Level 1 History

History is more than the study of the past; it is a living creative act. History explores past events in order to inform us about who we are and what is happening today. History gives us our cultural roots. It helps us understand ourselves, our neighbours, our nation, other cultures, and the world, enabling us to become truly global citizens. We learn a lot from history, and this knowledge helps us to avoid the mistakes of the past and make better decisions for the future, just as we learn from our own experiences.

Possible topics to be covered at Level 1 History:

• The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Black Civil Rights
• Māori Activism 
• NZ Protests such as Bastion Point, Springbok Tour, anti-War, and anti-nuclear testing
• Revolutions

Besides learning about important events, people and places, students will be given the opportunity to develop a broad range of skills including: gathering and selecting information from a variety of sources, recognising specific points of view, bias and propaganda, comprehending and using historical relationships, presenting an argument and supporting it with well-chosen evidence and reasoned conclusions. History is not just about “them;” it is also about “us.”

Our Big Ideas in History that we want all ākonga to engage with are the following:

• historical narratives are constructed
• historical narratives are contested
• identity is interwoven with history and is shaped by whakapapa, whanaungatanga, and tūrangawaewae
• place is central to the histories of peoples
• power relationships often drive history