Your language-teaching mission, should you choose to accept it, is to incorporate activities that highlight Hispanic, Latinx, Chicanx, Indigenous and Afro-Latinx culture into your non-Spanish classroom.
As I’ve mentioned before, each month of the school year I create a curriculum packet for the Edmonds School District for staff and/or parents to use. The goal is to focus on a different national month of celebrating diversity, with activities for a variety of core academic subject areas and some fun stuff (crafts, art, cooking). However, for my blog, I like to pull out some activities that would work well in a language classroom to share with you!
Starting on September 15 and ending on October 15, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month. You’ll notice the title of this post includes more than just Hispanic… and there’s a reason for this! Since 1988, when President Reagan began this tradition, our understanding of identity has greatly expanded. Dr. Sally Guzmán, Marina Espinoza, and Karla Reyes-Sanchez from ESD have developed this great graphic (see below) to illustrate the many ways to explain and celebrate “Hispanic” identity. I also highly recommend this PDF from Exploratorium.edu as well.
Even if you’re not a Spanish teacher, there are some fun ways to celebrate Hispanic/Latinx/Chicanx Heritage Month in the language classroom:
Using art to explore using adjectives:
You can put up a piece of art on a projector, or have prints posted around the room for a jigsaw exercise. Students use their adjectives (great for beginners, but equally challenging for advanced learners!) For example, I would start with this painting by Los Angeles artist Gilbert "Magu" Luján, which has some great material for adjectives of color and texture, not to mention simple vocabulary of the subject. This can also be a gateway for discussing the various identities that many people inhabit and the choices they make when choosing identity markers. For example, using the above identiy graphic, I would say that Luján might have chosen to describe himself as Chicano or Indigenous, because he was born in the United States and has Mexican and Indigenous ancestry. He could also describe himself as Latino, since Mexico is part of Latin-America, or Hispanic, since Mexico is a Spanish-speaking country. In the 1960s, Luján chose Chicano as a way to identify himself, saying that by drawing attention to his community’s roots in Mexico, “it is clear to all that the Chicano culture is a real and identifiable body”. This is a great transition to talking about the power of language!
If you want to get a bit more complex, the Smithsonian American Art Museum had a wonderful web exhibit for Latino American Art, which is no longer available on their website but can be still found in some curriculum docs. Personally, I’d love to do an activity with Cocina Jaiteca by Larry Yañez (1988), maybe even have student draw out their own kitchens in a symbolic way. I’m definitely a sucker for word play (check out page 18 of the linked document to see how clever the painting title is!)
Practicing numbers using dominos!
Playing dominos can be a great way to celebrate Hispanic/Latinx/Chicanx Heritage Month while using any target language to reinforce number vocabulary! In doing some research I learned that dominos is a very popular game in many Latinx communities. In Puerto Rico it is, as this quote by Leah Carrillo shows, a huge deal: “¡ Los dominos son para los boricuas, como los tostones y el mofongo, parte de nuestra herencia cultural ! ” (“Dominos are for Puerto Ricans, like tostones and mofongo, part of their cultural heritage!’) According to José Carrillo, for Puerto Ricans “el domino” is more than just a game: it is also a way for a community to build relationships while sharing information, and for children to learn from their parents and grandparents. Kelly Thompson observes that dominos, which are heavy and waterproof, are perfect for windy island living! You can watch this video from the Lobby of Hobbies, where the host, Jazz, talks about his Puerto Rican heritage as well as the staple game Dominoes. Check out how Puerto Ricans play their dominoes, how it may differ in different parts of the island, and overall, just how fun and strategic it is.
Reading bilingual books
Find books that are in your target language and Spanish for some exposure to a different language and culture! For example, “Little Maria (La Pequeña María)” is a bilingual book series written by Luz Maria Mack and illustrated by Vanessa Ballez. Victor M. Colón animates Maria’s life as little Afro-Latina girl in the Dominican Republic using illustrations from the books. ELL students or younger students can fill out this simple worksheet while watching the video. RESOURCE: Little Maria (La Pequeña María)
Playing around with gender-neutral forms of Spanish (and other languages!)
As I’ve discussed before, there is a big movement in gendered languages to become more inclusive. The Gender in Languages Project has an amazing interactive website where you can play around with the various forms of inclusive language in languages from English, to Irish, to Mandarin Chinese. Why not explore the Spanish page and make connections to your target language?
Share in the comments how you celebrate Hispanic/Latinx/Chicanx Heritage Month in your classroom!