WHENUA & POWER · MISSION 03

POWER NETWORK

YEAR 8 · TERM 2 · WEEK 3

Who Holds Power?

What stops one part of government becoming too powerful?

POWER ROOM: A law is proposed, debated, administered and challenged. Different institutions have different jobs, but New Zealand also has deliberate overlap between Parliament and the Executive. Route each power to the correct branch, then test what “separation of powers” actually means in a Westminster system.

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MISSION DECKWHENUA & POWER / WEEK 03SELECT A MODULE

01BRIEFMission

02LEARNIntel

03INVESTIGATEEvidence

04ENGLISHEvidence case

05DECIDEMake the call

06DATANumbers

07PROJECTBuild

08CHECK-INReflect

★GAMEReward

ACTIVE OBJECTIVEPOWER ROOM: A law is proposed, debated, administered and challenged. Different institutions have different jobs, but New Zealand also has deliberate overlap between Parliament and the Executive. Route each power to the correct branch, then test what “separation of powers” actually means in a Westminster system.

WORLDWHENUA & POWER

SEQUENCE01 / 08

REWARDGAME BREAK

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YOU NEED

Required: a device with this page open.
Optional: headphones for video or read-aloud.
Optional: pen + paper for rough working if that helps you think.

HOW TO DO IT

Read or listen to the Briefing + Learn.
Do the interactive mission.
Use facts from the reading and maths parts.
Make your choice and save your project step.
Play the weekly game. Finish Check-in.

WORK YOUR WAY

Short bursts are fine. Use Learning Tools for easier reading, read-aloud, less on screen, stronger contrast, no-rush and quieter-screen options.

If you get stuck, look at the example and try again.

MISSION BRIEFING

POWER ROOM: A law is proposed, debated, administered and challenged. Different institutions have different jobs, but New Zealand also has deliberate overlap between Parliament and the Executive. Route each power to the correct branch, then test what “separation of powers” actually means in a Westminster system.

✓Distinguish the legislative, executive and judicial branches by their core functions.

✓Explain that New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.

✓Explain that Ministers are drawn from Parliament, so the legislature and executive are distinct but not completely separate.

✓Use a proportional representation example to connect percentages with seats without treating a fictional result as a real election.

MISSION MEDIA · New Zealand Parliament

How Parliament Works

Track the roles and connections among Parliament, Government and the wider constitutional system.

YOUTUBE ↗

Captions are controlled inside the YouTube player. If the embed is unavailable, use the YouTube link.

LEARN

LEGISLATURE → EXECUTIVE → JUDICIARY → CHECKS

New Zealand distributes public power across three branches. Parliament is the legislative branch and makes laws, represents the public and holds the Government to account. The Executive, or Government, develops policy and administers the law and public services. The Judiciary interprets and applies the law through the courts. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. Its Westminster system has some overlap: Ministers in the Executive must be members of Parliament, and the Government can remain in office only while it has the confidence of the House. Separation of powers therefore means divided functions and checks, not three institutions that never touch.

LEARNING BUILD

Learn it. See it. Try it.

Look at the example. Check another point of view. Then try the task.

Step 1: Choose a starting clue

WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW

Reasoning lens:SOURCE → PROVENANCE → MECHANISM / POWER → COUNTER-EVIDENCE → LIMIT → JUDGEMENT

What do you already know?

English / communication:Compare explanatory texts and construct a reasoned civics explanation.

Maths / data:Set/diagram reasoning and proportional representation examples.

Topic knowledge:Constitutional arrangements, parliamentary democracy, constitutional monarchy, legislature, executive, judiciary and comparative government structures.

This week’s first target:Distinguish the legislative, executive and judicial branches by their core functions.

Which clue is a good place to start?

Choose a source that can directly support part of the investigation. More than one source may be useful, but start with evidence that does not outrun its support.

Need more help? See the teaching

TEACH 1 · CORE MODEL

TEACH 2 · WHAT TO NOTICE

Distinguish the legislative, executive and judicial branches by their core functions.Explain that New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.

TEACH 3 · CONNECT + TRANSFER

Explain that Ministers are drawn from Parliament, so the legislature and executive are distinct but not completely separate. Use a proportional representation example to connect percentages with seats without treating a fictional result as a real election.

