📖 Unit Overview
"What Will We Eat Tomorrow?"
Big Inquiry Question: How have people in different places and times responded to scarcity of food, and what can those responses teach us as we face climate change?
This 9-week unit explores how scarcity forces trade-offs and decision-making (Ngā mahinga ohaoha), how environment and climate influence food availability (Te tūrangawaewae me tō taiao), and how culture, identity, and innovation interact in how people produce, store, and share food (Ngā ahurea me te tuakiri).
Students investigate kūmara (Māori innovation), rice (global staple), and flour (colonisation impacts) to understand scarcity management across cultures and time periods. The unit culminates in a comprehensive cash crop investigation poster that integrates geography, economics, and social studies.
📋 NZC Curriculum Alignment
This unit addresses achievement objectives across multiple learning areas of the New Zealand Curriculum.
Social Studies / Tikanga-ā-Iwi (Phase 3)
People hold different perspectives about the world depending on their values, traditions, and experiences. Interactions between people, societies, and environments cause changes that ripple over time (cause and effect).
Individuals, communities, and societies experience and manage scarcity in different ways. Managing scarcity involves trade-offs which can cause positive or negative effects. Cause and effect can be traced in food systems.
Make connections between values and scarcity. Explore causes of scarcity (climate, colonisation, environment, population, economics) and effects on people, culture, and environment.
English / Reo Pākehā
Show understanding of ideas and information in texts through identifying and analyzing main and subsidiary ideas and the links between them.
Key Competencies / Ngā Pūkenga Matua
🤔 Thinking
Students critically analyze historical narratives, identify bias, and construct counter-narratives based on evidence.
🤝 Relating to Others
Understanding historical injustices develops empathy and commitment to social justice in contemporary contexts.
🌱 Participating & Contributing
Connects historical activism to contemporary social movements, encouraging active citizenship.
🔍 Managing Self
Confronting difficult histories requires emotional resilience and sustained critical engagement with challenging material.
Week 1: Introduction — Scarcity & Kai
Focus Question: What is scarcity, and how does it affect food and survival?
Activities:
- Hook: Photos of empty supermarket shelves / droughts → discuss what scarcity feels like
- Vocabulary sort: scarcity, abundance, trade-off, staple, innovation
- Literacy: Short paragraph on a time I had to make a choice because there wasn't enough of something
- Numeracy: Pie chart of household food budget (students estimate % spent on staples)
🎥 Video Resources
Scarcity | Basic Economics Concepts
Source: Khan Academy
Food Security Explained
Search YouTube for: "Food Security Explained" or "What is Food Security"
Recommended sources: UN Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Programme, or educational channels like Crash Course
Before watching: Ask students to define "food security" in their own words
📄 Week 1 Handouts & Resources
- 🔤 Scarcity Vocabulary Sort Cards (bilingual, printable)
- 📊 Food Budget Pie Chart Template (numeracy integration)
- ✍️ Scarcity Reflection Worksheet (with sentence starters)
Differentiation: Use think-pair-share. Lower support: sentence starters.
Week 2: Kūmara — Māori Innovation & Adaptation
Focus Question: How did Māori adapt to grow and store kūmara in Aotearoa?
Activities:
- Source analysis: rua kūmara diagrams
- Numeracy: Measure a model pit's volume → estimate how many kūmara it holds
- Literacy: Diary entry "A day in the life of a kūmara grower"
🎥 Video Resources
The Māori Kūmara Story
Search YouTube for: "Māori kūmara history" or "kūmara Aotearoa"
Recommended: RNZ, Māori TV, or NZ On Screen sources
Ngā Taonga – Kūmara Cultivation
Search YouTube for: "Ngā Taonga kūmara" or "traditional kūmara growing"
Look for Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision or Whānau Living
How to Grow Kūmara
Search YouTube for: "how to grow kūmara New Zealand"
Modern gardening techniques connecting to traditional methods
Cultural Note: Before showing videos, acknowledge the significance of kūmara to Māori. Consider inviting a local kaumātua or Māori gardener to share knowledge.
📄 Week 2 Handouts & Resources
- 🏺 Rua Kūmara Diagram Analysis (source analysis, innovation focus)
- 📔 Kūmara Grower Diary Template (perspective writing, seasonal focus)
- 📐 Rua Kūmara Volume Calculation (Math integration, measurement)
Differentiation: Invite a local kaumātua / Māori gardener.
