What literacy and language skills do students need for success at NCEA Level 2?
Level 2 History
Achievement Standard 91234 (2.6) Examine how a significant historical event affected New Zealand society
Achievement Objectives
Literacy & Language Strategies and Knowledge
Examine how a significant historical event affected
New Zealand society
Content Knowledge
Achievement Std
Requirements
Achieved:
Examine how a significant
historical event affected New
Zealand society
Understand how historical
forces and movements
have influenced the causes
and consequences of
events of significance to
New Zealanders.
Merit:
Understand how people’s
interpretations of events
that are of significance to
New Zealanders differ
Excellence:
Examine in-depth how a
significant historical event
affected New Zealand
society
Comprehensively examine
how a significant historical
event affected New Zealand
society
Literacy & Language Strategies
and Knowledge
From the exemplar examination:
Exemplar of student work: – 2.6 Essay
British Colonisation of New Zealand
The Treaty of Waitangi is New Zealand’s founding document. It was written out for
the Māori people during the 19th Century as Britain wanted to colonise the country
they wanted. They offered many things to the Māori people including offering them
protection, offering the chance to be British citizens and offering them to keep their
lands. There were also short and long term effects that impacted on New Zealand
and its inhabitants. These included the wars that sprung out after the Treaty and the
translation issues that occurred after the Treaty was signed.
During the month of February 1840, Captain William Hobson was instructed by the
British Government in London to write up a Treaty for the people of New Zealand.
He was to include promises to the people so they would sign the Treaty. The first
promise he made was to offer the Māori protection from any other country that
would try to take over. Also the British wanted to make sure that Māori did not die
out, so in the Treaty they promised they would offer this protection over the Māori
so they could live like they still did.
Protection wasn’t the only thing they offered the Māori. They also offered them
British citizenship. They knew a lot of Māori wanted to come out of the stone-age
and into a more civilised world, so they offered them this promise. This would mean
that they were now legal British citizens and they would be able to have every right
as a normal British person. This also meant they could travel to Britain as well. This
meant they were under British law so if things were not going their way they had
the government to back them up. This would also civilise the Māori as they did not
have any government system.
They not only offered them protection and British citizenship to colonise New
Zealand they also offered the promise to keep their land, estuaries and forests. This
meant they could keep their land if they signed their Treaty. This was a bit issue
when Māori were signing the Treaty as their land was tapu and spiritual to them, it
was a scared thing to them. They needed land to survive and to live how they lived.
If they lost their land, Māori would lose all their culture as all Māori had a special
Notes
connection with it. This was a very inviting thing to the Māori and it made good
decision to sign the Treaty.
There were also many short and long term effects that effect the colonisation of
New Zealand. This made it difficult to make it work between the natives and British.
The first effect was the mistranslation of the Treaty. When William Colenso
translated the Treaty it was not exactly what had been written in the British version,
so many people all had different views of what the Treaty had said as it was
interpreted differently by people. The mistranslation made it hard for people to get
what they thought they were supposed to get. Like in the Treaty the British offered
them sovereignty but this was translated to a different word which meant
something different to what sovereignty meant. So people had the idea that they
could do something but in fact the Treaty said something completely different. This
made it harder to colonise New Zealand.
Another effect that they had on colonising New Zealand was all the wars that sprung
out over land issues. In the Treaty it says all Māori could keep their land but it did
not say they couldn’t sell it. This made it hard for Māori to trust British. War started
over everything as the British did not like what they were doing. In Korerareka, now
called Russell the flag staff war started. It involved two chiefs Kawati and Hone
Heke. They both disagreed with the Treaty and decided to cut down the laagstaff in
Korerareka. This happened a few times until the British finally left the small town.
This resulted in many other wars including Ruapekapeka. This effect still has issues
today especially with the Treaty.
The British had a hard time colonising New Zealand, but in the end they achieved
their goal. In colonising New Zealand they had to think differently about how they
would do it as it was a different race. Having offered many things like British
citizenship letting them keep their own land and also protection. There were also
many effects like the wars that started and the big one the mistranslation of the
Treaty made it difficult but in the end they finally colonised New Zealand, making it
how it is today.
Literacy & Language Strategies
and Knowledge
From the exemplar examination:
Stucture
(order and arrangement of
ideas/concepts)
Language features
Factual/Objective
(focus on things & processes;
impersonal style)
Exemplar of student work – 2.6 Essay
Women’s Suffrage in New Zealand
Women’s suffrage has significantly affected New Zealand by changing the rights of
women in the late 19th Century. During this time it has affected woman in New
Zealand politically by gaining the vote, socially by gaining equal rights as men and
also economically because women were able to depend on themselves. This
affected New Zealand in the short term politically because women were able to
change the power in Government. Economically women were able to get jobs and
support themselves and finally women were able to voice their own opinion on
specific issues in New Zealand society.
Language features
Technical Features
(subject and topic specific words)
Traditionally, women experienced significant inequalities to men whose legal, social
and financial rights were superior. Women were largely controlled by their fathers
or husbands. Domestic violence was widespread throughout New Zealand, but law
did not assist women to escape in any way. Many women also had no voice in
political matter, and the only way they could be heard and represented were
through male family members.
But slowly things began to change from the about the mid-19th Century. Debating
during the 1860s and 1870s by prominent women’s advocates, particularly in
Auckland, raised the issues of women’s rights, status and the unfair male dominated
aspects of policies and laws. While advocates ignited debate they did not affect
many real changes at the time.
Domestic violence and desertion by men was not considered grounds for divorce
until the 1860s. Desertion, a problem and one that society resented having to pay
for as there was no support for its victims. As a result, legalisation was passed in
1860 – The Married Women’s Property Act. This meant that any property or money
a woman has prior to her marriage remained her after her husband had left. This
was one of the first examples of women having legal rights of her own.
During the 1870s and 1880s under the guidance of the Women’s Christian
Temperance Union (WCTU) real changes were enacted with a focus on education,
legal status, prohibition and most significantly, the right to vote. Through Kate
Descriptive words and phrases
(which specify the subject and details
of the idea/concept(s))
Passive Voice
(Attention on action, not on who
did it)
Sheppard and the WCTU, women in New Zealand were the first in the world to gain
the vote in 1893 and their rights became somewhat more equal to those of men.
Many positive laws were passed after the success of the suffrage campaign and the
1893 legalisation. Although change was not necessarily instant the role and rights of
women in the social and political sphere gathered momentum over time. Both
divorce and education became more accessible for women although there was still
financial dependence and inequality. There was also considerable social stigma
attached to women who went to tertiary education.
Women’s suffrage was very successful. By the election in 1893, 78% of women
eligible to vote had registered to do so and 85% of those who had registered actually
voted. That compared to 70% of eligible men of the electoral role who voted.
Although women were able to in 1893, their right to participate in active politics was
somewhat limited. It was not until 1919 that women were able to stand as
parliamentary candidates.
There was also a move towards progressive legal equality and enfranchisement. By
the late 19th Century, women in New Zealand had attained more legal equality with
males, and held the right to vote. These changes can point towards an increasingly
egalitarian mind-set and changes in attitudes of New Zealand males. However, a
double-standard still existed in attitudes towards the sexes. Revisionist historians
such as Dalziel, argues the changes were made because they would ultimately not
alter the status quo and while they appeared substantive little in the way of largescale consequences would result.
Women’s suffrage in New Zealand was a significant period of time. During this time
politically and socially New Zealanders attitudes changed, with women gaining the
vote and various bills and acts passed through government. It was displayed in the
short term as positive; women had more equal rights and women s rights gathered
momentum. On the other hand women did not benefit as much economically, they
still relied on men for an income.
Connective/linking words & phrases
(which accomplish the explanation
and/or analysis)
Planning Rubric History 2.6
Standard Title
Achievement
Objectives
Intent
Standard No.
Examine how a significant historical event affected New Zealand society
 Understand how historical forces and movements have influences the causes and consequences of events of significance to New Zealanders
 Understand how people’s interpretations of events that are of significance to New Zealanders differ
This learning results in students providing an examination of the causes and consequences of a significant historical event using evidence to support their answers
91234
Achieved
Version
Examine how a significant historical event affected
New Zealand society
1
Level
2
Merit
Examine in-depth how a significant historical event
affected New Zealand society
Excellence
Comprehensively examine how a significant historical
event affected New Zealand society
Key concepts and requirements (from EN)
Literacy and language skills and knowledge required
Describing how
 Explaining
Making links, explaining links
Affected – short and/or long term social and/or political and/or
economic impact of and historical event on NZ society
Key Competencies
 Thinking – developing
metacognition and evaluation skills
 Use of evidence to support answers
NZ society – include individuals, groups, communities, all NZers
Course of the event – must cover this in light of exemplar – what
happened during the event
Learners needs
Resources and TKI activities
Connections to other learning and
learning areas
History Teaching and Learning Guide
 Language symbols and texts
o through use of specialist
vocabulary
o quoting this as evidence to
support generalisations