How to Teach Hispanic Heritage Month
From September 15 to October 15, the U.S. celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month. During that month, special events, programs and exhibits honor the culture of almost 47 million Hispanic Americans. According to the Census Bureau, Hispanic Americans represent the fastest-growing minority, a population that is estimated to triple by 2050. The 1968 presidential proclamation to celebrate Hispanic Heritage urged educational institutions to participate with relevant activities and ceremonies. Teachers can draw on the many ways Hispanic culture has impacted America, ranging from sports and entertainment to business and politics.
Things You'll Need
- English-Spanish dictionaries
- Sticky notes
- Spanish candy
- Construction paper
- Glue
- Scissors
- Latin-American music recordings
Instructions
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Create a master lesson plan that breaks down activities for the month into five major components: history, people, language, geography and culture. Plan one major activity in each category that will expose students to an important aspect of the nation's Hispanic heritage. List the skills required to complete each activity.
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Take the students to a museum with exhibits featuring the indigenous peoples in South America, such as the Aztecs or Incas, to explore ancient history. Instruct the students to pick one character in a display or painting and describe how that person lived. For example, how did an Aztec Indian boy dress? What did he eat? What chores did he do? What games did he play? What were the dangers in his environment?
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Engage the class in a stamp design project to explore the achievements of Hispanic Americans. Introduce the students to the National Postal Museum's online exhibit, Celebrating Hispanic Heritage: People, Places and Events on Stamps. Encourage students to explore the exhibit, pointing out stamps that commemorate important events, such as Christopher Columbus' voyage. Provide the students with a list of famous people of Spanish heritage, ranging from boxer Roberto Duran to painter Salvador Dali. Ask the students to select one person, write a one-page biography and then design a stamp.
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Pair the students into groups of three. Give each group a stack of sticky notes and an English-Spanish dictionary. Assign each group an area in the classroom. Give each group a half-hour to find Spanish words for as many objects as they can in their area. One student should find the object's Spanish name in the dictionary while another student writes the word on a sticky note and the third student places the note on the object. Reward the winning group with Spanish coconut wafers.
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Ask students to find and label U.S. cities and states with names that have been derived from Spanish. Have them translate the names from Spanish into English. For example, what does Los Angeles or El Paso mean in English? Discuss how U.S. geography has been determined and influenced by Hispanic culture.
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End the month of activities with the Carnival, a celebration that is an explosion of costumes, music, dance and games. Have the students create their own masks of the devil, an allegorical figure in Carnival, out of construction paper and glue. Show them photos of devil costumes from past Carnivals in Central and South America. While the students work on their masks, play Carnival music to introduce them to Latino rhythms.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit incas city machu-picchu in peru image by Galyna Andrushko from Fotolia.com
