It's All About We
People throughout the ages have developed relationships with plants, animals, and natural cycles in order to understand their place in the world around them. During this Inter-Disciplinary Unit (IDU), students of team Hui Po'okela at Samuel Enoka Intermediate School merge Hawaiian culture, art, science and language arts to establish their personal sense of place. In taking this educational journey, students attempt to answer the following questions:1. How are we unique?
2. How are we connected to one another and to nature?
3. Why do we belong where we are?
Funded by a grant through the Maui Arts & Cultural Center
What do you get when you knead artists and teachers with collaboration? That is exactly what the Maui Arts & Cultural Center intends to discover as they fund this educational project for the 2009-10 school year. Artist Makamae Murray and seventh grade science teacher Maggie Prevenas plan an Inter-Disciplinary Unit (IDU) which takes elements of storytelling, Hawaiian culture and visual art and embeds them into Hawaii State Science Standards. Seventh grade Language Arts teacher Benny Uyetake guides students as they reflect and communicate their understandings of place through narratives and poetry.Each student is assigned a Hawaiian Canoe Plant, a plant selected by the Ancients to ride in the belly of the canoe in the journey to Hawaii, as a metaphor in their own personal journey to understanding their place in the world. Murray and Prevenas co-teach the students in lessons meant to help them visualize their uniqueness, connection, and belonging. Through chanting, ceremony, and storytelling, students work together to discover their true sense of place.
Sense of place refers to the understanding of self, relationship to others, and to the world around them. No where is this knowledge needed more than in our children as they prepare to take their personal place as a citizen of this planet. Students take this knowledge personally, and explore their kuleana using tools of writing and art.
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Kumu shared an 'oli with us during the first visit. If you click on Listen to the 'Oli you can.
Here is the 'oli in both Hawaiian and English. Practice. Practice. Practice.
Noho Ana Ke Akua
Noho ana ke akua i ka nahelehele
i ālai ‘ia e ke
kī‘ohu‘ohu
e ka ua koko
E nā kino malu i ka lani, malu e
hoe
E ho‘oulu mai ana ‘o Laka
i kona mau kahu
‘O
mākou, ‘o mākou nō, a
The Gods Dwell in the Forest
The gods dwell in the forest
Hidden by the mists
By the low lying rainbow
O beings sheltered by the heavens, Clear our paths (of all that may trouble us)
Laka will inspire and enrich her
That's us, us indeed
Online Hawaiian Moon Calendar
Kamehameha Schools Publishing has created an online version of the Hawaiian Moon Calendar that you can use! Click on the link and learn more about the Hawaiian Moon Calendar!
http://www.kamehamehapublishing.org/multimedia/apps/mooncalendar/