Week 3: Rice — Global Staple & Trade
Focus Question: Why is rice important, and what happens when it is scarce?
Activities:
- Map major rice regions → compare to NZ imports
- Numeracy: Calculate annual rice consumption for a NZ family vs Asian family
- Trading game: Groups trade rice, water, and money
- Literacy: Journal reflection on trade-offs
🎥 Video Resources
Why Rice is the World's Most Important Food Crop
Search YouTube for: "rice world's most important food" or "rice global staple"
Recommended: National Geographic, BBC, or educational documentaries
Rice Farming and Climate Change
Search YouTube for: "rice farming climate change" or "rice production global warming"
Look for scientific or agricultural research channels
📄 Week 3 Handouts & Resources
- 🌏 Rice Production Mapping Activity (geography, trade routes)
- 🍚 Rice Consumption Calculation (Math integration, comparison)
- 🎮 Trading Game: Rice, Water & Money (simulation, trade-offs)
Differentiation: Provide scaffolded reading. Challenge groups to find NZ import data.
Week 4: The Irish Potato Famine & Colonisation
Focus Question: How does colonisation use food to control people? What connects Irish and Māori experiences?
Activities:
- Hook: Staple foods & survival (why losing them creates crisis)
- Case Study: Irish Potato Famine — how colonisation caused famine
- Making Connections: Compare Irish and Māori experiences of English colonisation
- Reflection: How does colonisation use food as a weapon?
🎥 Video Resources
Irish Potato Famine & Colonisation
Search YouTube for: "Irish Potato Famine colonisation" or "Irish Famine English landlords"
Recommended: BBC History, academic historians, Irish history channels
⚠️ Critical: Look for sources explaining HOW colonisation caused the famine, not just that it happened.
Staple Foods & Food Security
Search YouTube for: "staple foods" or "food security" or "potato history"
Recommended: Educational channels, food history documentaries
📄 Week 4 Handouts & Resources
- 🥔 Staple Foods & Survival (understanding food dependency)
- 🍀 Irish Potato Famine Case Study (historical analysis, colonisation)
- 🔗 Irish & Māori: Colonisation Connections (comparison, critical thinking)
Differentiation: Scaffolded reading guides, comparison charts, sentence starters. Sensitivity: Both Irish and Māori experiences are real and valid. Avoid comparing "who had it worse."
Week 5: Trade-offs & Choices (Economic Thinking)
Focus Question: How do scarcity and trade-offs shape decisions?
Activities:
- Role-play: Choose between investing in water, food, or shelter after a disaster
- Numeracy: Budgeting task (limited $50 to cover 3 essentials)
- Literacy: Paragraph explaining why they made their choices
🎥 Video Resources
What is a Trade-off?
Search YouTube for: "trade-off economics" or "opportunity cost explained"
Recommended: Khan Academy, Crash Course Economics, or Investopedia
Choices Under Scarcity
Search YouTube for: "scarcity choices economics" or "decision making scarcity"
Connect back to Week 1 scarcity concepts
📄 Week 5 Handouts & Resources
- 🎭 Trade-offs Role-Play (disaster scenario, resource allocation)
- 💵 Budgeting Task - Limited Resources (Math integration, decision-making)
- ✍️ Choice Reflection (literacy, connecting concepts)
Differentiation: Vary the complexity of trading (add constraints, transport cost, cultural rules).
Week 6: Climate Change & Local Food
Focus Question: How will climate change affect food in Aotearoa?
Activities:
- Case study: Waikato River flooding/drought impacts on kai
- Numeracy: Analyse rainfall graphs for Waikato region
- Literacy: Write a news article "Climate Change Hits Hamilton's Kai"
🎥 Video Resources
Climate Change and NZ Agriculture
Search YouTube for: "climate change New Zealand agriculture" or "NZ farming climate"
Recommended: RNZ, Stuff, or Plant & Food Research sources
Māori Climate Change Stories
Search YouTube for: "Māori climate change" or "kaitiakitanga climate"
Look for Māori perspectives on environmental protection and adaptation
Connection: Link to kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and how Māori frameworks can guide climate adaptation.
