SR Year 7 Social Studies Workbook

The SR Year 7 Social Studies Workbook marks a significant step up into Level 4 of the New Zealand Curriculum. At the Intermediate level, students move away from purely descriptive learning toward critical analysis. This workbook challenges students to investigate the underlying causes of historical events, the complexities of human rights, and the shifting nature of cultural and national identities in a globalized world.

Key Learning Objectives

• The Power of Perspectives: Exploring how different groups (i.e., Tangata Whenua, early settlers, and modern migrants) view the same historical events and land use in Aotearoa.

• Government & Law: A deep dive into the New Zealand parliamentary system, how laws are debated and passed, and the role of the judiciary in protecting civil liberties.

• Human Rights & Social Justice: Investigating global movements for equality and the role of international organizations like the UN. Students look at historical and contemporary examples of people standing up for justice.

• Economic Systems & Choice: Understanding how scarcity forces individuals and nations to make trade-offs, and exploring the impact of global trade on New Zealand's economy.

Advanced Social Inquiry Skills

• Source Evaluation: Training students to identify bias, propaganda, and reliability in primary and secondary sources. This includes analyzing historical documents and modern digital media.

• The Treaty of Waitangi (Level 4): A rigorous study of the differences between the English and Māori versions of the Treaty, the history of the Land Wars, and the modern-day Waitangi Tribunal process.

• Geographic Specialization: Using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) concepts, interpreting topographic maps, and understanding the relationship between physical geography and urban development.

• Structuring Arguments: Developing the ability to write persuasive essays and reports that use evidence to support a social or historical claim.