Lesson 2: Living Things Around Us - Ngā Mea Ora
Discovering Plants and Animals in Our Environment
Students explore and identify the living things (plants and animals) in their environment, learning what they need to survive and how they depend on each other.
Whakatūwhera - Cultural Opening
All around us are living things - plants (rākau), birds (manu), insects (ngāngara), and many more. In Te Ao Māori, all living things are connected. They need each other to survive. Today we will discover the living things in our place and learn about them.
"He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata"
What is the most important thing? It is people, people, people - but we are all connected to other living things too.
Ngā Whāinga Ako - Learning Intentions
Students Will Learn
- What living things are in their environment
- Te Reo words for plants and animals
- What living things need to survive
- How living things depend on each other
Students Will Demonstrate
- Identifying plants and animals
- Using Te Reo nature words
- Creating nature art or observations
- Understanding basic needs of living things
🎬 Kaiako background — not for tamariki
Breed for release programme at Hamilton Zoo · Hamilton Zoo · 2 min 29 s. A general-audience item about the zoo's breed-for-release programme. It sat on this page under a made-up child-friendly name; it is kept here for your own preparation, not as a class screening. Watch it, take the habitat idea, and teach it in your own words.
- Before the lesson: note what the zoo has to supply that the wild habitat was not supplying. That is the same comparison the needs audit below asks ākonga to make about their own place.
- With tamariki: do not screen it. Retell one example in about a minute — a species, the need its habitat stopped meeting, and what people did — then run the needs audit on their own record.
Needs Audit: Could This Spot Actually Keep It Alive? (15 mins)
What kaiako does: Draw one row on the board with five columns — wai, kai, hau, rā, wāhi pai. Take one living thing from a group's record from outside and fill the row with the class, insisting on a source in each box rather than a tick. Where nobody observed the source, write a question mark. The question marks are honest and they matter.
What ākonga do: In pairs, take two living things from what their group wrote down outside — one plant and one animal (a manu heard counts). For each, fill the five boxes with where that need comes from in that spot, or a question mark. Then cross out one box and finish this sentence: "If ___ went, ___ would go first, because ___." The reason has to point at something they wrote down, not something they assumed.
Share it (3 mins): Each pair reads its one sentence. The class listens for one thing only — did the reason come from the record, or from a guess? Say which after each one.
How you would know it worked: Each pair has two rows with a named source in at least three boxes, and a removal sentence whose reason traces back to their own record. Five ticks and no sources is not an audit — send that pair back to what they wrote outside. A pair holding four question marks has done it correctly, and has just found out what their record does not tell them.
- Support: Do the plant row together, then let the pair do the animal row alone. Give them the sentence frame written out.
- Extension: Ask which of the five needs would be hardest for people to replace in that spot, and why.
- Physical needs / access: The audit runs off the written record, so it works from a desk for anyone who could not get outside.
Ngā Mahi - Lesson Activities (45-60 minutes)
1. What Are Living Things? (10 mins)
Discussion: Ask students: "What is alive? What is not alive?"
Living Things Include:
- Rākau: Plants and trees
- Manu: Birds
- Ngāngara: Insects
- Ika: Fish
- Tangata: People
- Support: Use picture cards to sort "alive" vs "not alive"
- Extension: Students explain why something is alive (grows, moves, needs food, etc.)
- Inclusive: Include examples from different environments and cultures
2. Nature Scavenger Hunt (15-20 mins)
Exploration: Take students outside with scavenger hunt checklist. Look for different living things.
Scavenger Hunt Items:
- ✓ Find a plant (rākau)
- ✓ Find a leaf (rau)
- ✓ Find a bird (manu) - can be seen or heard
- ✓ Find an insect (ngāngara)
- ✓ Find something green (kākāriki)
- ✓ Find something that moves
- Support: Use visual checklist with pictures. Work in pairs.
- Extension: Record names of plants/animals found. Draw what they see.
- Physical Needs: Adapt hunt for accessibility. Can use photos or classroom observations.
3. What Do Living Things Need? (10 mins)
Discussion: Back in classroom, discuss what living things need to survive.
Basic Needs:
- Wai: Water
- Kai: Food
- Hau: Air
- Rā: Sun (for plants)
- Wāhi pai: A good place to live
Connection Activity:
Ask: "What happens if a plant doesn't get water? What happens if a bird doesn't have food? How do we help living things get what they need?"
- Support: Use visual cards showing needs. Match needs to living things.
- Extension: Students explain how different living things get their needs met.
- Inclusive: Connect to students' own needs and how we care for each other.
4. Nature Art Creation (10-15 mins)
Creative Project: Students create art showing the living things they found.
Art Options:
- Drawing: Draw favourite living thing found
- Collage: Use leaves, petals (if safe and allowed)
- Painting: Paint a nature scene
- Modelling: Create with clay or playdough
Te Reo Labels:
Encourage students to label their art with Te Reo words they learned.
- Support: Provide templates or stencils. Use stickers.
- Extension: Write sentences describing their art using Te Reo words.
- Creative: Allow various materials and styles.
Aromatawai - Assessment & Next Steps
Formative Assessment
- Observation: Can students identify living things?
- Te Reo: Are they using nature words (rākau, manu, etc.)?
- Understanding: Do they know what living things need?
- Respect: Do they show care for living things?
Homework & Extension
- Home Hunt: Find living things at home - plants, pets, birds
- Whānau Share: Show family your nature art and teach them Te Reo words
- Observation: Watch a plant or animal - what does it do?
- Practice: Practise saying "rākau" (plant), "manu" (bird), "ngāngara" (insect)
Whakaaro - Reflection
Today we learned that our place is full of living things - plants, birds, insects, and more. All living things need water, food, air, and a good place to live. When we understand what living things need, we can help care for them. Next time, we will learn how to be kaitiaki (guardians) who care for our place.
"He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata" - We are all connected to the living things around us.
Curriculum alignment
- Te Mātaiaho (2025) · Social Sciences · Phase 2 (Years 4–6) · Geography (Knowledge): “People interact with and use places, resources, and environments for personal, social, cultural, and economic reasons.”
- NZC (2007) · Social Studies · Level 2: “Understand how places influence people and people influence places.”