📄 Week 6 Handouts & Resources
- 🌊 Waikato River Case Study (flooding/drought impacts, kaitiakitanga)
- 📊 Rainfall Graph Analysis (Math integration, data analysis)
- 📰 News Article Writing (literacy, "Climate Change Hits Hamilton's Kai")
Differentiation: Encourage students to think in Māori frameworks (kaitiakitanga, whakapapa).
Week 7: Assessment Launch — Cash Crop Inquiry
Focus Question: What is a cash crop, and how does it connect to our unit?
Activities:
- Introduce Summative Assessment: Hand out the "Global Cash Crop Investigation Poster" brief and marking rubric
- Class brainstorm: What is a cash crop? (e.g., grown for export/profit, not local subsistence)
- Present examples: Coffee, Cocoa, Palm Oil, Cotton, Sugar, Bananas
- Students select their crop and begin foundational research for Section A (Geography) & Section B (Economics)
- Literacy: How to find valid sources and statistics. Creating a basic bibliography
- Numeracy: Finding and understanding large numbers (e.g., "$20 billion global market")
Differentiation: Provide a list of potential cash crops and starting websites to support research.
Week 8: Poster Planning & Data Visualisation
Focus Question: How do I turn research into an effective poster?
Activities:
- Research focus on Section C (Social/Ethical) & Section D (NZ Link)
- Mini-lesson: How to design an informative poster (Layout, headings, images vs. text)
- Numeracy: How to visually represent data (e.g., turning production numbers into a pie chart; trade routes onto a map)
- Students create a draft layout of their poster (digital or on paper)
- Peer Review: "Gallery Walk" with draft posters. Students use sticky notes to give feedback based on the rubric
Differentiation: Provide poster templates (e.g., in Canva or Google Slides) for students who need structure.
Week 9: Poster Production & Final Reflection
Focus Question: What have I learned about global trade, scarcity, and our choices?
Activities:
- Final work block for students to complete their A3 or digital posters, acting on peer feedback
- Poster Submission
- (Optional) Small group "walk and talk" presentations (2-3 minutes per student) explaining their poster
- Literacy: Final summative reflection, connecting back to the Big Inquiry Question. "How do cash crops create or solve scarcity? What can the trade-offs in your crop teach us for the future?"
Extension: Students could write a letter to a NZ company (e.g., Whittaker's) asking about their Fair Trade sourcing.
✅ Summative Assessment: The Global Cash Crop Investigation Poster
This task requires students to research a significant global cash crop and produce an informative poster. It integrates learning from Geography, Economics, and Social Studies, aligning with the curriculum links of the unit.
Task Instructions
Students must select one major global cash crop: Coffee, Cocoa/Chocolate, Bananas, Palm Oil, Cotton, Tea, Sugar
Final Product: An A3 physical poster (or digital presentation in Google Slides, Canva at the teacher's discretion)
Requirements: Must be highly visual, well-organised, and informative about your chosen cash crop
Content Sections: Students should strive to include content from all 3 sections:
Section A: Geography & Production
- Origin: Where did the crop originally come from?
- Current Production: Where in the world is it primarily grown today? (A world map is highly recommended)
- Environmental Factors: What are the key climate and soil conditions required for successful growth?
- The Process: Briefly illustrate the steps from harvesting the raw material to an exportable commodity
Section B: Economics & Trade (Recommend to choose at least one of these to research and form and present an in-depth opinionated answer)
- Global Value: Estimate the total annual global market value of the crop (or find and reference reliable sources!)
- Supply Chain: Trace the crop from the farm gate to the consumer (e.g., Smallholder farmer → Local collector → International exporter → Multinational corporation → Supermarket)
- Key Players: Do a small group of corporations dominate this trade? (monopoly, duopoly?)
- Price & Scarcity: Briefly explain how this crop relates to scarcity (e.g., does it prevent food scarcity because it is a staple crop? Maybe it could cause food scarcity for locals by using land? Is the crop itself scarce, driving up prices?)
