Lesson 2
Grades 6-8, Middle School
How does culture play roles in human-environment interactions and social organization?
Grades 6-8, Middle School
How does culture play roles in human-environment interactions and social organization?
The learning plan uses the inquiry cycle of the Hawaiʻi Core Standards in Social Studies (HCSSS) Introduction, as framed in the four dimensions of the Inquiry Arc of the College, Career, & Civic Life C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards. As the curriculum unfolds, the level of inquiry will increase from what middle schoolers are expected to know and be able to do by grade 8 (Lessons 1 and 2), following the inquiry cycle as framed by HCSSS and the national C3 Framework.
- Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries
- Gathering and Evaluating Sources
- Creating Claims
- Communicating Conclusions
- Taking Informed Action
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:
Staging Lesson 2 begins with posing the compelling question:
How does culture play roles in human-environment interactions and social organization?
From the Digital Gallery “Browse Movies” section, show clips from a 16mm film the Hui Panalaʻau Compilation reel of original footage from Baker, Jarvis, Howland, and other Equatorial Islands (1935). The teacher selects different points from the compilation (over 25 minutes long) to show to students for 5 to 10 minutes, asking them to pay attention to the roles and actions of individual colonists and groups of colonists and military personnel during their time on these Equatorial Islands in the Pacific. A whole class discussion takes place with students identifying specific actions by the colonists and military personnel, the kinds of tasks taken on by each group, how they were different and/or similar, and what the goals were for the young men from Hawaiʻi (many of whom were Native Hawaiian) to inhabit these remote Islands in the Pacific for several months at a time and sometimes for as long as a year.
Students will explore the resources on the Digital Gallery website to learn different perspectives of the colonists themselves (correspondence letters, interviews, daily logbook entries, personal diaries, etc.), from military personnel involved with the once secret mission, and others from the U.S. government who interacted with the colonists. While the events that took place often romanticized these “cruises” to three remote islands in the equatorial Pacific, the firsthand experiences of the colonists told other stories of how they survived for months at a time to carry out their daily tasks and duties as American citizens to help the U.S. to colonize and claim these islands under harsh environmental conditions and social isolation.
After reading interviews, personal diaries, daily logbook entries, and other correspondence made by the colonists, students will engage in a whole class discussion on why these particular young men were recruited over the seven years of the colonization project. They will begin to connect cultural and community upbringing in Hawaiʻi with key Hawaiian values, mindsets, and skills that may have allowed them to not only survive on these remote islands, but also thrive during their stay, and beyond their time of service as colonists. Through a role-playing activity, further group research, and writing thank you letters to these colonists for their service to their country, students will begin to develop a deeper understanding of how humans can shape their environments and also be shaped by them, and in this case upholding key Hawaiian values of kuleana (responsibility) and aloha. To conclude this lesson students will share what they have learned about the sacrifices made by the Hui Panalāʻau through digital storytelling on social media.
| Time Frame: Four 45-minute class periods | |||
| Formative Performance Tasks: | |||
Questions 1 and 2:
As a whole class, read the following information as “established criteria” for selecting colonists from Kamehameha Schools for the initial recruitment of “friendly and unattached” young Hawaiian men:
…that they must be grown up, that they be able to fish in the native manner, to swim excellently, and to handle a boat; that they be boys who were disciplined, boys who were friendly and unattached, and who had proven themselves of the type of disposition that could stand the rigors that might have to be undergone, who it was believed would be able to “take it,” no matter what might come. (Hui Panalāʻau: Hawaiian Colonists, American Citizens, Introduction Module)
Review definition of a “stereotype” and what this statement implied for the selection of young men from Hawaiʻi as colonists in 1935 and for the remainder of the mission. Discuss how these criteria might be associated with assumptions made by the U.S. government, Kamehameha Schools, and the Bishop Museum regarding certain values, dispositions, and skills assumed to be associated with Native peoples of Hawaiʻi. How was this helpful for the selection of the “right” persons for colonization of these remote islands, and how might this kind of thinking be harmful?
