Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to recognize the contributions and achievements of Hispanic and Latino Americans rooted in Latin cultures. distinctive cultures they brought with them.
The month runs from September 15 to October 15, and it’s the perfect opportunity to teach your students about Hispanic Heritage including culture and traditions, geography, history, and rich artistic inheritance.
All five of the following ideas will engage your students. They require very little set-up or prep, especially if you have an ActivPanel interactive display. Learning is just a few clicks away.
1. Explore Google Arts & Culture: Latinx Cultures in the US
Use the resources from Google Arts & Culture to teach your students about Latinx cultures in the United States.
Google compiled more information about Latinx cultures in its Arts and Culture platform than you could possibly present in one month, much less one lesson. Browse the information about US Latinx icons, works of art, cultural history, and Hispanic communities and select one (or several) to teach your students.
You could even let students browse the information on their tablets or laptops while you teach. If they find something particularly fascinating, take a screenshot and annotate directly on the image using the annotate feature from ActivInspire. Then, save the annotated image as a PDF and let students keep it to study later.
You could also break the students into groups and assign each group one section from this Google collection. Tell them to pick out 10 things they find interesting and let them present on the ActivPanel.
2. Get Inspired with Lesson Plans from EDSITEment
Another great free resource you can utilize is EDSITEment. This site is curated and run by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Click the K-12 Lessons for Hispanic History & Culture menu item. After it expands, you’ll discover a variety of lessons already put together for you to use. Each lesson comes with plenty of information, guiding questions, and educational activities.
The advancement of edtech will save you so much time. No more making paper copies of worksheets. Instead, you can display the EDSITEment worksheets on the ActivPanel and write directly on the board.
Let students fill in the blanks; smooth vellum writing technology makes it easier than ever. After the worksheets are filled out, save them as a PDF and send them to students. Students can keep and re-read the lessons at home.
3. Enjoy Digital Interactive Art Activities From the Hispanic Museum & Library
If you want to introduce your students to Latino artists, the best place to find educational activities is The Hispanic Museum and Library.
There are two activities you can do with your interactive display. The first one allows each child to assemble virtual jigsaw puzzles that are pictures of famous works of art by Latino artists.
Load the puzzles on the ActivPanel interactive display and let your students use the touchscreen to put them together. Or use the screen mirroring feature to allow students to work the puzzles on their own tablet. It’s so intuitive that kids will feel like they’re putting it together in real-time.
Puzzles for children range from 6-30 pieces. Puzzles for the whole family have up to 117 pieces.
There are also numerous art tutorials where you can direct your students to make their own art projects.
4. Throw a Classroom Dance Party with Music by 123 Andrés
Younger students will enjoy a dance break during a full day of classroom lessons. Let them get up and groove to the fun and educational songs from 123 Andrés.
This musical duo teaches students how to speak Spanish by singing songs. There are basic movements that young learners can follow along and mimic, or let them make up their own dance moves.
The ActivSound Bar projects crisp, clear sound that children in the back of the classroom can hear just as clearly as the ones in the front. Your classroom can enjoy a little concert just for them – and learn a few new words and phrases at the same time.
5. Go On a Virtual “Tour” of 19 Latin American Countries
Finally, if you’re searching for something calmer and more relaxing, then play a virtual walking tour of any of the 19 Latin American countries.
The video does not include many voices or distracting sounds as it walks you through the city. And since there are 19 different videos, you have plenty of choices and places for the students to sit back and experience.
There are quite a few different activities you can do with these simple videos.
- Play a Memory Game. Use the ActivPanel timer app and see how many images or items students can remember from the walking tour before time runs out.
- Ask students to write down things that are interesting to them as the tour plays on screen. Then have a class discussion about how different – or similar – this city is to a city near them.
- Place these quiet videos during reading time and allow students to watch when they need a brain break.
- Watch the walking tour and then use the Spinner App to call on students and ask them what they saw on the tour. If you have shy students, ask them to screencast their device so they can type their answers for the class to see.
We Can’t Wait to See How You Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
National Hispanic Heritage Month is an incredible opportunity to celebrate the diversity in the United States and other countries in North, Central, and South America. Take advantage of this month and use your edtech to immerse your students in Hispanic history and the beauty of their arts and culture.
The advancements in edtech make it effortless and fun to engage with students through ActivInspire and ClassFlow and the wide variety of pre-loaded ActivPanel apps.
Contact a Promethean expert to learn how our groundbreaking interactive displays and software can help you teach your students about National Hispanic Heritage month in new and exciting ways.