The Māori Battalion
AN HISTORICAL INQUIRY
Introduction
This activity assesses History Achievement Standard 90465 (2.1). It requires
you to conduct an historical inquiry based on an aspect of the Māori Battalion’s
participation in World War Two.
Task One – Define an area of inquiry and formulate focusing questions
 Your teacher will provide you with some general information about the Māori
Battalion and New Zealand’s involvement in World War Two.
 Write the name of the area of your inquiry on your Inquiry Proposal and
Time Management Plan (Appendix #1).
 Formulate THREE focusing questions that will enable you to research
information relevant to your topic. Your questions should all be open-ended
and they should cover the wider context of World War Two, specific
associated events, and the experiences of the people involved. Write these
focusing questions on your Inquiry Proposal and Time Management Plan.
Task Two – Plan the inquiry
 On your Inquiry Proposal and Time Management Plan, identify five potential
sources that you could use in your inquiry. You need to include book titles
and authors, URLs, video titles and the names of museum exhibitions etc.
You also need to write a paragraph that anticipates how the sources that
you have chosen will be useful to you.
 Complete in detail the Time Management Plan, referring to specific sources
that you will use on particular days.
 Submit your Inquiry Proposal and Time Management Plan to your teacher
by:________________________________________________________
 If it does not reach the required standard your teacher will ask you to
redefine your topic and/or redefine your focusing questions. If so, you will
be expected to resubmit your Inquiry Proposal and Time Management Plan
in the next history period.
Task Three – Start selecting evidence, recording source details
 Select and record relevant historical evidence that answers the focusing
questions from at least FIVE different sources including any field trip.
 For each piece of evidence, give full details of its source, following these
examples:
Evidence from a book
Ian McGibbon, New Zealand and the Second World War: the people, the battles and the
legacy, Hodder Moa Beckett, Auckland, 2003
Evidence from a website
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography – Online, www.dnzb.govt.nz (accessed on 30/3/2011)
Evidence from the interviews, sketches, photographs and signage
Photograph taken at the National War Memorial, (3/04/2011)

Ask your teacher for information about how to record the details of other
sources.
Organise your evidence in accordance with the focusing questions.
Task Four – Make the final selection of your evidence
When you have completed this research, select your most interesting and useful
evidence and place it on the A3 sheets that your teacher will give you. There are
further instructions about this selection on the A3 sheets (Appendix #2).
Task Five – Comprehensively and perceptively evaluate the inquiry process
You are also required to complete an evaluation of the inquiry process that you
have undertaken. More instructions are contained in Appendix #3 which is the
template on which you are to complete this evaluation.
What’s due when?
Work towards Achievement Standard 2.1 is due on or
before:___________________________________________________________
Appendix #1: Level 2 Assessment, Inquiry Proposal and Time Management Plan
The Māori Battalion
INQUIRY PROPOSAL AND TIME MANAGEMENT PLAN
Name:______________________________________ Teacher:
Area of Inquiry __________________________________________________________
Focusing questions to guide your inquiry
1.
2.
3.
Potential sources
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Explanation
Explain how you expect each of the potential sources listed above to be of use to you as
you complete this task
Time Management Plan
Date
Task to be undertaken. Include the source that you will use.

Teacher’s signature _____________________________ Date: ____________________
Appendix #2: Level 2 Assessment, Final Selection of Evidence Sheets
The Māori Battalion
FINAL SELECTION OF EVIDENCE SHEETS
Name:________________________________________ Teacher:
Write your focusing question here:
Instructions

Select 7-10 pieces of evidence that answer the focusing question.

Place (paste or write out) your pieces of evidence onto this sheet. Use the back of the sheet if
necessary.

Record the details of the source for each piece of evidence.

