Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 7, 1 July 2002 — Fish ponds teach valuable lessons to our keiki [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Fish ponds teach valuable lessons to our keiki

By Ka'ohua Lucas £ ~W ook, Mrs. Miyamotoi" I exclaimed Ross, biting I the head off a gummy fish and dangling its body between two fingers. "Detritus!" Ross and his classmates from Kāne'ohe Elementary School had just finished a lesson on the food ehain. Ross learned that crabs feed off detritus - a material that has decayed or rotted.

For four months, Mrs. Miyamoto and her fourth grade class fieldtested a curriculum on Hawaiian fish ponds.The curriculum was made possible through a United States Department of Education grant authorized under the Native

Hawaiian Education Act, The threeyear grant - administered by Pacific ,American Foundation (PAF) in eollaboration with Waikalua Preservation Society and the University of Hawai'i Sea Grant Program - focuses on Hawaiian fish ponds while integrating the science and social studies disciplines. "ī've learned so mueh through this experience," writes Susan Miyamoto, "But you don't see the okole(s) that wiggle with excitement when I explain the loko kuapā game, or the hands enthusiastically waving in the air when we have discussions about the fishpond." For almost two years now, Pacific American Foundation has been developing curriculum for students in grade 4-12 centered around Hawaiian fish ponds. Units for grades 4 and 5 are in the final stages of completion while grade 68 and 9-12 modules are being written. Upon completion, the Kāhea Loko team plans to disseminate the curriculum and conduct training workshops for interested teachers on Moloka'i, O'ahu, Maui, Hawai'i and Kaua'i, To date, more than a hundred teachers have indicated a desire to participate in the workshops, whieh will include site visits to loko i'a (fish ponds) on eaeh island.

"The response and thirst for this type of culture-based curriculum has been awesome and a very humbling experience," said Herb Lee, Project Director.Kāne'ohe Elementary was just one of seven schools that participated in the field-test exercises. Fourth and fifth grade teachers met in June of 2001 for a two-day workshop, whieh

introduced them to eaeh lesson in the curriculum, Participants played a matching game to learn about the different kinds of fish ponds, built a fishpond model to simulate the rise and fall of tides and played a game of tag on the lawn designed to introduce students to the food ehain. The curriculum was designed to address the different learning styles of eaeh child while attempting to blend the natural and social sciences with Hawaiian culture, "The (curriculum) is mueh more kinesthetic," says Lahela Igarta, a third grade teacher at Kula Kaiapuni 'o

Waiau. "īt (also) presents lessons with background that would help a novice teacher stay within the respectful expectations of the eulture, "Many programs just offer their lessons either expecting that everyone knows how to be culturally sensitive or (they) don't even address (culture at all)." Teachers who field-tested

the eumeulum were responsible for incorporating five lessons into current classroom curriculum and evaluating their effectiveness. They also visited Waikalua Loko fishpond in Kāne'ohe with their students where four learning stations were set up and facilitated by PAF resource personnel. Students built an ahupua'a out of sand, observed the different organisms living in a fishpond, learned how the mākāhā (sluice grate) functioned and competed in a mangrove-pulling competition. "Although these are immersion keiki, before we

went many really didn t have an idea what a fishpond looked like," says Igarta, "Being able to go there, look at the different parts of a fishpond, especially the surrounding area, made it mueh more understandable to the keiki than just looking at pietures," Pacific ,American Foundation will be hosting a series of statewide curriculum training workshops beginning in January 2003. Those interested in being placed on a participant list may contact Ka'ōhua Lucas at Pacific American Foundation at 533-2836 or by email at kaohua@hawaii.rr.com. ■

Ho'ona'auao

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