I have to admit that I didn’t know anything about “El Día de los Muertos” until I moved from Colombia to the United States. In the first Spanish program in which I taught, cultural traditions and celebrations were not part of the curriculum. This was mainly due to the limited time we had with our students. Without the ability to engage deeply, we were afraid of passing down wrong information or stereotypes of other cultures to them. After a few years of teaching in this school district, I moved to another school district where the program was richly infused with cultural celebrations. “El Día de los Muertos” was an important feature, and the children were really engaged in various aspects of it in ways that made it a comprehensive cultural exploration for elementary level students. And yes, it took me a while to get comfortable with this celebration, but I still wasn’t 100% excited to be teaching this to my students.
And just as life changes and people move, I moved to a different neighborhood and changed schools again. This time, I was at a school where a big part of my job was to help create the K-3 Spanish curriculum , but still El Día de los Muertos wasn’t my top choice to include in it. I also felt that, being Colombian, I had an obligation to teach and share about my own culture. After about two years in this program, I heard conversations of students explaining El Día de los Muertos as simply the way Halloween is celebrated in Mexico. My heart sank, and then it jumped with adrenaline as I had a flashing thought that I was missing an awesome opportunity to share with students the real meaning of this celebration. Not to blame them, but everywhere they go, many of the icons such as calacas, catrinas and catrines are displayed in the Halloween aisles in many of the big stores. They are now part of Halloween costumes and even an excuse to have “Day of the Dead” fiestas. I am also guilty of buying the decorations and bringing them to my classroom, and of course, hiding the label that shows that they were made in China, not in Mexico.
The celebration deserves room in the curriculum of Spanish teachers. We, the community Spanish teachers, have a responsibility to educate our school community about the importance of this beautiful celebration, especially given the fact that it was just recently included in the “List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO.
We also have to remember that as world language teachers we should help our students (and each other) to understand other cultures are well prepared to be good citizens of the world!
As a good starting point, I put together a PowerPoint that I use to introduce the celebration to my 2nd and 3rd grade students. I am now sharing it, and you are welcome to download it and adapt it to your needs. Please note that I don’t own any of the pictures in the PowerPoint. If you share the resource, I would appreciate if you give credit to my blog.
Click here or on picture to download presentation!
I have decided to go ahead and end the school year with an engaging project that can be used at the beginning of the new school year. Every year, from September 15th to October 15th, Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States. It’s a month to celebrate the Hispanic presence in the US and contributions to the country.
This celebration starts just a week after the school year has started here in Massachusetts. Because it’s so early in the school year, I feel it’s hard to start my class with a project when I am working hard just to make sure everyone understands the routine and dynamic of the class as we get used to new year.
I found a simple project posted on a middle school blog run by Señorita Lona. This past school year, I piggy-backed on her project for creating this poster. I had my third grade students pick a famous Hispanic person from the list below.
They did basic research on Wikipedia to find the person’s full name, date of birth, country of origin, and why the person was famous. They had to pretend they all were alive to be able to write the sentences in the present tense. Due to the limited time I had available for the project, I gave my students the questions in advance that they had to glue on their posters.
After getting all the information together, they had to answer using full sentences and decorate their posters.
Many of the students worked in pairs during this project. We recorded their voices with one being the interviewer and the other one being the interviewee, using a free version of the app called “Voice Record.” Then I created the QR codes with a free program called “QR code.” I plan to display the posters around the school in September and invite family members, school staff, and faculty to use their devices to listen to the children reading their interviews. That will be a starting point for my students to help celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in my school.
Here is a game I played with my first graders today. They loved it! Last week I had the opportunity to spend time with a wonderful teacher. She shared some awesome games with me, and this is one of them.
For the “la manzana envenenada”game you will need to print pictures of apples of different colors. I laminated mine and added a tiny magnet on the back. You will need a tree. You could make one with paper or draw one on your board. How does the game work?
You will need a volunteer to leave the room. While the student is out, everyone left in the room has to agree on which apple will be poisoned.
The student comes back to the room, and the class should ask, chanting in unison:
“¿Cuál es la manzana envenenada?”
The student should ask the class while collecting each apple:
“¿La manzana __________?”
This student takes as many turns as necessary before selecting the poisoned apple.
When the student selects the poisoned apple, the class yells:
“¡estás envenenado/a!”
Then the student is out of the game. Count the apples that the student collected before finding the poisoned apple. Write his or her name on the board and the number of apples collected. Do the same for every student that takes a turn. Invite another volunteer and start the game again.
You can give turns to as many students as you like.
At the end you can compare and see who collected the most or the least apples.
As a Spanish teacher, I feel that teaching geography is a responsibility of mine. Due to the ages that I teach, I find it hard because many of the maps that show Latin America are either in English or are not simple enough for the eyes of my second and third grade students.
I felt a relief when I received this puzzle. The picture is a piece of art and is simple enough for my students to put together. I have used this puzzle as a center for early finishers and they absolutely love it. I often use a corner in my classroom for students from different classes to work on the puzzle collectively, adding pieces when they have time.
This puzzle has become a collaborative project in my room, serving as a thread to connect all of my students throughout the week. And the best is when I hear them reading the names of the countries in Spanish or making comments such as “I didn’t know Colombia is next to Ecuador.” Children always come to my classroom asking for el rompecabezas. It’s an activity that engages them easily and allows them to work in groups. They have made it a challenge and can’t wait to finish and see the final result. This will take your students on virtual trips to different places in Latin America.
This puzzle has worked great for my students and I am sure it will work for your students too. This puzzle was created by a Spanish teacher who knows the importance of including geography in foreign language curriculum. To learn more about this great teaching tool please visit their Amazon store or like the their page on Facebook. I would love one of our readers to have one these awesome puzzles!
And, with students who know where the Equator is, here’s to hoping I never get asked if it’s “winter” in Colombia with students who know not to assume that all of South America is south of the Equator!
Giveaway Time!
One lucky teacher will get to win this puzzle for her/his class! Just enter below to participate. Winner will be announced on November 1st, 2014. United States only!
The “Exit Ticket” is a technique used by many teachers in different subjects. It’s usually utilized at the end of the class before the students leave your classroom. It is used as a way to check for understanding, to clarify concepts in preparation for the following class, or as a way to assess students. Students may respond to questions about the class, list what they remember, ask the teacher questions, and so on.
I have used this technique in my classes, but have usually just done it orally. I typically line up my students and ask simple questions related to the topic we’ve focused on in class. For example, I might show a flash card and ask a student to name the picture on the card or ask a question about it. The only way a student may leave the classroom is by responding to my question. Taking it a step further beyond oral delivery, using the “Exit Ticket” on a paper allows students to practice their writing skills and can in some cases be a faster and more efficient way to end the activity.
I have included a template of the “Exit Ticket” I plan to use. You can customize it according to your needs.
*Tiquete is used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. See RAE for reference.
¡Hola! I am Carolina, a Colombian elementary Spanish teacher based in Boston, MA. Fun for Spanish Teachers is the result of my passion for teaching Spanish to children and my desire to inspire collaboration and creativity in a vibrant teaching and learning community. It’s the perfect stop if you are looking for songs, games, teaching tips, stories, and fun for your classes.
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