Lesson at a Glance | He Tirohanga Whakamua
Ngā Whāinga Ako | Learning Intentions
Students will know
- How to tell an open inquiry question from a closed factoid question, and why the difference changes what you find.
- How to evaluate digital and print sources for Authority, Bias, and Currency.
- How Collaborative Teamwork (Waka Eke Noa) operates with defined roles and shared accountability.
Students will demonstrate
- By testing four contrasting sources in the Section 4 audit table and ruling one out with a reason.
- By claiming one of the four waka roles and naming the role they would find hardest.
- By completing Section 4 of their Y7–8 Leadership Portfolio.
Do Now | Tīmatanga Whakaaro (10 min)
Open vs Closed Inquiry Prompt:
"Closed Question: 'How many kiwi live in New Zealand?' Open Question: 'How might community pest control strategies protect wild kiwi populations in Aotearoa over the next 10 years?' Which prompt leads to deeper learning?"
Unpack: Open questions demand analysis, evaluation, and creative problem-solving—the core skills of Year 7–8 learners!
Team Waka Roles & Source Evaluation (15 min)
• Kaihautū — caller: keeps the group on the question and on time.
• Kaiwhakatere — navigator: decides where to look next.
• Kaitiaki — checker: tests whether a source holds up.
• Kaikōrero — speaker: reports what the group found.
Check: Who wrote it? (Authority), Why was it written? (Purpose/Bias), Is it up to date? (Currency), Can you verify the facts? (Reliability).
Source Credibility Audit (15 min)
Your kaiako will give the group four sources on one question. Run every one through the table in Section 4 of your portfolio.
In your waka roles (10 min). For each source answer two questions before anything else: who made it, and what did they want? Those two catch more bad sources than checking spelling, dates or how official a page looks.
Decide (5 min). Rule one source out and write down what gave it away. One of the four is honest, accurate, and still wrong for this question — a source can be true and not be evidence for what you are asking.
Kaiako note. Choose the four yourself so the trap is real: one strong source, one selling something, one genuinely out of date, and one that is accurate but answers a neighbouring question. Students find the advert fast; the fourth is the one worth the lesson.
📁 Y7–8 Leadership Portfolio — Section 4: Collaborative Inquiry
Students open Section 4 of their Y7–8 Leadership Portfolio.
Section 4 Requirements:
1. Waka Roles: Name the role you picked and why, and the role you would find hardest.
2. Source Credibility Audit: Test four sources before you use any of them, then name the one you decided NOT to use and what gave it away.
Exit Verification | Ka Mutu Hoki (5 min)
Exit Check:
"My Section 4 names the waka role I claimed, and my audit table tests all four sources — including the one I ruled out and why."
Teacher Planning & NZ Curriculum Alignment
Curriculum anchoring. This lesson has no Phase 3 statement of its own. Phase 3 collaboration statements are physical-education specific (decision-making in modified games), not research collaboration. The unit anchors at overview level instead — see the verified statements on the Y7–8 Starter Pack overview. Claiming a nearby statement this lesson does not actually teach would be worse than claiming none.
Vocabulary: Collaborative inquiry, open question, credibility, authority, bias, waka roles, evaluation.