroaro Akoranga — Differentiation
🔵 Tautoko — Support
- Pre-select the event for students who are overwhelmed: redirect them to either the Springbok Tour (Lesson 5) or the Dawn Raids (Lesson 6) since they already have context and a class PEE analysis to build from.
- Provide a partially completed Event Selection Planner with Group 1 already filled in — students complete Groups 2 and 3.
- Pair students with a peer who chose the same event for collaborative research while maintaining individual planners.
- Limit database exploration to NZ History only — it has the clearest summaries and directly citable material.
🟣 Whakahōhonu — Extension
- Choose an event not on the approved list and self-evaluate it against the four criteria. Present a 90-second event pitch to the teacher.
- Find a source that has been digitised in Papers Past and write a full SOAPSTONE analysis (Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Speaker, Theme, Online/Type of source).
- Compare how two different databases describe the same event. Where do they differ? Whose perspective does each prioritise? Write a paragraph evaluating the two accounts.
- Draft a provisional Excellence conclusion: "The perspectives of [three groups] on [event] were ultimately irreconcilable because..."
🏫 He Kōrero mā te Kaiako — Teacher Notes
Students who choose unsuitable events lose significant time in Lessons 8–10. Review planners at the end of Lesson 7. If an event is unsuitable, tell the student before Lesson 8 — not during writing time. Have a shortlist of three backup events ready for students who are stuck.
Many students arrive in Year 12 having never used Papers Past or the Waitangi Tribunal site. Budget 10 minutes for a teacher-led live demonstration of Papers Past — show a keyword search, click into a result, identify how to cite it. This one demo saves hours of lost research time.
Left unchecked, students default to two European-centric perspectives and add "Māori" as a third as an afterthought. Explicitly require: "Where does the Māori source come from? Is it a Māori voice speaking for themselves, or is it a Pākehā description of Māori?" Primary Māori sources exist for all eight approved events — push students to find them.
Hononga Whānau — Whānau Connection
Whānau message (send home this week): "Your student is beginning their History internal assessment. They have chosen a historical event to research from three different perspectives. If your whānau or community has any personal connection to events like the 1981 Springbok Tour, the Dawn Raids, Bastion Point, or other NZ history, this is a wonderful opportunity to share your stories. Personal and whānau accounts are legitimate evidence in historical research, and they enrich the assessment with depth no database can provide. Encourage your student to ask: 'Does our whānau have a story about this time?'"
Lesson 8: Whakaaro Tātai — Essay Planning
With your event confirmed, Lesson 8 walks you through turning your Event Selection Planner into a full essay plan — three perspective paragraphs, an introduction, and an Excellence conclusion. Bring your planner (completed) and your PEE Graphic Organiser.
Go to Lesson 8 →📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students choose the historical event they will write about, test it against the four suitability criteria, and locate at least one real source for each of their three groups.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can show their event meets all four criteria — three distinct groups, evidence for each, real tension, and a scope narrow enough to research.
- ✅ Students can name a specific source, with a creator and a date, for at least one of their groups.
- ✅ Students can identify whose perspective is currently missing from their plan.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Students who cannot name evidence are describing their event from general knowledge. Give them a five-minute targeted search in Papers Past or NZHistory rather than more planning time. Extend by asking a student with an easy event to add a fourth group and justify keeping or cutting it.
ELL / ESOL: The approved-events reference sheet carries the three groups and the key sources already written out for each event, so an ākonga can choose well without first having to read widely in English.
Inclusion: The 23-minute planning block is unstructured time, which is where some ākonga lose the lesson. The printed Event Selection Planner gives the block a shape; make it the required output rather than optional.
Mātauranga Māori: The approved list opens with Te Tiriti and the NZ Wars and names the Māori-language text, Panakareao's statement and Wiremu Tamihana's letters as evidence — Māori primary sources, not commentary about Māori. If a student picks an event where the Māori perspective is only available second-hand, say so out loud; that is itself a finding about the archive.
Prior knowledge: Lessons 3–6 — the four modelled case studies. Students who choose an event studied in class have context already; students choosing their own need the Lesson 2 source-analysis habit intact.
Curriculum alignment
- NCEA Level 2 History · (5 credits): “Interpret different perspectives of people in an historical event that is of significance to New Zealanders”