| King David Kalakaua of Hawaii described hula
as the language of the Hawaiian people. The culture and history
of the Hawaiian people can be read through song and dance.
Oli [chants] and mele [songs] are used to carry the words
of the story while movements of the body are used to turn
these words into a visual picture.
The history and the beauty of the islands are captured in
the music and movement of hula. Hula is story telling for
the Hawaiian people.
Howard Gardner’s theory of intelligence expanded the
definition of intelligence and learning by moving beyond mathematical
and linguistic abilities to include such areas as music, spatial
relations, interpersonal knowledge, and kinesthetic ability.
This knowledge opens doors of possibility and creativity in
our work in early childhood education.
Thinking outside of the box: Hula dancing is a literacy activity
for young children!
While it could easily be argued that of the seven intelligences
proposed by Howard Gardner, that hula would most easily fall
into the body-kinesthetic and music categories there is a
link that can made to linguistic intelligence.
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Planning For Possibilities:
Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai
Goals:
1) Increase cultural awareness.
2) Skill building: Literacy, Creative, Large/Fine Motor.
Objectives:
1) Introduce hula as part of Hawaiian culture.
2) Literacy - Explore dance movement as storytelling
3) Large/Fine Motor – teach movement vocabulary for
Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai
4) Music – expose children to the music of the Hawaiian
culture, movement set to music and rhythm of the song
5) Literacy – Discover storytelling through music and
movement
6) Language- children will learn several words in Hawaiian:
aloha, moana, lipoa, hinuhinu, limu.
Learning the movements of hula parallel the skills children
learn as they become more adept at oral and written language.
Hula and literacy are supported by vocabulary, syntax and
memory skill building. In hula there is a vocabulary
of movement. Small movements of the arms, hands,
feet, and even face are associated with nouns, verbs, adjectives,
and adverbs. Children know how to create movements to indicate
wind, or a lei, flower, or love. The syntax of movement
in hula is the order of the movements that match the words
being sung or chanted. The movements of the hula are the words
of a sentence that are tied together to retell a story. Kinesthetic
memory allows the child to reconstruct patterns and
create meaning. A child learning hula will learn to retell
the story through music and movement he/she can also learn
to use their vocabulary of hula movement and apply it to new
songs and stories.
The learning supports for hula and literacy activities also
parallel one another.
1) In hula, children are taught the individual movements before
integration into a larger movement phrases – much like
letter-recognition before reading.
2) Repetition is the key to mastery.
3) As children master movements the complexity and challenge
is increased.
4) Children can be creative and transpose movements –
expanding the possibilities for expression.
Thinking outside of the box: If Hula is a literacy activity
for young children, then what other experiences can we bring
to our classrooms to support the development of the whole
child? How could we use drama to build logical or spatial
skills? Or cooking projects to support interpersonal skill
building? The possibilities are limited only by one’s
own creativity and intentionality.
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Sources:
Braudi, A.C. (1996) Multiple Intelligences: Gardner’s
Theory. ERIC Digest. www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed410226.htm
Seitz, J.A. The Development of Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence
in Children: Implications for Education and Artistry. www.york.cuny.edu/~seitz/Holistic
Ed.htm
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