Polynesian Voyaging - Hokule'a, Nainoa Thompson, and the Star Compass

Calendar Circle + Cultural Care Promise + greet each other with vetted Hawaiian greeting 'aloha'

• Lead routine standing
• Affirm continuity with prior lessons

Show MG-3 map D. Locate Polynesian Triangle: Hawaii (north), Aotearoa-NZ (southwest), Rapa Nui (southeast), with Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, Marquesas central. On MG-2 Band 5: Hawaii settled c. 800-1200 CE; Aotearoa c. 1280 CE; Rapa Nui c. 1200 CE. CRITICAL FRAMING: name Hawaiian, Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Tahitian, Marquesan peoples as LIVING peoples today. Show Nainoa Thompson photograph at the Star Compass (MG-15). Tell the Hokule'a story: launched in 1976; Mau Piailug from Satawal Island taught the Hawaiian crew; Nainoa Thompson became the first Native Hawaiian master navigator in centuries; sailed from Hawaii to Tahiti and back without modern instruments. Play MG-16 audio 4.

• Notice: 'revitalization' is different from 'discovery' or 'reconstruction.' The knowledge was carried by Pacific Islander wayfinders (especially in Micronesia) and is now actively being shared and continued.

  model NO. Polynesian wayfinding is a CONTEMPORARY revitalized practice. The Hokule'a launched in 1976. Mau Piailug taught Nainoa Thompson directly. Thompson is alive and teaching. The practice continues today.

  prompt Is Polynesian wayfinding 'lost knowledge'?

• Name TWO Polynesian peoples. Who is Nainoa Thompson? Who taught him?

Children examine the Hawaiian Star Compass (MG-15) as a contemporary artifact developed in the 1970s as a wayfinding tool. They examine Hokule'a photographs as primary-source documentation of a living practice. They listen to MG-16 audio 4 (voyaging chant) as a primary-source oral tradition with PVS-verified provenance.

M-3-S-CUL-13-A Map

MG-3 map D 24x36-inch laminated map with the Polynesian Triangle (Hawaii, Aotearoa-NZ, Rapa Nui) outlined, key voyaging routes shown, Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, Marquesas marked, Hokule'a 1976 first voyage path shown, contemporary borders. Equator visible across central Pacific.

MG-3 Map

Mounted along one classroom wall as a coordinated set. The four-region framing is INTENTIONAL - it teaches that geography is the precondition for cultural development without becoming geographic determinism. Children locate the same Equator across all four maps to teach KS2 Geog 1.1.A. The contemporary borders on each map (alongside the historical sites) enforce the present-tense protocol - the regions are CURRENT places, not erased pasts.

M-3-S-CUL-13-B Diagram

MG-15 18-inch diameter laminated circular star compass with 32 named houses marking rising and setting points of 4 named stars. Center: a double-hulled voyaging canoe icon. Outer ring: ocean swell directions. Footer: 'Hawaiian Star Compass - developed by Nainoa Thompson with the teaching of Mau Piailug.' Sourced from Polynesian Voyaging Society materials with permission.

MG-15 Interactive Physical / non-image

Used in lesson 13-14 Polynesian voyaging deep-dive. The diagram is sourced from Polynesian Voyaging Society materials with permission. Children learn that this star compass is a CONTEMPORARY tool (developed in the 1970s as a revitalization of the wayfinding tradition) - not an 'ancient' artifact. The named-teacher lineage (Thompson learned from Piailug) is INTENTIONALLY visible to teach that knowledge is carried by named people.

• Examine the Hawaiian Star Compass (MG-15). Identify the four named stars (Hokule'a/Arcturus; Hoku Pa'a/Polaris; Pleiades; Southern Cross).

  scaffold Star Compass tactile version available; pronunciation audio for star names
• Listen to MG-16 audio 4 a second time. In pairs, identify ONE thing you notice about the chant's sound, rhythm, or repetition.

  scaffold Sentence frame: 'In the voyaging chant, I notice ___. This might help a wayfinder by ___.'

• Who is Mau Piailug?
• Is Polynesian wayfinding lost? Why or why not?

• Restate: 'Polynesian wayfinding is a contemporary revitalized practice carried by named living practitioners'
• Preview lesson 14's double-hulled canoe deep-dive

• Discuss today's lesson with a caregiver and record 2 sentences.