Unit 10 · Week 4

🍀 Week 4: The Irish Potato Famine & Colonisation

Students examine the Irish Potato Famine as a case study of how colonisation uses food as a weapon. This week connects Irish and Māori experiences of English colonisation, showing both similarities and important differences. We explore how controlling staple foods becomes a tool of colonial power.

Focus Question

How does colonisation use food to control people? What connects Irish and Māori experiences?

🎯 Learning Intentions

Understand how staple foods become essential for survival
Analyze the Irish Potato Famine as a case study of colonisation
Compare Irish and Māori experiences of English colonisation
Recognize how colonisation uses food dependency as a tool of control

✅ Success Criteria

I can explain why staple foods are essential for survival
I can describe how the Irish Potato Famine was caused by colonisation
I can identify similarities between Irish and Māori experiences
I can explain how food dependency is used as a tool of control

📚 Curriculum Links

Social Studies: Understand colonisation impacts
Mathematics: Calculate historical profits
English: Summarize texts and debate

Ngā Mahi - Week 4 Activities

1. Hook: Staple Foods & Survival (15 mins)

Activity: Students explore what makes a "staple food" and why losing it creates crisis.

Brainstorm: What are staple foods? (Rice, wheat, potatoes, kūmara, corn)
Discuss: Why are staple foods essential? (Most calories, daily survival, cultural importance)
Key idea: When a food becomes a staple, losing it creates crisis
Connect: What happens when colonisers control the staple food?
Example: In Ireland, potatoes were the staple. When they failed, people starved—but other food was being exported to England

Key Question: "If a staple food is essential for survival, what happens when colonisers control who gets it?"

2. Case Study: The Irish Potato Famine (30 mins)

Activity: Use the Irish Potato Famine Case Study handout. Students analyze how colonisation caused famine.

Background: Ireland was colonised by England. Most Irish people were tenant farmers.
The Problem: Irish people grew potatoes for food, but English landlords exported wheat and other crops to England
The Crisis: When potato blight hit (1845-1852), Irish people starved while food was exported
Key Facts: 1 million died, 1 million emigrated. Food was exported FROM Ireland TO England during the famine
Colonisation Pattern: English landlords controlled land and food. Irish people had no power.

💡 Critical Question: "This wasn't a natural disaster—it was a colonisation disaster. How did English control of land and food cause the famine?"

3. Making Connections: Irish & Māori Experiences (25 mins)

Activity: Use the Irish & Māori: Colonisation Connections handout. Students compare experiences.

Similarities: Both colonised by England, both lost land, both experienced food dependency, both faced policies designed to control them
Differences: Irish were in Ireland (their homeland), Māori in Aotearoa; different crops (potatoes vs kūmara/traditional foods); different timelines
Pattern: Colonisers use food as a weapon—control food, control people
Create a comparison chart: Similarities and Differences
Reflect: How does understanding Irish experience help us understand Māori experience?

🎯 Learning Goal: Students see that colonisation has patterns. Understanding one colonised people's experience helps us understand others—while respecting that each experience is unique.

4. Video: The Irish Potato Famine (20 mins)

Activity: Watch videos about the Irish Potato Famine and colonisation.

Irish Potato Famine & Colonisation

⚠️ Critical: This video should explain HOW colonisation caused the famine, not just that it happened. If it calls it a "natural disaster" without explaining English control, discuss this with students.

Before, During & After Watching

Before watching: Ask: "Was this a natural disaster or a colonisation disaster?"

During: Note: Who controlled the land? Who exported the food? Who had power?

After: Think-Pair-Share: "How does this connect to Māori experiences?"

5. Reflection: Food as a Weapon (15 mins)

Activity: Students write a reflection connecting the Irish Potato Famine to the unit's Big Question.

Prompt: "How did English colonisation use food to control Irish people? How might this connect to other colonised peoples, including Māori?"
Students write 2-3 paragraphs connecting Irish experience to scarcity, colonisation, and food control
Share in pairs or small groups
Class discussion: What patterns do we see? What's unique about each experience?

💡 Differentiation Strategies

Lower support: Provide scaffolded reading guides, simplified comparison charts, sentence starters for reflections, work in pairs
Extension: Research other colonisation famines (Bengal Famine, Ukrainian Holodomor), investigate modern food dependency, compare multiple colonised peoples' experiences
Cultural connection: Acknowledge that both Irish and Māori experiences are real and valid. Help students see connections while respecting that each experience is unique. Some students may have Irish or Māori whakapapa—be sensitive to this.

⚠️ Sensitivity Note: This topic connects to real trauma for both Irish and Māori peoples. Frame it as: "We're learning about patterns of colonisation to understand how power works, not to compare suffering. Both experiences matter." Avoid ranking or comparing "who had it worse."

Unit 10: Kai, Culture and Climate — Surviving Scarcity