Science Lesson: Cultural Water Management Practices
Lesson Plan
2 hoursGrades5Science
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Written by Teacher Community
About this lesson
Students explore how cultural water management practices can address the source of pollution they have observed in their ahupua‘a. Students design and lead an effort to clean up a local water source.
Inquire: Students compare and contrast sources of pollution affecting different ahupua‘a.
Investigate: Students learn about cultural water management practices in Hawaiʻi.
Inspire: Students create a call to action and participate in cleaning up a local water source.
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Suggestions
- This lesson aligns with Hawai’i’s Nā Hopena A‘o HĀ-BREATH Framework.
- This lesson can also be used in social studies to help students recognize Hawaiian water management practices.
- This lesson can easily be adapted to areas outside of Hawaiʻi, and the concept of ahupua‘a can be used as a model for understanding sustainability, ecosystems, and resource management in any environment.
- This lesson introduces Indigenous knowledge as valuable and applicable beyond Hawaiʻi and can be used in any region’s social studies or science class exploring water flow and resource management.
- For shorter class periods, the Inquire and Investigate sections of the lesson could be done one day and the water source clean-up in the Inspire section could be done another day.
Prerequisites
- This is lesson 3 of 3 in our 5th grade Science Unit: Water Sources & Pollution in Hawaiʻi.
- Permission may be needed in advance to take students to a local water source if it is not on campus in order to conduct the cleanup.
- Supplies may be needed for the clean up, such as trash bags and gloves.
Differentiation
- For extension, students can use this resource to investigate the impacts of climate change on watersheds in a broader context.
- Students can research water management practices in other parts of the world and create another Venn diagram to compare and contrast them with Hawaiian water management practices.
- Students can use these resources to learn more about permaculture.
From the scientist review
This lesson focuses on how Indigenous peoples of Hawaii have used their knowledge to safeguard their water sources from contamination and how climate change is affecting the water cycle, supplies and quality. Students could use this to create plans for effective water management and also engage in water clean-up activities. We suggest this resource to students.
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Teacher Community
Teacher Community
The Teacher Community is composed of teachers with 40+ years of collective K–12 experience across STEM, humanities, performing arts, and foreign languages. Members have taught in classrooms throughout the United States and around the world. Together, they focus on best practices and creating supportive, engaging learning experiences for all students and educators.
