Hispanic Heritage Month Begins!

Each year, Hispanic Heritage Month gives us the opportunity to have a particular focus on diversity.  Here are a few lesson plan ideas on how to integrate this important month, and the appreciation of Hispanic culture, in your classroom:

• Scholastic has a diverse list of 25 ways to celebrate Hispanic heritage in the classroom, as well as an activity portal dedicated to Hispanic heritage month.
• Here is a great book list put together by PBSKids.  It contains a lot of books about Hispanic culture that would be great for read-alouds and book talks for elementary students.
• Have students research the holidays of different Latin American countries, and then design a visual project that showcases the historical, political and cultural significance for each holiday.  This would make a great display of student work!
• Create a beautiful Mexican metal tooling craft project.  A great example and instructions can be found here (via kinderart).
• Students can work in groups to explore the flags of different Latin American countries.  Have them investigate the symbols, stories and values represented on each flag.  Compare them to our country's own, and end the project by having the class create a unique flag for your classroom.
• Make a paper bag pinata (via PBSKids).
• Teach your student some Spanish words, or a Spanish nursery rhyme.
• Elementary students can practice Spanish words, identify the flags of Spanish-speaking countries, and learn about famous Hispanics in this online game (via PBSKids).
• Spotlight Hispanic writers and poets for your class.
• Read a Latin fairy tale or myth, and have students compare it to one more commonly known to them.  Have them create their own fairy tale or myth in groups, or perform a reader's theater version of the tale.
• Create Mexican bark paintigs (via zilkerelementaryart).
• Students can write a research paper or present a project based on notable Hispanic people (Gale compiled a list, or you can narrow a topic of interest for the class, such as Hispanic scientists, government figures, etc).
• Discuss culture and family traditions while reading a story about a Mexican American family.  Culminate the lesson with a class potluck lunch with special family recipes.  The full lesson plan can be found here (via ReadWriteThink).

I hope these Hispanic Heritage Month lesson plan ideas are helpful to you. And remember:  you're not relegated to one month when it comes to exploring Hispanic heritage.  Keep a list of ideas that seem appealing and practical for you, and use them whenever you can find the time in your curriculum.

-Veronica

image: cleveland.com