New Zealand Society: the Fifties

 

Learning Intentions students are learning to...

• Understand continuity and change within New Zealand sport since the 1950s
• Consider how sport has been, and still is important to New Zealanders.

Success Criteria how do students know they have achieved the learning intentions?

• Students will be able to complete a research project on a sport of their choice using the film footage as a starting point

Relevant Footage

Disk Two
Sporting Nation

Lesson Outline

• Get students to brainstorm important sports and sporting achievements that they already know about? You may like to group the sports under different themes or headings (for example, individual, team, motorsport, great outdoors).
• Watch the footage on the different sporting achievements. There are brief notes on things for students to think about below:

  World record: Shearing; the importance of farming for our economy and as a part of our culture. Has this changed for most New Zealanders? Would its importance be different if you lived in a different area, rural or urban?

  Bob Charles: You might like to ask if students recognise this sportsperson.

  War: light hearted replacement of war with sport, possible relief at living in peaceful times.

  South Africa vs Canterbury: Briefly introduce the idea of the 1981 tour and compare. Importance of the national game. How long has rugby had such significance in NZ? Note the use of early colour film to show the national game. Will the importance of rugby diminish in the future?

  Len Southward: Water speed record attempt at Evans Bay, Redhead 1450hp. First to beat 100mph on water in Australasia. What other notable achievements have been made on water – Hamilton Jet, Americas Cup.

  Hutt Choppers: Is wood chopping still a sport well known to students? How might it have its origins in New Zealand’s past? Is it a typical of the rugged man stereotype.

• Individually or in small groups students choose one area of sport and research using the following focus areas:

  1. history, changes over time and significant events
  2. personalities involved, individuals and/or teams
  3. How and why it has been important to New Zealand. (eg. we have done well at it internationally, because it suits how New Zealanders like to think about ourselves, because it has links in our past)

• Students produce a wall chart which includes illustrations, a timeline, a personality profile, a description of the sport (rules or technical information) and a summary of how they think this sport has been and still is important to New Zealand.