Purpose
Achievement Criteria
Explanatory Note 1
Engage with a variety of primary sources in a historical context involves:
- selecting a variety of primary sources for a focus question
- identifying the relevance of the evidence to the focus question through source annotation
- identifying strengths or limitations within the collection of sources.
Interpret a variety of primary sources in a historical context involves:
- selecting a variety of primary sources appropriate to a focus question
- identifying the main ideas in the evidence through source annotation
- explaining the strengths and limitations within the collection of sources.
Examine a variety of primary sources in a historical context involves:
- making connections between the selected sources with reference to the main ideas identified
- reflecting on the strengths and limitations across the collection of sources.
Explanatory Note 2
A variety of primary sources refers to different primary sources such as oral history traditions, artefacts, different types of written sources, and different types of visual sources.
Explanatory Note 3
A historical context refers to:
- a historical place
- a historical event
- a historical person, group of people, or historical movement.
Explanatory Note 4
Within the collection of sources refers to assessing the value of individual sources where appropriate.
Across the collection of sources refers to a collective assessment of all the sources as a whole.
Shared Explanatory Note
Refer to the NCEA glossary for Māori, Pacific, and further subject-specific terms and concepts.
This achievement standard is derived from the Social Sciences Learning Area at Level 6 of The New Zealand Curriculum: Learning Media, Ministry of Education, 2007.
Conditions of Assessment
Assessor involvement in the assessment event may include:
- providing the focus question for the assessment, which should be broad but clearly defined and related to a historical event, person, or place
- curating a list of primary sources to get students started:
- Care must be taken to ensure a sufficient number of primary sources are provided so that students can authentically demonstrate selection.
- when sources are not curated for students, offering guidance on how to locate primary sources
- distributing checklists or templates that prompt students to make comments on the relevance, strengths, and limitations of their selected sources
- monitoring student progress closely to ensure students working together during source selection do not select identical sources
- providing a different historical context each year
- using oral questioning to confirm students understanding of primary historical sources if doubts over the authenticity of the student’s work arise.
Where students are forming their own focus question, and collecting their own sources, it is strongly recommended that assessors provide checkpoints to ensure the appropriateness of these.
Students may:
- work on their assessment in and out of class time, over a period of time specified by the assessor
- gather a variety of primary sources individually or in small groups (no more than three students per group)
- present their evidence for assessment in any medium that allows them to demonstrate their ability to engage with primary historical sources.
Any aspect of the assessment, beyond the focus question and gathering of primary historical sources, must be completed individually and independently by students. When the gathering of sources is carried out in groups, assessors must ensure that there is evidence that each student has met this aspect of the Achievement Standard.
The collection of sources for this Achievement Standard can be gathered in and out of class at any point of the teaching and learning program.
There is no limit for the gathering of primary sources however the processing and annotating of selected sources must be completed by students over a period of no more than three weeks.
Where several students wish to conduct an interview or kōrero with a person or group who could serve as a relevant primary source for the assessment task, these students may choose, if appropriate, to carry out the interview together. This interview could then be used as a source for each student’s individual work.
If students present their evidence digitally, through a website, video, or blog, it is best to disable access to this after marking and moderation have occurred. This helps to ensure that students across the country cannot plagiarise the work or ideas of other those who have already completed the assessment for this Achievement Standard.
Unpacking the Standard
Mātauranga Māori constitutes concepts and principles that are richly detailed, complex, and fundamental to Māoridom. It is important to remember that the practice of these are wider and more varied than their use within the proposed NCEA Achievement Standards and supporting documentation.
We also recognise that the cultures, languages, and identities of the Pacific Islands are diverse, varied, and unique. Therefore the Pacific concepts, contexts, and principles that have been incorporated within NCEA Achievement Standards may have wide-ranging understandings and applications across and within the diversity of Pacific communities. It is not our intention to define what these concepts mean but rather offer some ways that they could be understood and applied within different subjects that kaiako and students alike can explore.
Mātauranga Māori constitutes concepts and principles that are richly detailed, complex, and fundamental to Māoridom. It is important to remember that the practice of these are wider and more varied than their use within the proposed NCEA Achievement Standards and supporting documentation.
We also recognise that the cultures, languages, and identities of the Pacific Islands are diverse, varied, and unique. Therefore the Pacific concepts, contexts, and principles that have been incorporated within NCEA Achievement Standards may have wide-ranging understandings and applications across and within the diversity of Pacific communities. It is not our intention to define what these concepts mean but rather offer some ways that they could be understood and applied within different subjects that kaiako and students alike can explore.
The intent of the Standard
This Achievement Standard recognises the role of primary sources in the construction of history, and that the ways in which primary sources are engaged with can inform the narratives of history. It therefore requires ākonga to use critical thinking skills in order to interpret primary sources for themselves, to discuss their relevancy, and to consider their strengths and limitations. In doing these things, ākonga will develop an understanding of evidence selection, which is a vital component of the history research process.
