The next day we headed to the beautiful island of Kauai. We hiked the Na Pali coast, where we saw many Ohi'a trees and learned the story behind the interesting red flowers found growing on them.
Hawaiian legend says that Ohi'a and Lehua were very much in love, but one day the goddess Pele saw Ohi'a and wanted him for herself. When he turned down her advances, Pele became jealous and transformed him into a twisted, ugly tree in revenge. The gods saw what Pele had done and were angry. They reached down to the distraught Lehua and turned her into a beautiful red flower, which they placed upon the tree. So long as the red Lehua flower remains on the tree, the weather will be sunny and fair; however, if someone plucks a flower from a tree, a heavy rain will fall since Lehua still cannot bear to be separated from her love.
As we moved on to the Big Island of Hawaii a few days later, we took a helicopter tour over Kilauea Volcano. Before the flight, we watched a video showing many people whose homes were destroyed by the volcano. Many of them stood waiting, watching as the lava very slowly -- but unstoppably -- moved towards their uninsured houses leaving utter destruction in its path. While in the air we witnessed this destruction with our own eyes as we saw roads leading nowhere that ended abruptly in lava rock. In some places the lava was still flowing, inch by inch eating away at more of the asphalt.
Our pilot and guide showed us the active bed and breakfast completely surrounded by lava rock and burning forest. He explained that while everything else burned and melted down around it, the bed and breakfast remained untouched. The owners still accept reservations, but the only way to get there is by helicopter!
On our tour we also saw some massive vents, where groundwater being heated by thermal activity causes steam to come pouring out. It made for quite a spectacular view!
Hawaii is a truly beautiful place, rich in culture and history. Since it is such a popular luxury vacation destination, students are often interested in learning about it. A couple months ago I had the opportunity to observe a student teacher in a fourth grade social studies class during a unit on Hawaii. Each group of students planned a trip itinerary for a pretend class trip to the state. Students needed to research the different islands and activities and choose different things to do for each day based on interest and cost. The groups all presented their itineraries to their classmates and several DePaul pre-service teachers, who voted on their favorite itinerary. While this gave the students great insight into what Hawaii is like for visitors now, I think it is important to delve into what life in other places is like for the people who live there. In Hawaii, the answer is found in its stories, its art, and its history.
In looking for great books depicting Hawaiian history and culture, I came across The Tsunami Quilt, by Anthony Fredericks. In this story, a boy discovers the reason why his beloved grandfather went to Laupahoehoe every year to place a flower lei upon a monument. He learns that his grandfather was present in 1946 when a huge tsunami devastated the Hawaiian city of Hilo and took his brother's life. Students can connect to this book by thinking and talking about their own relationships to their grandparents and perhaps even how it feels when someone they love dies.
The book is a great combination of fact and fiction, and the author included a historical note at the end that is very helpful for learners who want to know more about the disaster that played such a big part in Hawaii's history. Sleeping Bear Press has provided an online teaching guide full of activities and worksheets related to the story. Many of them use only lower order thinking skills, but there are a few interesting ones and others easily provide inspiration for great classroom or home learning. I would recommend this book for a read-aloud in grades K-2 or as a great addition to a classroom library up to grade 4.
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