WORKED EXAMPLE · EVIDENCE

LEGISLATURE · Parliament

Parliament makes laws, represents the people, approves taxation and spending, and holds the Government to account. New Zealand Parliament consists of the Sovereign and the House of Representatives.

Reasoning: Start with exactly what the source establishes. Connect it to the relevant concept, then stop before the claim becomes broader than the evidence. Now compare it with Constitutional structure: New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with no single written constitutional document. Constitutional rules are found across legislation, legal decisions, conventions and other sources.

Why caution still matters:This item is useful context, but context is not the same as direct proof. Combine it with stronger evidence before making a broad conclusion.

WORKED EXAMPLE · MATHS / DATA ROUTE

In a simplified fictional proportional-representation example with exactly 120 seats, a party receives 30% of the vote. Ignoring thresholds, electorate seats and rounding complications, how many seats would 30% represent?

This week’s maths/data focus:Set/diagram reasoning and proportional representation examples.

Identify the dates, quantities, denominator or map scale first. Calculate carefully, then return the number to its historical or geographic context. A correct number does not explain the whole story by itself.

WE DO · GUIDED PRACTICE

Which source needs the most caution before it is used to support a broad conclusion?

Choose a source that mainly supplies context rather than direct proof of the whole conclusion.

YOU TRY · INDEPENDENT PRACTICE

For Who Holds Power?, explain one core idea, connect it to one named source or observation and one quantitative/data point from this page, then state an alternative explanation, trade-off or limitation that a strong judgement must consider.

Write at least 30 words. Name the evidence or data you are using and keep the claim inside what it can support.

MISCONCEPTION CHECK

Constitutional structure:New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with no single written constitutional document. Constitutional rules are found across legislation, legal decisions, conventions and other sources.

This item is useful context, but context is not the same as direct proof. Combine it with stronger evidence before making a broad conclusion.

HELP

Try: “Source/provenance ___ supports ___. A competing interpretation is ___. The strongest limitation is ___. Therefore my judgement is ___.”

STRETCH · OPTIONAL

Build the strongest reasonable counter-argument or alternative explanation. Name one additional piece of evidence that could distinguish between the two positions.

POWER ROOM

Route the power to the right branch.

The labels are simplified, but the functions are real. New Zealand has distinct branches with some overlap between Parliament and the Executive.

FUNCTION 1

Debate and pass a bill into law through Parliament

FUNCTION 2

Administer policy and run public services

FUNCTION 3

Interpret and apply a law in a court case

FUNCTION 4

Question Ministers and scrutinise Government spending

FUNCTION 5

Develop Government policy and oversee departments

WESTMINSTER OVERLAP

Which statement describes an important New Zealand overlap?

STRUCTURE COMPARISON · NOT A RANKING

NEW ZEALAND

Parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Executive Ministers are drawn from Parliament. One elected chamber. The Head of State is the Sovereign, represented by the Governor-General. Constitutional rules come from multiple sources rather than one single written constitution.

FICTIONAL MODEL B

Federal presidential democracy

The executive leader is elected separately from the legislature. Two legislative chambers share national law-making. A written constitution divides national and regional powers and sets institutional rules.

What is one structural difference?

Route all five functions, solve the overlap check and complete the structure comparison.

OPEN THE SOURCE NOTES

SOURCE 1

LEGISLATURE · Parliament

Parliament makes laws, represents the people, approves taxation and spending, and holds the Government to account. New Zealand Parliament consists of the Sovereign and the House of Representatives.

SOURCE 2

EXECUTIVE · Government

The Executive develops policy and administers the law and state services. Ministers are members of Parliament and the Government must retain the confidence of the House.

SOURCE 3

JUDICIARY · courts

The Judiciary interprets and applies the law through the courts. Judicial functions are distinct from the political work of Parliament and the Executive.

SOURCE 4

Constitutional structure

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with no single written constitutional document. Constitutional rules are found across legislation, legal decisions, conventions and other sources.

SOURCE 5

MMP context

In New Zealand general elections, MMP is designed so party representation in the House broadly reflects each party’s share of the party vote, subject to electoral rules. The classroom seat calculation used here is deliberately simplified.