Primary sources are accounts from people with a deep connection to an event or topic in the past. This could be a direct connection, such as a first-hand account, or a connection that is less direct but still deep and significant. Primary sources include various source types, such as written and audio-visual texts. They also include various sources of information, such as orality, accounts passed down through whakapapa, and decision-making through talanoa, as well as continuous primary sources, such as ngā taonga tuku iho.
Take, for example, the mōteatea ‘E pā tō hau’. This taonga tuku iho laments the grief and loss experienced by Rangiamoa of Ngāti Apakura after being exiled from her tūrangawaewae, having survived the massacre that occurred at Rangiaowhia on February 21, 1864. Dispossession and despair led to disease and, despite finding refuge with Ngāti Tūwharetoa, most of those Ngāti Apakura who fled south in exile, perished.
‘E pā tō hau’ is popularly sung by many iwi ensuring that the experience of Ngāti Apakura is carried in collective maumaharatanga. It is also sung to connect efforts of resistance against the injustices of land alienation. For example, in 1975, ‘E pā tō hau’ was sung by Whina Cooper, Te Roopu o te Matakite and their supporters, at the gravesite of Rewi Maniapoto during the 1975 Land March. In this way ‘E pā tō hau’ is considered a continuous primary source because it provides a way to memorialise, express grief, and convey connection between those who have fought, and continue to fight, for their people and their lands.
Making reliable judgements
The Significant Learning this Achievement Standard assesses is the recognition that histories are constructed from sources. This knowledge is crucial to developing a disciplinary understanding of history, particularly with regards to the pivotal role of evidence in historical narratives. Analysis strategies for a variety of sources and source types will need to form part of the teaching and learning for this Achievement Standard. Engaging with historical sources increases awareness of the relationship between sources and narratives, as well as encouraging ākonga to be active participants in the construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction of histories.
The assessment still retains an element of historical research by including ‘selection of primary sources’ as a requirement. This creates an opportunity for kaiako to approach this Achievement Standard authentically within a research context, but it is ākonga selection and engagement with primary historical sources that is being assessed here rather than research.
The primary sources ākonga choose to engage with for this Achievement Standard are selected on their relevancy to a focus question. The focus question can be designed by kaiako, ākonga, or co-constructed. There is potential here for kaiako to use the focusing question to carry out an in-class research assignment, which may form the basis for the associated teaching and learning.
Collecting evidence
Ākonga will annotate their sources, identifying their main ideas, strengths, and limitations where applicable. Where relevant, ākonga will draw connections between them and recognise how the sources work together as a whole. In order to garner sufficient evidence to make these judgements, kaiako should instruct ākonga to select at least five primary sources.
While an annotation will be required for each individual source to show its relevance to the focus question, the identification of strengths and limitations only needs to occur to a select few sources where appropriate. In this way ākonga will need to demonstrate discernment by providing a meaningful assessment of the value of sources within the collection when most applicable, avoiding superficial commentary. For higher levels of attainment, ākonga should make connections between sources and recognise how they may, or may not, complement each other, and assess the effects of this across the collection as a whole.
Consistent engagement with the gathered collection of sources is expected in order for ākonga to understand how certain pieces of evidence can help or hinder historical research. Identifying strengths and limitations of sources may include considerations such as the coverage and gaps in the evidence collected and the perspectives presented.
Kaiako may also choose to approach the assessment by curating primary sources for ākonga to select from. However, care must be taken that the curation is still extensive enough to enable a process of selection to occur, as this is an important element of the achievement criteria.
Annotations do not have to be in writing. While ākonga will be required to submit their annotated sources, this submission can be digital or hard copy, which considerably widens the possible methods of annotation. Checkpoints are encouraged throughout the assessment period for kaiako to give guidance and ensure authenticity of evidence.
Possible contexts
Kaiako and ākonga could choose to explore historical contexts of local relevance or interest, provided there are adequate sources through which to engage with, or use a focusing question which relates to a historical context that they have been studying.
Primary sources may be drawn from a variety of media such as written, oral, and visual texts. Sourcing of rich oral histories are encouraged through whakataukī, kākahu, talanoa, and kōrerorero. Ākonga could also explore the role of pūrākau and pakiwaitara in constructing histories. The expansion and range of sources now available and legitimately considered within History’s scope means ākonga can also look at furniture, buildings, textiles, wāhi tapu, personal adornment, and more. Some teacher guidance is needed around the source selection process.
The intent of the Standard
This Achievement Standard recognises the role of primary sources in the construction of history, and that the ways in which primary sources are engaged with can inform the narratives of history. It therefore requires ākonga to use critical thinking skills in order to interpret primary sources for themselves, to discuss their relevancy, and to consider their strengths and limitations. In doing these things, ākonga will develop an understanding of evidence selection, which is a vital component of the history research process.
Primary sources are accounts from people with a deep connection to an event or topic in the past. This could be a direct connection, such as a first-hand account, or a connection that is less direct but still deep and significant. Primary sources include various source types, such as written and audio-visual texts. They also include various sources of information, such as orality, accounts passed down through whakapapa, and decision-making through talanoa, as well as continuous primary sources, such as ngā taonga tuku iho.
