Goals:

1. The students will learn about an ancient Kauai legend - the menehune.

2. The students will use their critical thinking skills to create their own legend about their

community.

Resources/Materials:

1. Paper

2. Pen / pencil

3. Art supplies

4. Internet access

5. Background story about the menehune

- Lihue & Kalapaki (http://planet-hawaii.com/kauai/lihue/menehune_f.html)

- Editors of Sunset Books and Sunset Magazine. (1993). Hawaii: A Guide to all the Islands. Menlo Park, California: Sunset Publishing Company.

(ISBN 0-376-06310-6)

Time:

The students will be given one and a half hours to complete this center.

Procedure:

1. The students will read about Kauai's legendary people - the menehune. This can be

done through the Internet or with a print out from the book Hawaii: A Guide to all the Islands.

"According to the legend, the pond (Alakoko Fishpond) was built for princess and her brother by menehune under their usual conditions - that no mortals watch them and that they complete the wall in a single night. But the royal pair could not restrain their curiosity. By then the moon, they watched the little people, lined up in a double row as far as they could see, passing rocks from hand to hand to workers at the dam. But they watched a little too long and were discovered by the menehune, who turned them into the twin pillars of stone you see on the mountainside above. Having used up their time, the menehune had to leave two gaps in the wall. (Chinese mullet raisers later filled these in, and the resulting pond is still in use)." ~ Hawaii: A Guide to all the Islands p. 75

2. Since there is no actual picture of the menehune, each student will use his/her

imagination to draw his/her own picture of one.

3. When the students finish, they will be able to share their illustration with the rest of

the group and explain why it is drawn the way it is. These illustrations will be

collected and assembled into a picture book.

4. Next, the students will individually create their own legend about the formation of

some significant land form in their own community (i.e. The Fox River for the Green

Bay/DePere area). The students will also illustrate this legend.

5. The teacher will collect the community legends the students created and put them

together to form a book. This book will be taken on the Washington Island field trip

and read by the campfire.

Assessment:

1. The students will turn in their community legends, and they will be assessed according

to the writing rubric. (Criteria for Success = The students will make no more than five

grammatical errors.)

2. The teacher will collect the menehune illustrations and assess them on originality.

(Criteria for Success = Each menehune should be given a name, and the student must

be able to explain why it is drawn and looks the way it does.)

Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

1. Language Arts - literature, communication, reading, and writing

2. Geography - community awareness, culture, and history

3. Art - illustrations

Possible Extensions:

1. The students could research and learn about the actual legends of their community.

2. The students could act out their community legends (maybe even video tape them).

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