Resources for Teachers
Below you will find resources that we offer to 6-12 grade teachers including in-class programs and teaching support, online curriculum resources, virtual field trips, and professional development courses.
Want to stay in the loop about upcoming opportunities for Maui secondary teachers and students? Click here to join our emailing list! You will receive an email every 1-3 months and can unsubscribe at any time.
Ready to Implement ʻĀina-Based Activities for Students and Teachers
Through our Kūkulu Pilina Program, we’ve developed ready-to-implement ʻāina-based activities that can be modified to fit any group of teachers and students. These activities promote team building, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of our human relationship with the natural environment and native ecosystems. To learn more or to collaborate on creating activities customized for your teachers and students, contact kaiulani@mauihuliaufoundation.
Uhau Humu Pōhaku: Build Your Kahua Activity
This activity engages participants in a 2-D version of uhau humu pōhaku (dry rock masonry), encouraging reflection on individual and collective strengths. Through building a symbolic rock wall and learning the art and skill of uhau humu pōhaku, participants explore team-building, support systems, and networks of reciprocity, discovering how each “stone” contributes to a strong foundation. Downloadable teacher guides and pōhaku cut-outs are available here.
Hāloa's Family Map
After watching two videos—Kumukahi & Haloa\An Origin Story—participants will explore a Hawaiian creation story that highlights the ancestral connections between people, ʻāina, and Hāloa, the kalo plant. Following the videos, participants will reflect on their own genealogy and complete a Hāloa Family Map, using the template to creatively illustrate their family story. Students are encouraged to be artistic, adding drawings, colors, and personal touches throughout the map while connecting their story to the lessons and values found in the story of Hāloa. Access and download the teacher guide and the student map template.
Plant Identification Matching Game
In this activity, students match 24 plant photos, names, and categories, testing their knowledge of Hawaiʻi’s native, endemic, and invasive species. Explore the vocabulary section to learn plant categories, then read the lāʻau descriptions to discover each plant’s features and ecological role. Can you match them all correctly on your first try? Use the hyperlinks to download the teacher guide , activity cut-outs and student worksheets.
Customized Climate Literacy Curriculum
This 20-minute workshop video presents an overview of resources available for grade 8-12 teachers as part of our Huliau Climate Literacy Project. It shares a brief overview of the units focusing on climate change causes, impacts, and solutions, including example in-class and virtual activities. It also shares information on student-led projects, field trips, and ways that our staff can assist teachers in implementing a customized program for their students ranging from 2-10 weeks. We can also provide teaching assistance and help facilitate student-led projects focused on climate change solutions. Visit our program page using the button below to access our online classroom and learn more.
Hoʻākea partnership
Hoʻākea – Mauka to Makai honors the rich history and traditions of Hawaiian voyaging. Sponsored and supported by the DOE, various waʻa (canoe) and aloha ʻāina (land and ocean based) organizations will provide hands-on learning experiences that perpetuate foundational values and perspectives of the canoe and those who came before us. In partnership with the Moananuiākea Voyage of our beloved Hōkūleʻa, this event aims to inspire our students, schools, and larger community to embrace the “Navigator Mindset” and become the leaders, stewards, and critical thinkers that can meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.
From September 17-21, 2024 we collaborated with Hui O Waʻa Kaulua and Lele Aloha to host four days of field trips for over 1,250 students, ending with an ʻOhana day for DOE families. Students enjoyed a full day of outdoor learning activities immersed in Hawaiʻi’s cultural practices. This statewide partnership includes plans for a hands-on teacher workshop in November (date TBA) with waʻa and ʻāina-based partners. Above are the kaiapuni students of Pāʻia Elementary with Mānaiakalani after releasing sail with the crew. Below are photos from the workshops we helped host for teachers on Maui and in Kualoa, Oʻahu in summer 2024.
In October, we are also assisting Polynesian Voyaging Society with another two weeks of field trips for over 1,000 students as part of the Hōkūleʻa’s Pae ʻĀina sail visit to Māʻalaea.
Kūkulu Pilina Professional Development
Kūkulu Pilina is a professional development series and PDE3 course for Maui DOE secondary school teachers focused on the potential for community partnership and ʻāina-based education to deepen HĀ (BREATH) through ʻāina aloha practices contextualized to their particular place and community. Both the PD series and the PDE3 course are facilitated by Maui Huliau Foundation staff in partnership with various ʻāina-based organizations on Maui. We recently launched a new page on our website dedicated to these programs.
ʻĀina-based Resources for Teachers
During the 2021-22 school year, we launched a new page on our website to provide resources to promote community partnership and ʻāina-based learning both in the classroom and in our Maui community. On that page you will find virtual huakaʻi (field trips) and online activities created with program partners during the 2020-21 school year as part of our Maui Aloha ʻĀina Virtual Classroom. We also added a list of community partners and teachers professional development resources.
Field Trip Support for Teachers
As a part of the Kūkulu Pilina program, we are able to support teachers with planning field trips for whole grade levels or single classes. How we can help:
- Coordinating buses
- Connecting with partners
- Customizing lessons & activities
- Day-of chaperoning
- Pre/post field trip lessons
In-School Filmmaking Support for Teachers
Maui Huliau Foundation now offers support for in-school filmmaking projects with teachers, as well as student-led film projects. This initiative launched in spring 2022 has allowed us to reach more students and respond to the growing number of requests we have received from teachers and community groups. Teachers can visit our filmmaking program page using the button below to request support for film projects with their students that have an environmental or ʻāina-based focus.
Zero Waste Education
Maui Huliau Foundation and our program partners can provide support to teachers, cafeteria staff, eco-clubs and individual students looking to implement waste reduction and sustainability projects on campus. For example, we have assisted with student-led cafeteria waste audits, including recommendations for how cafeteria waste can be diverted from the landfill via reuse, composting and/or recycling.