Take, for example, the mōteatea ‘E pā tō hau’. This taonga tuku iho laments the grief and loss experienced by Rangiamoa of Ngāti Apakura after being exiled from her tūrangawaewae, having survived the massacre that occurred at Rangiaowhia on February 21, 1864. Dispossession and despair led to disease and, despite finding refuge with Ngāti Tūwharetoa, most of those Ngāti Apakura who fled south in exile, perished.
‘E pā tō hau’ is popularly sung by many iwi ensuring that the experience of Ngāti Apakura is carried in collective maumaharatanga. It is also sung to connect efforts of resistance against the injustices of land alienation. For example, in 1975, ‘E pā tō hau’ was sung by Whina Cooper, Te Roopu o te Matakite and their supporters, at the gravesite of Rewi Maniapoto during the 1975 Land March. In this way ‘E pā tō hau’ is considered a continuous primary source because it provides a way to memorialise, express grief, and convey connection between those who have fought, and continue to fight, for their people and their lands.
Making reliable judgements
The Significant Learning this Achievement Standard assesses is the recognition that histories are constructed from sources. This knowledge is crucial to developing a disciplinary understanding of history, particularly with regards to the pivotal role of evidence in historical narratives. Analysis strategies for a variety of sources and source types will need to form part of the teaching and learning for this Achievement Standard. Engaging with historical sources increases awareness of the relationship between sources and narratives, as well as encouraging ākonga to be active participants in the construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction of histories.
The assessment still retains an element of historical research by including ‘selection of primary sources’ as a requirement. This creates an opportunity for kaiako to approach this Achievement Standard authentically within a research context, but it is ākonga selection and engagement with primary historical sources that is being assessed here rather than research.
The primary sources ākonga choose to engage with for this Achievement Standard are selected on their relevancy to a focus question. The focus question can be designed by kaiako, ākonga, or co-constructed. There is potential here for kaiako to use the focusing question to carry out an in-class research assignment, which may form the basis for the associated teaching and learning.
Collecting evidence
Ākonga will annotate their sources, identifying their main ideas, strengths, and limitations where applicable. Where relevant, ākonga will draw connections between them and recognise how the sources work together as a whole. In order to garner sufficient evidence to make these judgements, kaiako should instruct ākonga to select at least five primary sources.
While an annotation will be required for each individual source to show its relevance to the focus question, the identification of strengths and limitations only needs to occur to a select few sources where appropriate. In this way ākonga will need to demonstrate discernment by providing a meaningful assessment of the value of sources within the collection when most applicable, avoiding superficial commentary. For higher levels of attainment, ākonga should make connections between sources and recognise how they may, or may not, complement each other, and assess the effects of this across the collection as a whole.
Consistent engagement with the gathered collection of sources is expected in order for ākonga to understand how certain pieces of evidence can help or hinder historical research. Identifying strengths and limitations of sources may include considerations such as the coverage and gaps in the evidence collected and the perspectives presented.
Kaiako may also choose to approach the assessment by curating primary sources for ākonga to select from. However, care must be taken that the curation is still extensive enough to enable a process of selection to occur, as this is an important element of the achievement criteria.
Annotations do not have to be in writing. While ākonga will be required to submit their annotated sources, this submission can be digital or hard copy, which considerably widens the possible methods of annotation. Checkpoints are encouraged throughout the assessment period for kaiako to give guidance and ensure authenticity of evidence.
Possible contexts
Kaiako and ākonga could choose to explore historical contexts of local relevance or interest, provided there are adequate sources through which to engage with, or use a focusing question which relates to a historical context that they have been studying.
Primary sources may be drawn from a variety of media such as written, oral, and visual texts. Sourcing of rich oral histories are encouraged through whakataukī, kākahu, talanoa, and kōrerorero. Ākonga could also explore the role of pūrākau and pakiwaitara in constructing histories. The expansion and range of sources now available and legitimately considered within History’s scope means ākonga can also look at furniture, buildings, textiles, wāhi tapu, personal adornment, and more. Some teacher guidance is needed around the source selection process.
Standard Exclusions
This Standard has exclusion(s). Standards that recognise the same or similar learning outcomes as other Achievement or Unit Standards need to be excluded to prevent ‘double dipping’. Where two or more Standards assess the same learning outcome, those Standards are specified in the Exclusions List. You can only use credits gained from one of these Standards towards your NCEA qualification.
Click here for the exclusions list for the new NCEA Level 1 pilot Standards.
Standard Exclusions
This Standard has exclusion(s). Standards that recognise the same or similar learning outcomes as other Achievement or Unit Standards need to be excluded to prevent ‘double dipping’. Where two or more Standards assess the same learning outcome, those Standards are specified in the Exclusions List. You can only use credits gained from one of these Standards towards your NCEA qualification.
Click here for the exclusions list for the new NCEA Level 1 pilot Standards.