El dia de los muertos(Day of the Dead)

Introduction

As we all know Day of the Dead is a huge celebration in the Spanish Speaking world in which we celebrate the dead. In this lesson we will look into different aspects of the celebration by looking into the foods, activities, and altars that are used during the celebration. By the end of this project you will become part of the celebration by creating your own altar and celebrating the dead with your classmates.

Get your self informed about the Day of the Dead by watching the following video.

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/videos/discovery-atlas-mexico-day-of-the-dead.htm

Task

This project will consist of three steps in order for you to get the experience of Dia de los Muertos. The first step will consist of a little research in order for you to learn information on the celebration. Once you are well informed on the culture and traditions of El Dia de los Muertos you will create your own shoebox altar(step 2) honoring someone from your family that has passed away. If you choose to honor a celebrity please see me in order for it to get approved. Your final step is to create a written assignment including important information you found during your investigation about the celebration. In your written assignment also include why you choose the person you did to create an altar for them. You will then bring your altar to class where we will celebrate and honor the dead together as a class.

Process

Dia de los muertos Project: La ofrenda

You will be creating a shoebox altar to honor someone (loved one) that passed away. Your altar needs to be neat, colorful and include all of the important symbols for el dia de los muertos. In back of your project you will have a written assignment.

Things to include in your OFRENDA: 100 pts

picture of the deceased and his/her name
candles
favorite food
water
cempasuchil ( yellow marigolds)
pan de muerto
sugar skulls / skeletons
papel picado
toys for kids or favorite items for adults
decorative table cloths

Things to include in the written assignment: 50 pts.

Significance of Dia de los muertos ( why it is celebrated?)
Dates (when is it celebrated?)
4 important symbols in the ofrenda and how they are represented.
5 sentence biography of the person you choose to honor.

Late assignments will not be accepted:

Projects will be displayed at our library for others to learn about the Day of the Dead.

Evaluation

Shoebox Altar Rubric Student Name:

Excellent

100

Satisfactory

60

Fair

30

Not satisfactory

15

Points

- Altar offers bright colors and flashy

- Creative and Unique

- Has at least 5 artifacts of the person in the altar.

- Has culture artifacts celebrating the dead

- Shoebox is decorated all around

- Colors and design is well designed

- It has at least 3 artifacts of the person on the altar.

- Offers 3 cultural artifacts in the altar.

- Shoebox is decorated neatly

- Offers a few colors in the altar

-Design is acceptable

-It has at least 2 artifacts of the person on the altar.

- It has 2 cultural artifacts in the altar.

- Shoebox is decorated fairly

- Minimal colors and designs

- Design of the altar is basic

-It has at least 1 artifact of the person on the altar.

- It offers 1 cultural artifact in the altar.

-Shoebox is decorated with minimal effort.

/100

Dia de los Muertos Paper

Student Name: ________________________________________

CATEGORY	10-8 pts	7-5pts	4-2pts	1-0 pts
Quality of Information	Information clearly relates to the main topic. It includes several supporting details and/or examples.	Information clearly relates to the main topic. It provides 1-2 supporting details and/or examples.	Information clearly relates to the main topic. No details and/or examples are given.	Information has little or nothing to do with the main topic.
Organization	Information is very organized with well-constructed paragraphs and subheadings.	Information is organized with well-constructed paragraphs.	Information is organized, but paragraphs are not well-constructed.	The information appears to be disorganized. 8)
Mechanics	No grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors.	Almost no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors	A few grammatical spelling, or punctuation errors.	Many grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
Format	The paper is between 1.5 and 3 pages, 1 inch margins, 12 point, Times New Roman Font, double spaced	The paper is missing one of the formating requirements.	The paper is missing two of the formating requirements.	The paper is missing three or more formating requirements.
Content	The paper explains and describes both Dia de los Muertos and the students altar.	The paper does not explain and describe both Dia de los Muertos and the students altar.	The paper either explains or describes both Dia de los Muertos and the students altar.	The paper explains and or describes only Dia de los Muertos or the students altar.

Conclusion

By the end of this lesson you would have learned the significance of Day of the Dead in the Spanish speaking world and its importance. During this unit you were able to research the celebration and also create a personalized altar for a family member. This unit has taught you that the Day of the Dead is to celebrate and remember those that have passed away in a celebration to remember.