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Important

Draft curriculum content

This page is based on the draft Year 8 content for Social Sciences, which is currently open for feedback. Schools are not required to implement changes until the consultation process is confirmed.

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Consultation for Year 0 to 10 draft curriculum content
 

The Social Sciences help students understand how people live together, make decisions, and shape communities so they can participate thoughtfully in society. In Years 7 and 8, students build upon their prior learning and engage with more complex ideas and concepts, including governance, rights, and global connection.

Teaching is structured around 4 strands that focus on key areas of learning. In Year 8, these include:

  • History: the Liberal Era (1891–1912), European imperial expansion (circa 1750–1914)
  • Civics and Society: government structures and systems
  • Geography: population growth and hazard management
  • Economic Activity: personal finance and New Zealand’s economy.

History#

Ideas to help at home

With your child, you could:

  • talk about how different groups have been excluded from voting at various times and places, for example, women, Indigenous groups, disabled people, prisoners
  • focus on how, in the past, voting was linked to property, referring to the previous year’s learning about how most Māori were excluded from voting because they owned land collectively
  • discuss how some countries became empires that took over other countries, often significantly impacting the Indigenous people
  • talk about how people can contribute to change to improve lives and reduce discrimination, including examples from your family or countries your family is connected to
  • use words like enfranchisement, liberal, conservative, reform, discrimination, colonisation, imperial, and diplomacy.

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will focus on the Liberal Era in New Zealand (1891–1912) and European imperial expansion (c.1750–1914). For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:

  • recognise the significance of New Zealand being the first self-governing nation to give women the right to vote
  • tell the story of New Zealand’s women’s suffrage movement, including the role of key people and groups
  • explore women’s increasing participation in temperance, education, religious reform movements and paid employment
  • describe the increased centralisation of authority and evolution of party politics
  • recognise the significance of the reforms made during the Liberal Era, for example, labour laws, old age pensions, and the uneven impact of reform on Māori and other minority groups
  • explain the implications of becoming a dominion
  • construct a timeline outlining the history of European imperial expansion and use a variety of sources to explore its causes
  • conduct a case study exploring the motivations for Britain to expand into a country where they did not choose to settle, for example, India (circa 1750–1914).

Civics and Society#

Ideas to help at home

With your child, you could:

  • discuss examples of countries with different types of government, such as parliamentary democracy, federal democracy, monarchy, and dictatorship
  • visit parliament or watch Parliament TV, and discuss how parliament works
  • use words like constitution, democracy, legislature, executive, and judiciary.

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will focus on government structures and systems. For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:

  • recognise that different countries have different types of government, for example:
    • New Zealand’s parliamentary democracy
    • Tonga’s monarchy
    • North Korea’s dictatorship
    • Australia’s federal democracy
  • understand that a constitution sets out the rules for how a country is governed
  • compare New Zealand’s flexible constitution with a country where the constitution is clearly defined and codified, such as the United States
  • describe the structure of New Zealand’s government in 3 branches, Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary
  • collect a variety of information, like media articles and research papers, to show how the separation of power in the 3 branches of government stops any one person or group from becoming too powerful.

Geography#

Ideas to help at home

With your child, you could:

  • reflect on how changes in population could affect the planet, including resources, jobs, climate, and wellbeing, and ask, “How could population growth or decline change the way we live in the future?”
  • talk about the direct and indirect effects of an earthquake or flood on your community and what could be done to reduce them.

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will focus on population growth and hazard management. For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:

  • understand that the global population is determined by natural increase, birth rate minus death rate
  • evaluate the Demographic Transition Model, which describes the historical shift from high to low birth and death rates, and identify what factors influence changes in these rates
  • complete a case study comparing two countries, one with a youthful population and one with an ageing population
  • explain the impact of migration on New Zealand and on the countries migrants have come from
  • describe different kinds of hazards, like tropical storms or earthquakes, and identify:
    • direct impacts, immediate losses, like deaths and injuries
    • indirect impacts, longer-term impacts, like economic disruption and health issues
  • understand the importance of preparing for natural hazards and the factors that affect hazard management, for example, development level
  • conduct a case study of hazard management, considering location, cause, direct and indirect impacts, and how well the hazards were managed.

Economic Activity#

Ideas to help at home

With your child, you could:

  • talk about taking on debt, why people take on debt, and what influences their decisions about debt
  • describe different kinds of tax, such as PAYE and GST, what percentage of your income is taxed, and what tax is used for
  • check for consumer rights information in the shops you visit, and talk about the rights of both consumers and retailers in these situations.

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will focus on personal finance and New Zealand’s economy. For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:

  • understand that when you borrow money, you usually pay interest
  • explain the advantages and disadvantages of different payment methods, for example, cash, credit cards
  • understand that credit means borrowing money that must be paid back, and talk about what might make someone more or less willing to borrow, such as interest rates or repayment terms
  • explain the impact of inflation on the value of money and calculate examples of price increases over time
  • discuss consumer rights and responsibilities and their application in everyday situations, for example, the purchase of a faulty product
  • understand that tax is money the government collects from people and organisations to fund public services, like hospitals and roads
  • understand that the unemployment rate is the percentage of people who want a job but don’t have one, and look at how this rate changes over time.