Claire Draginis

Holiday Lesson Plan: King Kamehameha Day- June 11th

*It might be hard to celebrate King Kamehameha Day on June 11th, depending on the academic
calendar. If this is the case, learn about and celebrate King Kamehameha Day in the last few
weeks of school.
Grade: 4
Student Learner Objectives:
Students will learn about one of the most important figures in Hawaiian history.
Students will read the book Kamehameha: The Warrior King of Hawaii.
Students will identify the islands of Hawaii on a map worksheet.
Students will learn basic steps for a hula dance.
Students will sing along to a traditional Hawaiian childrens song.
Students will create their own paper lei.
Students will create a campaign poster that they would use to convince others that they
should be the king/queen of their own nation.
Materials:
-Kamehameha: The Warrior King of HawaiI, by Susan Morrison and Karen Kiefer.
University of HawaiI Press, Honolulu. ISBN: 0-8248-2700-7
-A recording of Ke Ao Nani by Keale
-Map worksheet of the Hawaiian Islands
-Map of the Hawaiian Islands
-Colored paper, hole punches, plastic bendy straws cut into or 1 inch sections, and yarn
that has been cut into 2 foot sections (for the lei project)
-Large pieces of construction paper, a printout of each students school picture, glue,
scissors, colored pencils, markers, and crayons (for the campaign poster)
Curricular connections:
Reading, geography, art, writing, music, dance.
Procedures:
1. Students will read Kamehameha: The Warrior King of Hawaii by Susan Morrison and
Karen Keifer in class and at home during the week prior to King Kamehameha Day in
preparation for the lesson.

2. In class, discuss the story of King Kamehamehas life. This can be broken up over the
week as students read and finish with a discussion of his complete story on the day of the
lesson. Create a list of traits that made King Kamehameha a great leader.
3. Distribute the campaign poster materials. Have the students create a poster. The students
should write a paragraph to include on the poster. (Writing)
4. Hand out the map worksheet and fill it out as a class. Mark the location of North Kohala
(King Kamehamehas birthplace) and Honolulu (the capital of Hawaii). (Geography)
5. Next, begin discussing what happens on King Kamehameha Day. Two events to focus on
are the hula competition and the draping of lei on the King Kamehameha statue.
6. Create paper lei for the students to wear for the rest of the day. (Art)
7. Get the kids up and moving by teaching them basic hula dancing steps. (Social Studies)
8. Teach the students the words to the song Ke Ao Nani in English and Hawaiian. Students
can dance the hula as they sing along, if they would like. (Music)
Poster Project
After reading and discussing Kamehameha: The Warrior King of Hawaii, hand out one
large piece of construction paper to each student, along with glue, coloring utensils, lined paper,
scissors, and each individual childs school picture. Have the students create a poster using these
materials that explain why he or she would be a good leader. The students should use the lined
paper to write one paragraph that explains more in-depth the reasons they would be good leaders.
The paragraph should be included on the paragraph, along with the students school picture.

Map Worksheets

Paper Lei Craft

Every year, the King Kamehameha statue in Kapaau, North Kohala, is draped with many 25foot long lei. Lei have many uses, but have come to be a symbol of HawaiI itself, and of
welcome.

1. Hand out colored paper, straw pieces, scissors, and yarn pieces. Give each group of
students two hole punches.
2. Students should begin cutting flowers from the colored paper, punching holes in the
center of each flower. Then, alternating flowers and straw pieces, string the pieces onto
the yarn.
3. When the necklace is assembled, tie the ends together tightly and the lei is ready to wear!
Teach tip:

Print flower outlines onto the colored paper so that students have a guide to follow.
Pre-punch the centers of the flowers.

Hula Dance
The two day King Kamehameha Hula Competition is attended by hula groups from across the
world.
Basic steps:

Hela: Point right foot forward and bring back. Point left foot forward, bring back.
Huli: Move body around a point in a circle, swaying the hips.
Kaholo: Slide-step from side to side, front to back, or diagonally.
Ocean Hand Movement: sway hands like the ocean.
Rainbow Hand Movement: join palms on the left side of the body. Bring right hand up,

over the head in an arch, like a rainbow.

Rising Sun Hand Movement: Starting at the knees with hands together, reach toward the

sky and part hands as they move up to show the sun rising.
Tide Roll Hand Movement: Hold hands above one another horizontally. Rotate the hands
around one another to show the rolling waves.

Practice each of the steps that you want to use with the students multiple times. Then, select a
piece of Hawaiian music, such as Ke Ao Nani, for the students to dance to. Model the
movements you want them to perform as you dance.
Ke Ao Nani
Ke Ao Nani, while not associated with King Kamehameha, is a traditional Hawaiian
childrens song. Teaching this song or another like it allows the students to experience the
Hawaiian language and music.
Project the Hawaiian and English lyrics at the front of the room for the students to see.
Read through the Hawaiian words together, and then the English translation. Finish by singing
the song together.
Teaching tip:

Discuss what the words of the song tell us about Hawaiian culture and nature.
Talk about similar songs from other cultures, if the students know of any.

Common Core State Standards

Art and Design
A.4.3 Learn about basic styles of art from their own and other parts of the world
B.4.1 Understand that artists and cultures throughout history have used art to
communicate ideas and to develop functions, structures, and designs
C.4.7 Develop basic skills to produce quality art
English Language Arts
Grade 4 Reading Standard 1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining
what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text
Grade 4 Language Standard 1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
Grade 4 Language Standard 2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English capitalizations, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Social Studies
A.4.2 Locate on a map or globe physical features such as continents, oceans, mountain
ranges, and land forms, natural features such as resources, flora, and fauna; and human
features such as cities, states, and national borders