Visit the Hui Panalāʻau Digital Gallery website and in pairs or groups of three, review the following documents from the Hui Panalāʻau Digital Gallery, to better understand how the colonists were able to get along, work individually and together to accomplish tasks set forth by the government, and thrive under harsh conditions in the remote Pacific, with no contact with their family members and the U.S. government for months at a time.
Review different readings from the Digital Gallery to gain different perspectives from the colonists, military personnel, and others who interacted with and sometimes visited with the colonists over the 7 year period of formal occupation of Baker, Howard, and Jarvis Islands. From the following documents, write down key statements, quotes, etc. that are examples of personal character and values, and actions supporting their survival and doing well on these remote islands:
Correspondence/Letters: Correspondence, handwritten, typed or radiographed communications to and from Department of Interior, Kamehameha Schools and the young men of Hui Panalāʻau
Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Star Bulletin, Ka Mōʻī (Kamehameha Schools Kapālama campus student newspaper) articles
Paradise of the Pacific illustrated monthly magazine and one article by E. H. Bryan “American Colonists in the Central Pacific”, gives a good description of the islands, their locations, and why the U.S. government wanted to have these colonists inhabit them for months at time and up to a year at a time.
Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum 2002 exhibit material Module 1 Introduction.
Center for Oral History: First person primary source accounts from eight Hawaiian men recruited by the U.S. government starting in 1935 to colonize Baker, Howard, and Jarvis Islands in the remote Pacific
Daily Log for Jarvis Island, January 18, 1937 – March 23, 1937, written by Charles Ahia, leader, who took daily accounts while on Jarvis Island with three other colonists
Finding Aid for Hui Panalāʻau Research containing a collection of planning material, maps, books, journals, reports, and photographs
Desert Island Cookbook containing personal reflections, observations, and cooking roles and routines by colonists
Hui Panalāʻau Pamphlet for Bishop Museum Exhibit
Using the quotes gathered from different individuals (different perspectives), engage in role-playing by sharing some of these quotes with the whole class. Think about how the colonists felt about their current situation of being on these remote islands, what they felt was their duty as Americans, and how the military personnel, physicians, and school administrators might have viewed them. Revisit supporting questions 1 and 2 to engage in a whole class discussion
Supporting Question 3:
Review class discussion notes from the role-playing activity and any information gathered from the search using the Hui Panalāʻau Digital Gallery to create a “mahalo letter” to a specific member of Hui Panalāʻau or the group of colonists as a whole. This thank you note should refer to the following information: (a) firsthand experiences as a colonist on one or more of the remote Pacific Islands; (b) personal successes while on the island and why they felt they were doing their duty as American citizens; and (c) challenges they faced as a colonist and how they overcame them.
Write a short mahalo letter to honor their sacrifices and contributions to the safety and well-being of those in Hawaiʻi and the greater United States. Write this letter from personal connections and understandings of these experiences of these young men from Hawaiʻi.
Create audio or video recordings of these mahalo letters being read aloud and share them with the entire school and greater community in a public exhibition. Contact the Hui Panalāʻau board members to share these letters of gratitude with family members of these now deceased colonists.
As a whole class discuss characteristics of Nā Hopena Aʻo Statements associated with having a Strengthened Sense of Belonging, Responsibility, Excellence, and Aloha. Refer to the Nā Hopena Aʻo HĀ Statements and their descriptions of what these statements mean and can look like. Talk about similarities of these characteristics with the colonists from Hawaiʻi who were part of Hui Panalāʻau, how their values, mindsets, and actions helped them to not only survive, but also thrive in these extreme environments, and how this shaped who they were to become when they returned home.
In small groups focus on one Nā Hopena Aʻo HĀ statement as the theme for a social media post. Conduct further online research on the Hui Panalāʻau Digital Gallery and other websites with the focus of one HĀ statement theme as an example of the men of Hui Panalāʻau. Consider conducting interviews with family members of Hui Panalāʻau. Gather information on how these young men exhibited this kind of character that also shows its importance for living pono (righteously) in Hawaiʻi and elsewhere in the world today.
In small groups, with the support of an English Language Arts teacher and school media person, create an engaging social media post containing short captions with photos that share the stories of Hui Panalāʻau and why this matters today.
Ke Kilo Activity Worksheet
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Video referenced in Worksheet
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