It’s October… time to start thinking about your Day of the Dead Spanish lessons! It may sound like a cliché, but teaching about Day of the Dead or El Día de los Muertos is one of my favorite things to do as a Spanish teacher. And if I could decorate my classroom from wall to wall with calaveras, papel picado, catrinas, and more, you know I would! But it is much more than just decorations, it is a celebration of life, and we must convey that joy in our Day of the Dead Spanish celebrations and lessons with explanations of the traditions, vocabulary, and cultural context. Keep reading to learn about Day of the Dead Spanish vocabulary activities that are festive, informative, and cultural!
Day of the Dead Word Wall
Students must see the vocabulary terms over and over again to acquire them. One really easy way to do this is with a word wall or bulletin board. (Yes, this goes for every unit you are teaching.) Put the words on the wall! Students need to see the spelling; they need to have frequent exposure to the word to truly acquire it. So, choose your favorite Day of the Dead vocabulary terms, type them up, and print them out on bright colored paper! I can save you time with this word wall download here. I think I’ve included every Día de los muertos vocabulary word you could possibly want!
Craft Project – ABC Vocab Book
For a fun crafty project, have your students create a vocabulary book with the words they learn. A simple 2-fold or 4-fold book will do the trick. On each page, they will write the vocabulary term, draw an image, and write a sentence or definition. Plus, if you use the same words from your word wall, then they get double the exposure! If you’re short on time, you can create a class book or bulletin board. Break your students into groups and assign each group a few words. They will create a mini-poster or page in the book for their words, using the same criteria. And again, if you want to save time, here is my brand-new ABC Day of the Dead vocabulary booklet. It includes a vocabulary term for every letter of the alphabet! A is for alebrije, B is for bebida, C is for calavera, and so on!
Authentic Videos
Introduce vocabulary with an authentic video, such as “Cómo armar un altar” a 2-minute video. This is my favorite video – the one I use every year! I love the simplicity of the language, the visuals, and the comedy! Plus, this video could be used for novice or intermediate students. Novice students can be tasked with simply writing down the materials used to build an altar, and intermediate students can take notes on the symbolism in addition to making a list of items.
Design a Día de los Muertos Ofrenda
Creating an altar is such a fun, authentic project for your students. You can make one as a class or individual students can create their own. In order to avoid any sensitive feelings, I encourage students to make an altar in honor of a favorite TV, movie, or book character. Now, to connect the vocabulary acquisition, make sure your students label the items on their ofrenda, such as “el agua, las flores, el retrato.” For more advanced students, they can write a paragraph describing the altar and the items they chose to place on it. Don’t forget to give your students options in the way they present their altar to you. We all have students with different abilities. Some may be artists, some graphic designers, some builders. So, let them choose to draw it by hand, design it virtually, or build a 3D model! I have a digital Day of the Dead activity here that includes 6 virtual tasks, one being design your own virtual altar.
Task Cards & Conversations
Use the Day of the Dead vocabulary in conversations. We can’t expect students to learn the vocab just by staring at it and writing it. They also must use it in context. After they’ve seen the vocabulary, maybe watched some videos, did some activities, then ask them questions! Show an image of a calavera, and ask “¿Es pan de muerto?” “¿Qué es?” “¿De qué está hecha una calavera?” ¿Dónde se ponen las calaveras?” In small classes, students can shout out the answers, but in larger classes, I have them turn/talk so everyone gets a chance to be heard and practice. If you’re looking for pre-made questions, here are some Spanish & English (or both) task cards with 30 Día de los muertos questions!
Veo Veo
If your classroom is decorated with Día de los Muertos decorations, then you can play Veo Veo or I Spy with the objects in your room. “Veo veo papel picado.” or “Veo veo algo morado.” Then, let them guess the vocab term. “¿Papel picado?” o “¿una vela?” Another version of “Veo veo” can be done online or with a print-out. On a blank Google Slide, insert a bunch of Day of the Dead clipart and scatter it around on the page. Ask students to find the “calavera” or count how many “calaveras” there are. The first student to find the item or count the total wins a point!
Comprehensible Input
If you’ve ever traveled to Mexico or another Spanish-speaking country that celebrates Day of the Dead around that time of year, hopefully you have some amazing pictures to share with your students. When I visited Guatemala in November 2017 and 2018, the cemeteries in the small aldeas were adorned with papel picado and painted in bright colors. I always share these pictures with my students and use comprehensible input to describe the images. Even if you don’t have your own personal images, a quick Google Search will yield tons of results. Showing authentic images can really have an impact on students! As you go through your images, don’t be nervous to repeat yourself A LOT! If the picture is of a cemetery, then you should say the words “cementerio,” “tumba,” “limpar,” and “decorar” A LOT! You should ask simple questions, such as “¿Es papel picado o una tumba?” “Limpian las tumbas antes o después del 1 de noviembre?” Provide input that lets students process it and produce simple output.
Day of the Dead Infographics & Articles
Use infographics or colorful articles. My favorite Spanish magazines from Scholastic, come in 3 different levels of text. I have based so many lessons off of articles from these books because they are authentic, comprehensible, and filled with cultural information that students really love reading about. I usually read through the article first on my own, pull out the most important vocabulary and introduce it first before students even get their hands on the article. I find images that represent each of the vocabulary terms and put them on a Google Slides. I talk about the word for a minute, asking questions in the target language, trying to get them to describe the item, explain when they’ve seen it, what it symbolizes, etc. Then, your students will be better-equipped to read the article, as they will have more exposure to the new words, leading to greater confidence. For infographics, just a quick search on Pinterest will yield a ton of results. You will find colorful, image-filled infographics explaining Day of the Dead, how to build an altar, etc. Here is my Pinterest page, with tons of boards for different holidays and themes. You can do the same vocabulary strategy with these.
Film a Video
Once students have received the vocabulary input and they’ve practiced, now is the time to let them demonstrate what they’ve learned. I recommend a presentational task, such as filming a video about Día de los muertos. Ask your students to create a tourism video that promotes visiting Mexico during Day of the Dead and what tourists will experience. Another option would be a “How-to” video where students teach the class “how-to” make pan de muerto, papel picado, an altar, etc. One final option is a news broadcast where students imagine that they are in Mexico during Day of the Dead. Have them report back to the USA on what they see, and what they’ve learned.
I hope these ideas inspire you to add something new to your Day of the Dead Spanish lesson plans this year. But, if you’re not able to deviate too much from your standard curriculum, here are some strategies for sticking to curriculum but weaving in some Day of the Dead material into ANY lesson!
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