Indigenous Storytelling: An Opinion Writing Lesson
Lesson Plan
1 hour 40 minutesGrades9, 10English Language Arts
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Written by Kara Hisatake
About this lesson
Students discuss Kame‘eleihiwa’s view of past and present, reflecting on food choices and climate change.
Inquire: Students calculate the carbon footprint of their food and diet to reflect on how personal food choices affect climate change.
Investigate: Students read ‘ulu mo’olelo alongside articles and podcasts, and analyze how perspective affects storytelling.
Inspire: Students write an opinion article about ‘ulu as a climate change resilient food.
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Suggestions
- This lesson aligns with Hawai’i’s Nā Hopena A'o HĀ-BREATH Framework.
- Students are empowered to explore their diet and relationship with food.
- Students experience the Native Hawaiian worldview and relationship with ‘ulu.
Prerequisites
- Teacher can seek out ‘ulu on campus or at a nearby location before the lesson.
- Teacher should preview articles and videos, and the answer key in the Teacher Document before the lesson.
- Students can have varying familiarity with ‘ulu, from novice to expert.
Differentiation
- Students may engage in several rounds of peer review or use a class-established peer review process. Additionally, teachers may choose to engage in their own self and peer review writing process or extend this lesson into a writing workshop.
- This lesson can be modified into an argumentative writing lesson addressing the question: Is ‘ulu the climate change resilient food of the future? Students will then assess the advantages and disadvantages of growing and eating ‘ulu.
- Students can discuss Eater's podcast on 'ulu.
- This lesson can be paired with a lesson on cooking and recipe-creation with ‘ulu or a lesson about ‘ulu within agroforestry or a larger ecosystem.
- Sam Choy has an ‘ulu cookbook and did an interview with HPR. Note: the chef mentions that ‘ulu is better than potatoes because ‘ulu is gluten-free but potatoes are also gluten-free.
- A science lesson that can be paired with this lesson is Food and Climate Change.
- This lesson can be paired with this Healthful Eating Lesson Plan to help students understand how to evaluate the nutrients within ‘ulu.
- This lesson can be paired with math through the Carbon Footprint Lesson Plan.
- This lesson can be extended to a larger view of American agriculture using Vox's The Unspoken Impact of Meat.
- Alternatively, the lesson can be extended to take a look at how Hawai‘i’s landscape has changed, especially through the case study of Lāhaina. Students can read this article on Lāhania's trees and Foodprint's Importance of Traditional Food Systems.
From the scientist review
This food-related lesson about minimizing our environmental impact is fascinating. Students will gain knowledge about how to protect their cultural identity by making ethical food choices that have a significant positive environmental impact.
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About the teacher writer
Kara Hisatake
Teacher
Kara Hisatake holds a PhD in Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She has more than six years of experience teaching high school English Language Arts for grades 9–12. Her expertise is in literature and English language arts education.