Your selection needs to provide enough useful and relevant evidence to provide a balanced coverage
and to enable you to answer the question comprehensively (breadth and depth)

Over your three focusing questions, you must select evidence from at least FIVE different sources.
Selected Evidence
Source Details
Appendix #3: Level 2 Assessment, Inquiry Process Evaluation
The Māori Battalion
INQUIRY PROCESS EVALUATION
Name:________________________________________ Teacher :
The Inquiry Process to this Point…
You defined an
area of inquiry
and formulated
three relevant
focusing
questions
You planned the
inquiry, by
completing all the
tasks on the
Inquiry Proposal
and Time
Management Plan
in detail
You started
selecting evidence
about your topic
from at least five
different sources.
You recorded the
source details
You made your
final selection of
7-10 pieces of
evidence on the
A3 sheets
Instructions
Write several paragraphs that comprehensively and perceptively evaluate the inquiry
process that you have undertaken. To evaluate, you must weigh up what was good or
went well against what wasn’t so good or went badly. You might find these examples
helpful:
“I found a good range of sources but it was very hard to find specific evidence for focusing
question #3”
“The use of oral history sources challenged my understanding of how history is
remembered because...”
“The final selection of evidence was difficult because… Eventually I discovered that…
In completing this evaluation you might consider:
 If you had enough sources and whether they were accurate enough to answer your
focussing questions.
 The successes and difficulties you experienced at each stage of the inquiry
process and the reasons for them.
 Ways in which you refined and revised the inquiry as you went. What things
changed from your original plan and why.
 Advice you would give a person undertaking research in this area in the future.
 Links between the usefulness of the sources and the focusing questions
 Which evidence was the most useful for each focusing question and why.
Evaluation
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Assessment Schedule
Task
Task #1
Task #2
Achieved
 The student
defines an area of
historical inquiry
about the Māori
Battalion
 The student
formulates
THREE relevant
focusing
questions.

The student plans
the inquiry
(sources
identified,
timeframe
outlined)
Merit
 The student
defines an area of
historical inquiry
about the Māori
Battalion
 The student
formulates
THREE relevant
focusing
questions.

The student plans
the inquiry, in
detail (sources
identified with a
clear explanation
about the
potential value of
the sources,
detailed Time
Management
Plan)
Excellence
 The student
defines an area
of historical
inquiry about the
Māori Battalion
 The student
formulates
THREE relevant
focusing
questions.

The student
plans the inquiry,
in comprehensive
detail (sources
identified with a
clear explanation
about the
potential value of
the sources,
comprehensively
detailed Time
Management
Plan)
Tasks
#3 & #4



The student
selects 7-10
pieces of
evidence for each
focusing question
and places them
on the Selection
Sheets
The student
selects and
records relevant
historical
evidence from at
least THREE
sources.
The details of the
sources are
accurately
recorded. (This
means that
enough details
have been
recorded to allow
the later
completion of
reference list.
The details
required are
author, title,
publisher, city of
publication, date
of publication,
date of
publication or
URL and date
accessed for web
material. A full
reference list is
not required.
Perfection is not
required)



The student
selects 7-10
pieces of
evidence for each
focusing question
and places them
on the Selection
Sheets
The student
selects and
records relevant
historical
evidence from at
least FIVE
sources.
The details of the
sources are
accurately
recorded. (This
means that
enough details
have been
recorded to allow
the later
completion of
reference list.
The details
required are
author, title,
publisher, city of
publication, date
of publication,
date of
publication or
URL and date
accessed for web
material. A full
reference list is
not required.
Perfection is not
required)


The student
selects 7-10
pieces of
evidence for
each focusing
question and
places them on
the Selection
Sheets
The student
selects and
records relevant
historical
evidence from at
least FIVE
sources.

The student’s
selection
provides enough
useful and
relevant evidence
to provide a
balanced
coverage. It
would enable
them to answer
the question
comprehensively
(breadth and
depth).

The details of the
sources are
accurately
recorded. (This
means that
enough details
have been
recorded to allow
the later
completion of
reference list.
The details
required are
author, title,
publisher, city of
publication, date
of publication,
date of
publication or
URL and date
accessed for
web material. A
full reference list
is not required.
Perfection is not
required)
Task #5
The student evaluates
aspects of the
effectiveness of the
inquiry.
The student
comprehensively
evaluates aspects of the
effectiveness of the
inquiry process.
The student
comprehensively and
perceptively evaluates
aspects of the
effectiveness of the
inquiry process.