Ngā Manu o te Taiao — Local Birds & Habitats

Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere. Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te ao.

The bird that eats the miro berry — theirs is the forest. The bird that feasts on knowledge — theirs is the world.

Year Level Years 7–8

Curriculum Areas Science · Social Studies · Te Reo Māori

Duration 6 lessons

Assessment Field survey report + community action poster

He Aha Tēnei? — What Is This?

Students investigate the native birds of their local area — identifying species, understanding habitats, exploring threats to bird populations, and taking kaitiakitanga action in their school community. The unit blends science inquiry with Māori ecological knowledge and student-led community action.

Students Will

Identify at least 8 native bird species of Aotearoa by sight and call
Explain the relationship between bird species and specific habitats
Investigate one local habitat and record bird presence/absence data
Analyse threats to native birds (predators, habitat loss, disease)
Design and carry out a kaitiakitanga action (e.g. trap check, planting day, community notice)
Use te reo Māori bird names and connect to mātauranga Māori bird knowledge

Raupapa Akoranga — Lesson Sequence

Lesson	Lesson	Focus	Resources
1	Meet the Manu	Introduce native species; te reo names; bird ID basics	Bird ID Tally Sheet · Native Bird Lifecycles
2	Habitats	Forest, wetland, coastal habitats; what birds need to survive	Habitat Map Activity
3	Threats	Predators (rats, stoats, possums), habitat loss, climate change	Cause & Effect Graphic Organiser · Evidence Capture Sheet
4	Field Survey	Design and conduct a bird count in a local green space	Bird ID Tally Sheet · Permission Slip
5	Kaitiakitanga Action	Plan a community action; interview local expert or DOC ranger	Interview Prompts · Action Planner
6	Share & Celebrate	Present findings; create awareness poster; celebrate learning	Poster Rubric · Success Criteria · Reflection Sheet

He Kōrero mā te Kaiako — Teacher Notes

Mātauranga Māori

Māori have extensive knowledge of native birds — their behaviour, seasons, and ecology were used as tohu (signs) for weather, planting, and navigation.
Invite a local kaumātua or DOC ranger who holds mātauranga about local manu.
Kaitiakitanga framing: we are not just observers, we are guardians. What is our responsibility to these species?
Use te reo Māori names: kiwi, kākāpō, tūī, pīwakawaka, kererū, kea, mohua, takahē.

Field Trip Safety

Collect permission slips (template provided) before Lesson 4.
Brief students on low-impact observation: no running, no loud voices, no touching nests.
Pre-identify 2–3 suitable local sites: school grounds, nearby reserve, riparian zone.

Cross-Curricular Connections

English — Writing field notes, interview skills, poster design
Maths — Data collection, graphing bird count results, percentages
Arts — Scientific illustration of native species
Te Reo Māori — Bird names, whakataukī about manu

Ngā Rauemi — Resources

Lesson Files

Handouts & Templates

Aromatawai — Assessment

Field Survey Report

Students document their Lesson 4 field survey: location, date, species observed, count data, habitat description, and one inference about what the data suggests about bird health in that area. Assessed using the success criteria .

Community Action Poster

Students design a poster to share with their school community about one native bird species and a kaitiakitanga action others can take. Assessed using the poster rubric .

Curriculum Alignment

Science L4 — Living World: ecology, adaptation, interdependence
Social Studies L4 — People and the environment; sustainability
Aotearoa NZ Histories — Māori relationships with the natural world

Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment

Curriculum alignment for this handout has not yet been verified against the live curriculum statements. A generated placeholder that stood here was removed on 2026-08-29 because it matched no real statement.

🔗 Unit Progression & Next Steps

The 12 lessons in this unit, in teaching order:

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

Differentiation & Inclusion

Pedagogical Foundations | Ngā Tūāpou Akoranga

Ngā manu o te taiao — the birds of the natural world — are indicators, taonga, and kin. Three researchers explain why bird study at Y7‑8, where students can run their own monitoring over weeks, develops scientific thinking alongside cultural responsibility.

Kaupapa Māori

Graham Smith

Māori knowledge of ngā manu — their seasonal movements, their calls in different conditions, their relationships with other species — accumulated over generations of careful observation is mātauranga with scientific rigour. Smith’s framework validates this alongside Western ornithology: two knowledge traditions attending to the same birds through different but equally valid lenses.

Naturalist Intelligence

Howard Gardner

Gardner’s naturalist intelligence — the ability to observe, classify, and relate meaningfully to living things — is developed by sustained attention to specific organisms rather than by one-off encounters. At Y7‑8 that means repeated counts in the same place over weeks, where students meet variation, disagreement between observers, and the need to define what they are counting. Students who do not lead in literacy tasks often shine as naturalists.

Belonging to Place

Tilly Reedy

Te Whāriki’s strand of belonging includes belonging to a natural world — knowing the birds, trees, and weathers of one’s place as a form of being-at-home. By Y7‑8 that relationship is long-standing, and the work shifts from noticing to stewardship: students who already know their local manu are the ones who can argue for them.

→ Explore all theorists at Te Whare Ako — Teaching Theory