INVESTIGATE + ENGLISH · EVIDENCE CASE

Separated functions, real overlap

It is easy to draw three separate boxes labelled Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, but New Zealand’s system is more interesting than that diagram suggests. Parliament makes laws and scrutinises Government. The Executive develops policy and runs the day-to-day work of government. Courts interpret and apply law. At the same time, Ministers in the Executive are also members of Parliament, and a Government stays in office only while it has the confidence of the House. That is a feature of responsible government in the Westminster tradition. A strong civics explanation therefore identifies both the separate functions and the places where institutions connect.

BUILD THE EVIDENCE CASE · CLAIM → EVIDENCE → REASONING

MAKE THE CALL

Complete the Power Room: route each function to the correct branch, identify one point of overlap in New Zealand’s system, then compare the New Zealand parliamentary model with the fictional federal presidential model using STRUCTURE, not preference or party politics.

BUILD YOUR CASE CONCLUSION1. Make the call. 2. Use at least two relevant pieces of evidence. 3. Explain one limitation or uncertainty. 4. Finish with what can responsibly be concluded.Strong structure: My judgement is… The strongest evidence is… However, we still do not know… Therefore…

CASE CONCLUSION: Write 200–270 words explaining how public power is distributed in New Zealand. Define the legislative, executive and judicial branches, explain one example of overlap between Parliament and Government, and describe one check or accountability relationship. Then compare one structural feature with the fictional federal presidential model in the simulator without claiming that one model is automatically better.

YOUR REASONING

0/200 words minimum for this writing mission.

CLAIMEVIDENCELIMITATIONCONCLUSION

MATHS + DATA LAB

Check the numbers.

HOW TO SUCCEEDRead the situation first. Estimate what a sensible answer should look like, choose an efficient calculation, then use the feedback to check your reasoning.For data questions, explain what the number shows — and what it does not prove.

In a simplified fictional proportional-representation example with exactly 120 seats, a party receives 30% of the vote. Ignoring thresholds, electorate seats and rounding complications, how many seats would 30% represent?

Estimate first, then choose the answer.

MISSION 05 · MATHS + DATA LAB

DATA TRAINING

STATISTICS + PROBABILITY · YEAR 8 EXTENSION

6 PROBLEMS

QUICK METHODSTATISTICS + PROBABILITY

Identify what the statistic or probability represents before calculating.

GUIDED · Q01–Q03Use the quick method, then check the explanation.

Q01

Mean of 4, 6, 8, 10?

Q02

Median of 3, 5, 7, 12, 20?

Q03

A fair coin: probability of heads?

INDEPENDENT · Q04

A bag has 3 red and 7 blue counters. P(red)?

INDEPENDENT · Q05

Range of 6, 9, 11, 15?

INDEPENDENT · Q06

Which sample is most likely to represent the whole school?

OPTIONAL CHALLENGE · OPEN RESPONSE

Two groups report different means. Name two things you would check before deciding the groups are genuinely different.

0 words · optional

PROJECT HQ · PROJECT FILE 03

RESEARCH — gather varied sources.

Start something real. Build an idea, test it, improve it, and share it. Make your move.

Your Power & Place case study begins now. Choose a question about rights, institutions, reform or place that can be tested against varied evidence and competing perspectives.

PROJECT HQ · PROJECT FILE 03

RESEARCH

PROJECT JOURNEYWEEK 3 / 9

Gather varied evidence, not a pile of sources saying the same thing.

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THIS WEEKRESEARCH

Complete only this project step today. Your saved work carries forward, so you do not need to finish the whole project at once.

A STRONG STEPSpecific · useful · achievable

Use evidence from this week's mission, name a real audience or purpose, and make the idea small enough to test and improve.

BEFORE YOU SAVE, CHECK:✓ I answered every field clearly✓ I used evidence or reasoning from this week✓ My next step is realistic

SOURCE ASOURCE BMISSING VOICE / GAP

Write in each box. Your answers save on this device as you type.

IDEA→RESEARCH→PLAN→BUILD→TEST→IMPROVE→PRESENT

Project sharing will be optional. A future upload system must keep private submission separate from public-showcase/marketing permission.

CHECK-IN

What changed in your thinking?

One thing I learned or questioned

YEAR 8 · CIVIC ARCADE · TERM 2 / WEEK 3

POWER PLAY

Beat a computer rival in fast air-hockey rounds, with quick Who holds this power? moments between rounds.

FAST AIR HOCKEYBEST GOALS SAVED

PLAY POWER PLAY

Drag to play · Computer rival · Best of three · Quick civics moments