Exploring the Importance of the Summit

Unit 5 – Observatories, Transmitters, & Sacred Places

Activity 1 – Exploring the Importance of the Summit

Materials & Setup

• Acetate of Nani Ke Ao i Haleakalā chant (master, p. 9)
• Overhead projector and screen

Instructions

1) Display the chant and read it aloud, or have a student read it. Ask students to focus on the feelings the chant invokes.

2) After the chant has finished, ask students to write down the feelings the chant brought out, or what it made them think about. Then ask several students to share what they wrote.

3) Display the acetate on the overhead and read aloud the English version of the chant. Ask students to write down whether they have different thoughts and feelings now that they know what the chant means. Ask a few students to share their reactions.

4) Ask the class to brainstorm answers to this question: Why is the summit area of Haleakalā important to people? Encourage students to think about people in the past, present, and future. Write student responses on the board or overhead. Try to generate as complete a list as possible, making sure that something related to the research and other work done at the observatories gets on the list, as well as the location of television and radio transmitters.

5) Lead a lecture and discussion of the characteristics of the summit area that make it suitable for observatories. See the teacher background (pp. 6-8) for details.

Journal Ideas

• Think of a situation in which you felt very differently about something than another person did. Were you able to work out your differences? If so, how? If not, why not?
• Write a poem, short story, or Hawaiian mele, or draw pictures that illustrate what Haleakalā means to you.
• Think about all the reasons that the summit of Haleakalā is important to people. Which do you think are the most important?
• If a company or government agency wanted to build a new observatory at the summit, do you think they should be allowed to do so? Why or why not?

Assessment Tools

• Participation in class discussion
• In-class writing
• Journal entries

Media Resources

None.