Lesson 1
Grades 6-8, Middle School
What is my connection to Hui Panalāʻau?
Grades 6-8, Middle School
For this introductory lesson 1, students will be presented with supporting questions and begin the inquiry process with explorations and group and whole class discussions. Further questions can be developed and personal experiences will be shared among students, to drive a sense of wonder and wanting to learn more about Hui Panalāʻau and begin to build connections and develop empathy for the colonists from Hawaiʻi.
The learning plan uses the inquiry cycle of the Hawaiʻi Core Standards in Social Studies (HCSSS) Introduction, as framed in four dimensions of the Inquiry Arc of the College, Career, & Civic Life C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.
- Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries
- Gathering and Evaluating Sources
- Creating Claims
- Communicating Conclusions
- Taking Informed Action (this will not be addressed in Lesson 1 of the curriculum)
As a refresher or to provide for news literacy skills development, visit the News Literacy Project website for educators. Register for the Checkology Virtual Classroom and create an educator account. From there, students are able to use interactive tools to deepen their understanding of news literacy and identify trustworthy information and misinformation in the news today.
Lesson Overview:
The compelling question, “What is my connection to Hui Panalāʻau?” is posed with the sharing of the lesson #1. Photos to be displayed include: “Goodbye, we’ll see you in three months” and The Pacific Islands map (UH, 2006).
Students are asked to think about this question and what is happening in the photo, taken in 1937 as three colonists are dropped off on Jarvis Island, a remote island in the Pacific. Students participate in a whole class discussion based solely on what they may already know and have heard about Hui Panalāʻau, the compelling question, and the photo with a quote.
This introductory lesson leads students through a guided inquiry process using supporting questions 1, 2, 3, and 4.
1. Who are the men of Hui Panalāʻau and how did this name come about?
2. What was this secret mission, what were the intentions of the U.S. government? What were these men told, if anything at all?
3. When did this take place? What significant events were taking place in the U.S., in Hawaiʻi and remote Pacific, and globally at the time?
4. Where are these remote Pacific Islands located and what was the importance of their location during this time period for the U.S.?
In order to answer these questions students will conduct research using the online Hui Panalāʻau Digital Gallery and other online resources provided by the teacher.
In order to build connections with Hui Panalaʻāu, students must first use their inquiry skills to build their understandings of who, what, where, when, and why this colonization event took place in Hawaiʻi’s history.
The formative performance tasks for this lesson will support students with understanding where these remote islands in the Pacific are located and the reasons and intentions of the U.S. government for selecting specific individuals from Hawaiʻi to live on the Islands of Jarvis, Baker, and Howard for months at a time and sometimes for up to a year.
This lesson builds the context and development of empathy and connections to the Hui Panalāʻau, helping students to begin to understand what their sacrifices entailed and how they have shaped how we live in Hawaiʻi today.
Time Frame: Three to four, 45-minute class periods
Formative Performance Tasks
- Visit the Hui Panalāʻau Digital Gallery website and explore the photos sections only. In groups students will look at photos of the experiences of the colonists and write down any observations and feelings that come about when viewing these photos. Discuss as a whole class what they may already know about Hui Panalāʻau, based on the compelling question and introductory photographs, and independent exploration of photos on the Gallery website.
- Visit the Hui Panalāʻau Digital Gallery website and explore the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum 2002 exhibit material Module 1 Introduction. Answer supporting questions 1 and 2 in groups and discuss as a whole class.
- Explore further on the Hui Panalāʻau Digital Gallery website, reading through the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum 2002 exhibit material assigned Modules 2 through 4 (Jarvis Module 2; Baker, Module 3; and Howland, Module 4) in groups. Take notes, addressing supporting questions 1 through 4. Based on assigned groups to each of the three islands, groups share three to five interesting stories about life on one of the three islands: Baker, Howland, and Jarvis.
- Using the Digital Gallery and the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum 2002 exhibit material Module 5, and other websites, create a map of the three remote Pacific Islands (Baker, Howland, and Jarvis) that shows their relationship to the Hawaiian archipelago, Samoa (Samoan Islands), Australia, New Zealand (Aotearoa), North America (U.S., Mexico, Canada), and Japan. Include distances between the three islands and with Hawaiʻi, and latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates on the map.
Summative Performance Task
Using class discussions and reports and the map created in groups, answer the following compelling question: What is my connection to Hui Panalāʻau? Using the evidence gathered through researching The Hui Panalāʻau Digital Gallery and other websites, create a graphic organizer to show the group’s connection to Hui Panalāʻau through the use of words and drawings. This could be through cultural, historical (genealogical), and environmental connections. Students present their graphic organizers to their peers.
Conclude with a whole class discussion to answer supporting question 4, based on what was uncovered for this lesson and return to the compelling question for the lesson: What is my connection to Hui Panalāʻau?
