LESSON 4: CULTURAL TRADITIONS
JOURNAL REFLECTION
Write the statement below along with the following questions on the board. Give students 15–20 minutes to write a reflective and
thoughtful response. Tell them they will be sharing their answers with the class.
Traditions can change or become lost over the years, but sometimes they are resurrected in successive generations and become
accepted by the larger community. Because of the rich diversity of Americans, many people today are going back to their ethnic
roots and are becoming more accepting of other cultures.
• Do you agree or disagree with the statement above? Why or why not?
• Do you have an example of this situation happening in your own family? Please describe.
• What is your definition of a tradition?
• How can traditions change or become lost?
• Do you think it’s difficult for people to bring back lost traditions? Why or why not?
• Do you think America will ever reach a level of complete tolerance toward different traditions? How can we, as a nation, get there?
How long do you estimate that taking?
CLASS DISCUSSION
Discuss the questions and answers together as a class.
EXTENSION ACTIVITY
My Own Cultural Traditions
Share the poem excerpted in Chapter 2 and written by Natalie Bruecher. Have students reflect upon the people and cultural traditions that
have helped to shape their lives and express their reflections in a poem, essay, collage or other artform. Have student include definitions of
non-English words if needed, as Natalie has at the end of her poem.
Kupunahine (Grandmother)
I love my maternal grandmother, Hannah
And am thankful for all she has given to me.
Kupuna Hannah and I
Share much with each other.
We share things like music
Or culture, or our lives.
We share conversations across the Pacific
Or across the room.
But most importantly, we share love.
She taught me pono,
She taught me oiai’o,
And she is na’auao, a true kupuna.
Parts of my childhood
Unlock her past.
She gave me my Hawaiian blood,
But she also gave me
My Hawaiian heart.
It was in Hawai’i that I learned what it really means
To love ohana,
To feel within my heart
A place for them.
Even after they’re gone
I feel their spirits with me.
7
Though miles away
Kupuna and I can still discuss
And when I hear her voice
I think of her place at Punalu’u
By the ocean.
I hear the shallow waves of the North Shore,
Strong yet calming.
I think of plumerias
And the geckos in her backyard that I used to try to catch
With only a jar when I was young.
I hear her ukulele
That she is determined to play
And I fall asleep to the notes,
Rising and falling like the ocean waves
And like my breaths
When I fall asleep.
Hawaiian words in this poem:
kupuna
– grandparent; a title said before the name of a grandparent
ohana
– family
pono
– roughly “knowing what’s best”
na’auao
– wise/wisdom
oiai’o
– truth, honesty