You can email info@mauihuliaufoundation.org to request help with these projects. You can also click on the button below to visit our zero waste education page, which includes videos, activities and other zero waste/sustainable lifestyle resources, many of which were created by our Leadership Council.
Internships
During the 2024-25 school year, we will be offering paid internships with our Zero Waste Schools & Green Events programs for high school students. Students can visit our internships page for details. Details on our 2025-26 internship will be released shortly.
Student Produced Films
Our YouTube Channel contains nearly 100 films created over the past decade by students in our Huliau Environmental Fimmaking Club program! These films have been selected over 160 times in festivals around the world. These films are organized in to playlists by topic such as “Plastic Pollution”, “Native & Invasive Species” and “Sustainable Agriculture”, making it easier to find a relevant film to show to your class (they are also organized by the year they were created). We also have a virtual huaka’i (field trip) playlist (shown right) containing 12 virtual field trips created during the 2020-21 school year with our students and program partners. These field trips also have self-guided and virtual activities for students in our Maui Aloha ʻĀina Virtual Classroom, which you can find on our Virtual Classrooms page.
Virtual Huakaʻi Playlist
PDE3 Courses for Teachers (Past or In Progress)
Beginning in July and into the 2025-26 school year, we are offering two PDE3 courses for DOE secondary school teachers and administrators. Both courses have been approved by the DOE and are live for registration on Learnsoft. We are also offering a single non-credit ʻāina-based learning session for teachers on July 10th. You can read the course details below or join our teacher mailing list above.
August 15th PD Session: Hoʻākea – Mauka to Makai centers Hawaiian voyaging traditions to deepen place-based teaching and learning. Rooted in the vision of a globally competitive, locally committed graduate, this free hands-on professional development session—hosted by Hui o Waʻa Kaulua and Maui Huliau Foundation—supports educators in cultivating a Navigator Mindset through leadership, stewardship, and real-world problem-solving. The half-day session begins with a visit to Moʻokiha, one of Hui o Waʻa Kaulua’s double-hulled voyaging canoes in Māʻalaea, and continues at their baseyard and classroom in Waikapū for hands-on demonstrations of voyaging-related activities that can be adapted for the classroom. All DOE teachers and administrators (K–12) are welcome to attend. You can see photos below from a similar 2024 PD session.
PDE3 course description: Kūkulu Pilina: Strengthening HĀ through ʻĀina and Community is open to Hawaiʻi DOE secondary teachers and administrators. This course centers on strengthening the Nā Hopena Aʻo (HĀ) outcomes—Belonging, Responsibility, Excellence, Aloha, Total Well-Being, and Hawaiʻi—by integrating culturally responsive teaching and ʻāina aloha practices. Participants will deepen their understanding of place-based education and explore how connecting students to ʻāina and community can enhance learning and well-being. Through a combination of theory, hands-on experiences, and action research, educators will gain practical skills to design lessons and implement campus-wide practices that foster HĀ outcomes, cultivate positive learning environments, and empower students as stewards of place and community.
This professional development course is designed for Maui County secondary school teachers who want to build climate literacy among their students through learner-centered, active learning strategies. Participants will explore both Problem-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning approaches, empowering students to research, apply knowledge, and tackle real-world climate challenges. Teachers will engage with curriculum resources from Maui Huliau Foundation’s Climate Literacy Project, in use since 2017, and gain insights from Problem-Based Learning resources shared by University of Hawaiʻi staff. Throughout the course, participants will be guided through the process of designing an inquiry-based, climate change unit plan adaptable to any subject area. The course will also connect teachers with local community groups working on climate adaptation and mitigation, offering valuable partnership and resource opportunities to extend learning beyond the classroom. Since this is a new course, teachers who completed our previous climate course can still join. Teachers can register on Learnsoft for course #27192
Kūkulu Pilina: Strengthening HĀ through ʻĀina and Community is open to Hawaiʻi DOE secondary teachers and administrators. This course centers on strengthening the Nā Hopena Aʻo (HĀ) outcomes—Belonging, Responsibility, Excellence, Aloha, Total Well-Being, and Hawaiʻi—by integrating culturally responsive teaching and ʻāina aloha practices. Participants will deepen their understanding of place-based education and explore how connecting students to ʻāina and community can enhance learning and well-being. Through a combination of theory, hands-on experiences, and action research, educators will gain practical skills to design lessons and implement campus-wide practices that foster HĀ outcomes, cultivate positive learning environments, and empower students as stewards of place and community. This course is open to grade 6-12 teachers and administrators at all schools, including those who completed the previous version of our course before 2024. Teachers can register on Learnsoft for course #82701. This course includes one in-person session on July 10th, which is also open to teachers not in the course (see below). Specific course dates include July 8th, 10th, 15th and 22nd. During the school year, the course meets after 3:30-5:30pm September 9th, January 27th and April 21st.
Free Virtual Cultural PD Session Recording
ʻO Hawaiʻi Ke Kahua o ka Hoʻonaʻauao: An Introduction to Rooting Learning in Hawaiʻi is a virtual professional development session for DOE secondary (grade 6-12) teachers and administrators new to Hawaiʻi and those that want to learn more about Hawaiʻs host culture. This session introduces participants to a kūʻana ʻike Hawaiʻi, a Hawaiian worldview or layered, place-based understanding. Through moʻolelo, we will examine historical events that continue to shape Hawaiʻi’s socio-economic landscape and explore the values of pilina, cultural practices, and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi as everyday tools for rooted learning in Hawaiʻi. Participants are encouraged to dive deeper into what it means to center Hawaiʻi as the foundation of all learning. You can watch the workshop recording below: