Social Studies Units

Social Studies Online

	Access Denied This unit is built around a co-operative group assessment activity and provides useful examples of self and peer assessment schedules. Students investigate aid agencies that are working to help people gain both access to resources and basic human rights.
	Drink Anyone? Access to safe water and sanitation can be regarded as a basic human right. This unit examines factors that prevent people from gaining access to water. It encourages students to consider what types of social action could be taken to improve people's access to this essential resource.
	Footsteps of a Nation One of the 'footsteps' in New Zealand's past that has had considerable impact on relationships between people in New Zealand today, is the Treaty of Waitangi. This unit examines the impact of this founding document on relationships between Maori and European-Pakeha in the past, today and the future.
	Fortune's Cookie Ever since the first Chinese goldminers arrived in New Zealand in search of fortune's cookies, they have been subjected to discrimination. This unit explores the impact of racist hysteria on Chinese New Zealanders from the 1860s until the present day.
	Go West How was the West won and who precisely was it won from? What would make you pack up your family and travel for 6 months in harsh and dangerous conditions to a new home? You think you had a bad day try being a pioneer woman in the American West. Why would someone feel "the only good Indian was a dead Indian"? All this and more in Go West.
	Greenies versus Greedies How do people manage access to resources goods and services so that the resources themselves are protected? Students examine differing values positions about the sustainable management of resources and decide how access to resources can be managed effectively.
	Hillary Challenge The challenge: find out how people have viewed the impact of Sir Edmund Hillary's ideas and actions over time. This unit is designed for use with the Hillary - Nothing Venture, Nothing Win CD issued to all New Zealand schools during May 2003.
	The Holocaust A unit based on the Holocaust in Germany and Nazi occupied Europe 1933-1945, which relates the events of the Holocaust directly to the need to maintain human rights today. It examines ways in which people in the past have fought to maintain and regain their Human Rights.
	A Just World An Inquiry based unit that allows students to take on the role of detective and investigate cases of human rights abuses around the globe. They then decide on possible social action that people could take to fight for social justice and human rights.
	The Killing Fields A unit based on the superb resource, Borany's Story, which follows members of a Cambodian family as they are forced to move from their home in Phnom Penh, struggle to survive the Killing Fields, and ultimately begin new lives as refugees in New Zealand.
	Kiwi Identity Who are we? Is there such a thing as a common Kiwi Identity in twenty first century New Zealand? How do national and cultural identities develop? What is New Zealand's best know icon? You may find the answers in this unit.
	Leave Only Footprints What is ecotourism? What does it mean to be a socially responsible traveller? Students explore the concept of ecotourism and apply their knowledge to planning an environmentally sound tourist resort.
	Lice 'n' Latrines: New Zealanders at Gallipoli Students use a variety of web based resources to inquire into past events at Gallipoli during the "Great War" and explain why this distant peninsula is such a significant place for many New Zealanders.
	Money Doesn't Grow on Trees Based on the UN's CyberSchoolBus Poverty Curriculum, this unit examines factors that influence people's access to resources, goods and services.
	Our Small World This unit, written by DevZone, uses the video Our Small World and the internet to explore the shrinking population of the Tokelau Islands and the impact on New Zealand. The unit covers the Place and Environment achievement objective 5.1, supported by Resources and Economic activities achievement objective 5.1.
	The Rock and Roll Era Mods, winklepickers, 45s and beatlemania. This was the language that helped define the culture of the baby boomers in the Sixties, but today's teenagers may never have come across these terms. Students investigate how youth culture is developed and maintained, and explore different people's values about aspects that defined the Rock and Roll era.
	A Sacred Gift Tongariro National Park is a significant place for many people. It was gifted to the people of New Zealand by Te Heuheu over a century ago. Students explore the park and investigate how ideas about conservation have changed over time.
	Situation Vacant? What type of work did people do in the 'olden days'? How does it differ from the work they do now? Students conduct a Mini Inquiry into the changing nature of work in a chosen sector of the economy.
	Sanctuary on the Faultline Students use a variety of resources to discover the special character of the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and explain why it is, and will be, significant for people.
	Saying Sorry Helen Clark apologised in 2002, on behalf of the New Zealand government, to the Chinese community for the imposition of the poll tax from 1881 to 1941. Why was the poll tax imposed? What impact did this discriminatory policy have on the lives of early Chinese settlers? This unit uses the values exploration and social decision making processes to explore the viewpoints of Chinese New Zealanders about the apology and its aftermath.
	Some Place Why are different places and environments significant for some people but not for others? This unit uses two related local area case studies to inquire into reasons why places are significant for people.
	The Stolen Generation A range of values exploration activities is provided to explore the issue of The Stolen Generation. This is the result of the policy of assimilation in Australia which changed the lives of up to 100,000 mixed race Aboriginal children. There are moves in Australia to redress this injustice including an annual "National Sorry Day" and calls for the current government to apologise formally to the Aboriginal community.
	Sunshine Sisters "We want men to 'stand out of our sunshine', that is all..." said Margaret Sievwright, a New Zealand suffragist in the nineteenth century. The Sunshine Sisters unit examines the strategic role of a few key suffragists in New Zealand in the late 1800's. The long term impact of women obtaining the vote is examined by comparing women at work, in politics and in society today with their 'sisters' in the past.
	Time Tourist: A Trip to Ancient Rome Looking around the world there are some places that people find fascinating. Students will take a tour back to Ancient Rome and investigate why this ancient society is still significant for people today.
	Walk Like an Egyptian Students take a tour of significant places in Egypt. They explore the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, the Valley of the Kings and Queens and the Temples; investigate how the actions of the Pharaohs in constructing such monuments have been viewed through time; and consider the impact of tourism on these historic places.
	When Cultures Meet Students look at the impact of cultural interaction on Pacific Peoples, both in the Pacific and New Zealand. Included is a fascinating study of Tatau - Samoan tattooing.
	Who's the Boss Students investigate how two different systems of government are organised, and how they affect peoples' lives, by examining Pol Pot's dictatorship in Cambodia and democracy in New Zealand. The unit includes a Social Decision Making assessment activity.
	World Famous in New Zealand This is an inquiry based unit, focusing on how people have viewed the ideas and actions of two of New Zealand's most notable women - Kate Sheppard and Princess Te Puea Herangi. What was it about these two women that have made them 'World Famous in New Zealand' and why are they not as well known as they should be? There is also the opportunity in this unit for students to conduct an inquiry into other notable New Zealand women.