Pāhana 'Āina Lupalupa Overview

Pāhana ʻĀina Lupalupa (PʻĀL) is a project that features leveled informational science texts in the Hawaiian language. PʻĀL began with a simple question: How might we develop 21st-century science resources to elevate ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and aloha ʻāina for our earliest learners? What resulted was a partnership between Kamehameha Schools, Hale Kuamo‘o Hawaiian Language Center at the University of Hawaiʻi–Hilo, and select Hawaiian immersion and Hawaiian-focused charter schools. From this group emerged the following project goals:

1. Develop resources that address a critical need for quality nonfiction ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi reading materials in Hawaiian-medium schools and beyond.

2. Tailor quality reading instruction to the developmental needs of early learners.

3. Cultivate scientifically and culturally literate citizens for Hawai‘i’s future.

4. Empower educators to design resources that meet the current and future needs of our keiki Hawaiʻi.

Hawaiian- and English-medium classroom educators, Hawaiian-language resource developers, cultural practitioners, and Hawaiʻi scientists collaborated to design these 21st-century Hawaiian culture-based educational resources in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. The texts were then translated into English while maintaining key Hawaiian language to help renormalize ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. The collaborators integrated four strands:

1. ʻIke Hawaiʻi - content based in Hawaiian language, culture, and ʻāina

2. Science - content aligned to national science standards

3. Literacy - concepts aligned to national literacy standards

4. Practitioner knowledge - a design process driven by the expertise and experiences of educators

The first set of Pāhana ‘Āina Lupalupa consists of life science texts for kindergarten to third grade.

As educators with deep aloha for our keiki, our kumu, our lāhui, and our ʻāina, we offer these resources as one humble contribution to a growing and flourishing landscape of Hawaiian teaching and learning resources throughout our pae ʻāina.

Banner photo by Nathan Yuen. Used with permission.

To order Pāhana ʻĀina Lupalupa books, please visit https://kamehamehapublishing.org/pal-eng.