San Miguel de Gualdape was the first European settlement in North America. It was founded in Georgia in 1526, 81 years before Jamestown. St. Augustine, Florida was founded in 1565 and is the oldest city in the United States. Hispanic Americans have been making contributions to life in the United States ever since. Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month with the following lessons, activities, videos, and more.
6-8 Resources
Journal of Time: A Historical Perspective (Esperanza Rising) Students in grades 5-8 use photographs as inspiration to write journal entries from the point of view of someone living during the Great Depression in California.
Latinx Heritage Month Students in grades 5-12 work in groups to research and present projects on Latinx culture through PowerPoint, a webpage, a display, or an interactive tool such as the flip book or stapleless book.
Dia de los Muertos: K-12 Educator's Guide (
PDF) Lesson plans that follow focus on teaching about Día de los Muertos through various literacy and art-based activities.
Mexican Culture and History through Its National Holidays Students in grades 6-8 investigate Mexico's religious and political history through its major holidays.
ADDITIONAL LESSON PLANS
Smithsonian Education - Hispanic Heritage Teaching Resources Lessons for grades K-12.
Latino Americans Lesson Plans Lesson plans for grades 6-12.
EDSITEment - National Hispanic Heritage Month Lessons for grades 6-12, plus recommended websites and background information.
Activities
Bring Hispanic Heritage Month to Life: A Collection of Resources (K-8) Interactive timelines, scavenger hunts, and other learning fun all about Hispanic Americans.
24 Great Ideas for Hispanic Heritage (K-12) From Aztec math to Carnival masks, these ideas are easy to put together and offer students the chance to celebrate their own heritage while appreciating the uniqueness of others.
Fact Monster - Hispanic Heritage Month Activities Crosswords, population statistics, and more.
Colorín Colorado - Hispanic Heritage Month Information, puzzles, biographies for English language learners. In English and Spanish.
Background Resources
Smithsonian Articles Tagged as Latino American History
Library of Congress - Hispanic Heritage Month Images, exhibits, audio, and video.
Smithsonian Latino Center Includes exhibitions, virtual museum, Virtual Museum Bilingual Teacher Training Took Kit, and more.
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Articles, musical samples, and videos.
Quizzes
- Hispanic America: People
- Hispanic Americans
- Hispanic America: Geography
- Hispanic America: More Geography
- Hispanic America: Cultural Spanish
Multimedia
MUSIC
- Mariachi Music Online Free downloads and brief artist biographies.
- Cuban Music
VIDEO
- History of Mexico Videos and photo galleries from the History Channel.
- Coco Trailer (2017) (1:45) Miguel, a 12-year-old frustrated musician, visits the land of the dead to get the blessing of a famous singer, his great-great-grandfather. This movie could be used as an introduction or culminating activity in an exploration of Dia de los Muertos and other aspects of Latino culture.