Section C: The Māori Economy (Aotearoa Context)
- Connection: Investigate and briefly explain and report on one link between the chosen global commodity and Aotearoa/New Zealand
- Examples: A major NZ company that imports or uses the commodity (e.g., Whittaker's and cocoa; a major coffee roaster)
- Or: A comparable high-value NZ export commodity (e.g., Kiwifruit, Wine, Mānuka Honey) and how its trade compares
📊 Marking Schedule: Cash Crop Poster Rubric
This rubric uses the New Zealand Curriculum level system with sublevels (B = Beginning, P = Proficient, A = Achieved). Scores are weighted and mapped to curriculum levels 2B through 5A.
| Criteria | Developing (Working Towards) 1-2 points |
Proficient (Meeting Expectations) 3-4 points |
Extending (Exceeding Expectations) 5-6 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Content & Research (Geography & Economics) Weight: 30% |
Poster includes some information for sections A & B. Information is basic, from 1-2 sources. Score: 1-2 points |
All required points for sections A & B are addressed. Information is accurate and uses specific data (e.g., statistics, company names). Score: 3-4 points |
Research is thorough and synthesises complex ideas (e.g., links climate to price volatility, or supply chain to corporate power). Score: 5-6 points |
| B. Social & Ethical Analysis (Social & Aotearoa Links) Weight: 25% |
Poster identifies a social or environmental issue (Section C) and a general NZ link. Score: 1-2 points |
Poster clearly explains the social/ethical issues and environmental impact. The Aotearoa link is specific and relevant. Score: 3-4 points |
Analysis of issues is insightful and nuanced. The Aotearoa link draws a thoughtful comparison or critique, linking back to unit themes. Score: 5-6 points |
| C. Visual Communication (Poster Design) Weight: 25% |
Poster is clear, readable, and includes relevant images. Sections are distinguishable. Score: 1-2 points |
Poster is visually appealing, effectively uses graphics (charts, maps, diagrams) to simplify complex information, and is well-organised. Score: 3-4 points |
Poster is highly professional, innovative in its design, and uses visual elements masterfully to enhance the core message and understanding. Score: 5-6 points |
| D. NZC Concepts (Scarcity & Trade-offs) Weight: 20% |
Shows a basic understanding of scarcity. Score: 1-2 points |
Clearly explains how the cash crop relates to scarcity and identifies the trade-offs involved in its production (e.g., land for food vs. land for cash). Score: 3-4 points |
Provides a sophisticated critique of how the global trade in this crop creates or manages scarcity, and evaluates the ethical nature of the trade-offs. Score: 5-6 points |
📊 Scoring & Level Mapping
How to Calculate:
- Mark each criterion (A, B, C, D) using the point scale (1-6 points)
- Apply weights: A (30%), B (25%), C (25%), D (20%)
- Calculate weighted total: (A × 0.30) + (B × 0.25) + (C × 0.25) + (D × 0.20)
- Map total score to NZ Curriculum level using the table below
| Total Weighted Score | NZ Curriculum Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 - 1.5 | 2B | Level 2 Beginning - Working towards expectations |
| 1.6 - 2.0 | 2P | Level 2 Proficient - Developing within level |
| 2.1 - 2.5 | 2A | Level 2 Achieved - Strong within level |
| 2.6 - 3.0 | 3B | Level 3 Beginning - Entering next level |
| 3.1 - 3.5 | 3P | Level 3 Proficient - Developing within level |
| 3.6 - 4.0 | 3A | Level 3 Achieved - Strong within level |
| 4.1 - 4.5 | 4B | Level 4 Beginning - Meeting expectations for Years 7-8 |
| 4.6 - 5.0 | 4P | Level 4 Proficient - Strong achievement for Years 7-8 |
| 5.1 - 5.5 | 4A | Level 4 Achieved - Exceeding expectations for Years 7-8 |
| 5.6 - 6.0 | 5B | Level 5 Beginning - Working beyond Years 7-8 expectations |
| 6.0+ | 5P / 5A | Level 5 Proficient/Achieved - Exceptional work |
💡 Example Calculation:
If a student scores: A = 4 points, B = 3 points, C = 4 points, D = 3 points
Weighted total: (4 × 0.30) + (3 × 0.25) + (4 × 0.25) + (3 × 0.20) = 1.2 + 0.75 + 1.0 + 0.6 = 3.55
This maps to Level 3P (3.1 - 3.5 range)