Use these videos, articles, and activities to bring the achievements of Hispanic and Latino people into your classroom.

Photo of a girl reading a book about the Aztecs

Though backgrounds, cultures, and histories are a part of our classrooms every day, September 15-October 15 is officially National Hispanic American Heritage Month. Teachers can use this opportunity to shine a light on the critical contributions, rich culture, and long history of Hispanic and Latino Americans. With these resources, students can read, listen, watch, and go off-screen for activities that will give them a window into the enormous impact that Hispanic and Latino people have had on our world.

Below, we've broken our list down into grade bands, and by activity type, so you can check out the resources most relevant to your classes first. But be sure to check out all of the resources, since there's plenty of overlap between grade levels!

Resources for Preschool to Second Grade

 

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The offline activities here will get kids making and coloring crafts from Hispanic and Latino cultures. They can also watch videos that highlight traditional music and illustrate how Spanish is a language spoken in many countries. Make sure to give kids space to talk about their own related knowledge and experiences.

Videos:

Editor's note for all of the YouTube videos listed in this article: Pressing play on the YouTube video will set third-party cookies controlled by Google if you are logged in to Chrome. See Google's cookie information for details.

Hands-on activities:

  • If you want an activity that's more open-ended, have kids use the directions from Kid World Citizen to make some Ecuadorian clay -- migajón -- and create something.
  • These coloring pages from Education.com can open up a great discussion about each famous person's contributions.
  • Explore ancient history by talking about -- and then making -- Taíno petroglyphs using this resource from Kid World Citizen.
  • Work together as a class or in groups to make your own piñatas with guidance from HITN.
  • Play "Mar y Tierra" (Sea and Land) by placing a line or long piece of tape on the floor. Tell students which side is mar/sea and which side is tierra/land. One student calls out "Mar!" or "Tierra!" and the others jump to that side. Increase the speed until there are only two students left!

Resources for Third to Fifth Grade

 

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Third through fifth graders can watch musicians play traditional instruments, learn about prominent Latino and Hispanic people from the present day and the past, read stories about immigration experiences, and more.

Videos:

Texts:

  • From Education.com, read and talk about Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina -- and woman of color -- to ever be appointed to the highest court in the United States. Students can then explore more about the judicial branch, research other prominent Latinas, or do some math about percentages of representation in the government in contrast with the U.S. population.
  • Explore these poems from Central America, provided in both English and Spanish by Teaching Central America. Read them all together, or have students choose their favorite to illustrate, read aloud, or present in some other way. Of course, students can also write their own poems!
  • Teaching Central America also has a host of other downloadable texts and teaching guides to explore -- you'll need to register with an email address for access.

Hands-on activities:

  • Patterns within textiles are often a hallmark of a culture, and with this activity from Education.com, kids can explore that idea. First, they color an Incan pattern, and then they can create it themselves.
  • The Nazca lines in Peru are sure to fascinate students, so have them learn about what we know, then create their own designs using simple materials and instructions from Spanish Mama! Then they can research more about the ancient people who made them, and make a case for what they think their purpose was.
  • Have students learn the history of Guatemalan worry dolls and make their own! This demonstration is from The Cleveland Public Library, but there are other tutorial videos available using other materials, depending on your needs.

Resources for Sixth to Eighth Grade

 

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Explore ancient civilizations and fine art, or learn about leaders like Cesar Chavez. Tackle the appropriation of the taco, or read literature from Latino authors. And you can explore lessons like this one about Maria Moreno at PBS LearningMedia, or these at Zinn Education Project, too.

Videos:

  • Paired with reflection questions you can use for discussion or written response, this video from Re-Imagining Migration features Latino people talking about their perceptions of race. After viewing, students can produce their own videos.
  • This video from NBC offers a profile of a Latina woman working in STEM. She's an electrical engineer who also mentors young girls. Talk about the importance of diversity in these highly technical fields.
  • Watch this video about Cesar Chavez from TeachWithMovies.org to find out why he's a critical figure in the labor movement. Pair with some history or a short story about similar issues, or do some math around how much migrant farmworkers are typically paid.
  • This short YouTube video from In This Together profiles one man's experience as a farmworker, and could be a great companion to the video above.
  • From this nine-minute video from PBS, we learn about Ynés Mexía, a Mexican-American botanist who made important contributions to science.

Texts:

Interactives:

Resources for Ninth to Twelfth Grade

 

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From the ancient Aztec empire to the fabulous Frida Kahlo, high school students can jump into the art, literature, and representation of Hispanic and Latino people.

Videos:

  • Watch this short introduction to Frida Kahlo from TED-Ed (via YouTube) and then, to explore further, jump over to Google Arts & Culture to learn more and see her art. Have students determine what pieces of her life they see reflected in her art.
  • Though it's hosted on YouTube, this audio-only podcast from the Fall of Civilizations is about the Aztec empire. In its entirety, it would span several class periods, so it's probably best in shorter segments. Listening is a great opportunity for students to practice their note-taking skills.

Texts:

Interactives:

  • Click through this Google Arts & Culture collection of Latino musicians with embedded audio of interviews and music. Have students share some of their favorite Latino and Hispanic artists and bands.
  • Pair this feature on the Library of Congress website with actual texts, and students can hear Hispanic and Latino authors reading their work to make it come alive.

Image courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action.

Christine Elgersma

Christine Elgersma is Senior Editor, Learning Content, Strategy which means she manages the newsletter about learning, edits writing about learning, and loves to learn. Before coming to Common Sense, she helped create ELA curriculum for a K-12 app and taught the youth of America as a high school teacher, a community college teacher, a tutor, and a special education instructional aide for about 18 years. Christine is also a writer, primarily of fiction and essays, and loves to read all manner of books. When she's not putting on a spontaneous vaudeville show with her daughter, Christine loves nature, music, and almost any form of dark chocolate.