Students use leaflet to learn about, and question ideology in New Zealand especially as it relates to Maori.
Learning intentions Students are learning to…
- Leaflet about Maori representation in the media used as stimulus to think about what ideology is and what our dominant ideology is about Maori in New Zealand.
Success criteria (How do students know they have achieved success?)
I can…
- I can identify what ideology is.
Activities
This lesson builds on previous ideas about messages / values in texts by using a leaflet that looks at representation of Maori in the Media. They need to understand the concept of ideology and this exercise will help clarify it.
Hot Seat a confident member of the class in the role of Prime Minister and get the class to ask them what they would rank as important if they were a prime minister. Freedom of speech, enough food for everybody etc
If you don’t get much out of the first hot seat try another class member. When the person is being hot seated, get the class to write in their books one thing they say they identify with and think is important.
Get response from the class and write some good ones on the board. Explain to them that this is part of our ideology, what we value. Hopefully they will be able to see that there are many common values.
Give out Accuracy Balance and Fairness pamphlet and ask students to read it highlighting the messages they found most interesting. Get them to rank these together as pairs. This is a complex piece and you may need to alert students to pay attention to the parts that you think they will understand best. Some of the comments are:
Many articles stated that Maori have unfair access to funding.
Maori were often described as sicker or poorer with no context.
There was only one positive theme of Maori success.
Pair Share their responses and thoughts from reading this pamphlet. You may need to write some on the board if they did not manage to pull any out. Ask them to discuss what the problems might be with representing Maori in this way.
Put these three questions up on the board and ask them to respond in their books.
- What do you think is the majority of New Zealanders ideology about the role Maori play in New Zealand society?
- What film texts have you seen that present Maori in a positive light?
Whale Rider, The Piano, Sione’s Wedding, No 2
- What is the dominant ideology about women in New Zealand? What television / film texts (apart from the ones we have seen), show women in a positive light?
Handouts
Accuracy Balance and Fairness pamphlet
