From September 15 to October 15, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. As Spanish teachers, we feel it is our obligation to incorporate activities for Hispanic Heritage Month into our classrooms. However, coming up with specialized content in addition to our normal curriculum is challenging, and sometimes we just don’t have time! So, here is a list of the best activities for Hispanic Heritage Month that will introduce your Spanish students to famous Hispanics and their contributions to society.
What is Hispanic Heritage Month?
Let’s begin by thinking about why is Hispanic Heritage Month celebrated? Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15. According to the National Hispanic Heritage Month website, we honor this month “by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.”
Why is Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15?
This is a very significant day because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The month-long celebration also commemorates Mexico and Chile’s independence, as they celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Finally, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, on October 12, falls within this 30 day period.
What are activities for Hispanic Heritage Month in your classroom?
When teaching about National Hispanic Heritage Month, you can teach about famous Hispanics, food, dance, travel destinations, religion, clothing, and so much more. This year, I want to focus on notable Hispanic figures and their contributions to our society. There are so many Hispanics that our students have never heard of, and those that they have heard of… do you think your students know why they are famous? With these activities for Hispanic Heritage Month, you will be able to share so many notable Hispanics with your students in an impactful way.
Foldable books
Hispanic writers, historical figures, artists, and singers are prominent figures in the Hispanic culture. With these mini foldable books, you can read about one famous Hispanic per day. Simply print and handout one booklet per day. You will have just enough content to cover the entire Hispanic Heritage month! Without counting weekends, there are 23 school days during the month. This bundle comes with 24 foldable books of notable Hispanics. Some of the famous Hispanics include: Frida Kahlo, Ellen Ochoa, Pablo Neruda, Salvador Dalí, Roberto Clemente, and Simón Bolívar, among many others. Shoutout to one of my favorite clipartists, Teacher’s Clipart with the cutest drawings of famous Hispanics.
Which Famous Hispanic Am I? Personality Quiz
Are you Celia Cruz or Pablo Neruda? Maybe you’re more of a Roberto Clemente or another famous Hispanic? Take a 10-question personality quiz, similar to a Buzzfeed style quiz, with your students. This quiz is comprehensible, engaging, and fun! Your students will be eager to read their results to see which famous Hispanic they relate to most. Plus, they will get to see what is true or false about their results. The download comes with projects for after taking the quiz that encourage deeper thinking and conversation!
Famous Hispanic Research Project
Assign each student (or let them choose!) a famous Hispanic to research. The project possibilities are endless. Students could create a poster or PowerPoint about the Hispanic’s life, contributions, and background. Students can create an social media page for the Hispanic, with images, captions, a bio, and of course #hashtags. For more advanced students, they could take on the role of the famous Hispanic and give a speech to the class explaining why they deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. Encourage dressing up like the person for extra credit! For a list of over 50 Hispanics, broken down by category such as Artists, Educators, Athletes, Activists, etc. click here!
My favorite assignment is a quick research project poster where students compile their info into one concise worksheet, then post them around the room as a gallery of famous Hispanics. you can even display them in your world language hallway for the entire month!
Hispanic Heroes Socratic Seminar
This is along the same lines as the research project. However, once students complete their research, they practice taking on the role of their “hero” and debate their classmates in a Hispanic hero small group discussion or Socratic Seminar. I suggest coming up with an enticing prompt and reward for the winner. In the past, I had small groups of 3-5 students with similar heroes (all historic figures in the same group or all athletes in the same group). The prompt was: “You are all in an airplane together that is unfortunately malfunctioning. There is only one parachute on board. Who deserves the parachute? Who has made the greatest impact and deserves to survive?” Boy, oh boy, should you hear the debate in the target language!! I have never been so proud of my students and seen such passionate Spanish speaking from them. The rest of the students listen to each debate and take notes like in a Socratic Seminar and at the end vote for the most convincing hero to “get the parachute” or some extra credit points.
Hispanic Art Galleries & Projects
Kahlo, Rivera, Picasso, Dalí, and more! Each of them have such unique artwork and biographies. Spend some time teaching about the lives of these artists. Be sure to use Hispanic Heritage Month as a time to get creative! Have students create their own artwork emulating the styles of these famous artists. Maybe they make their own Frida-esque self-portrait or a Guernica-inspired cubist painting.
This would be one of the best ways to encourage the entire school community (and even the greater community) to participate in Hispanic Heritage Month. You can combine forces with the art teacher! Create an “art gallery” where your students could display their recreations. Students can write descriptions in English and the target language that explain their paintings or drawings and where their inspiration came from. Open up the art gallery during one week-day evening and invite parents, community members, and administration.
A bonus activity for your Spanish students would be to have them “walk through” a virtual art gallery of famous Hispanic artwork. Many artists paint about their culture. Think of Diego Rivera’s murals. He painted the Aztec empire, the impact of Hispanics on the molding of the Americas, the work in the flower fields of Mexican women and children. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” These paintings and drawings can really speak volumes when trying to share an entire culture and heritage with your students. Let the paintings and artists speak for themselves.
Read poems or short stories from Hispanic writers
Poetry may sound too advanced for your students, but there are poems that are comprehensible for beginners! Spanish Playground has a great list of poems for novice students. For intermediate students, Pablo Neruda wrote odes to everyday objects. One of my favorites is Oda al tomate, in which he praises the greatness of tomatoes. Let your students read some of his odes, then craft their own ode to an inanimate object that is important to them.
Talk about identity and stereotypes, but more importantly how to break stereotypes.
When we mention Hispanic Heritage Month, we tend to embrace the culture and share its beauty and uniqueness with our students, but sometimes it is important to talk about the ugly stuff… the stereotypes that come with the word “Hispanic.” You can share images of traditional Hispanic clothing, videos of people speaking with accents, Mexican food, etc. Ask your students what comes to mind? Maybe they will say all Hispanic women wear long colorful dresses. Maybe, if they have an accent that means they aren’t very proficient in English. Or, they only eat tacos in Mexico. You can then share photos that break the stereotypes and ask your students what they see now. For an added bonus, ask your students to come up with strategies for breaking stereotypes. What they can do better in their own day-to-day life to avoid stereotyping people of any race or ethnicity?
That is one long list of activities for Hispanic Heritage Month! Let me know what you choose to do to celebrate with your students. Even if you only take a day out of the month to mention and honor Hispanics that have made amazing contributions, at least it is one more person that your students will recognize and appreciate!
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