El Dia de los Muertos

Introduction

Have you ever thrown a party for someone that is deseased? Have you gone to a party for a death relative? 

A table set to welcome departedspirits home? Picnic and music at a cementary? Sounds loco (crazy), right?

By the time you finish this lesson you will probably think that El Dia de los Muertos is a fun tradition. You might even want to celebrate it too.

Task

After this lesson you are going to know all the items  that is included on an Altar and how it is arraged. You will be able to create an Altar and label in Spanish all the items on it. Such altar will honor a famous person. It will be in honor of someone that you admire and which you had personally meet. Then you will present your altar to the class.

Process

www.inside-mexico.com/featuredead.htlm

www.azcentral.com/holidays/day-of-the-dead

education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/diadelosmuertos/?

www.daysofthedeath

spanish.about.com>...>Holiday.Religious Holidays

www.mexoline.com/dayofthedead.htlm

www.dayofthedeathflorida.com

www.niu.edu/newsplace/nndia.htlm

II  Watch the video: "Dia de los Muertos Explained" - Part 2 @ aztecal.com

III. Pick the person you want to honor and do a brief research on that person. You will need to know personal things about the person you choose,  like that person's hobby or hobbies, favorite food, profession, place of birth, music he or she liked, among others.

IV. Gather 7 to 10 items and/or pictures to put on the altar. Before you put together the altar label the items (in Spanish) and then put together the altar. Your altar should contain at least four items and at least three pictures. it should have an 8 x 10 picture of the person, that the teacher will print for you. It can have pictures of relatives and/or pictures of the things that person liked, collected, made, sold, etc.

V. Make a brief presentation about your Altar to the class. Uses Spanish vocabulary (labeled items) when mentioning the items you included. Should tell the reason why you chose that person.

Evaluation

* Total of 12 points to be added to "Projects" final grades.

PROJECT'S RUBRIC....

VOCABULARY:

  • 3 points - student's list contained all 10 new words
  • 2 points - student's list contained 9 - 6 new words
  • 1 point  - students's list contained 5 or less new words
  • 0 points - student didn't make a vocabulary list or didn't tun it in

THE ALTAR:

  • 3 points - it included 7 to 10 items (4 items/3 pictures); items were all labeled; looked well put together
  • 2 points - less than 7 items; most items labeled; looked well put together
  • 1 point  - not all items requiered were included; items were not labeled; looked incomplete
  • 0 points - student did not the project

ORAL PRESENTATION

  • 3 points - student explained why he/she chose that person; used the Spanish words to mention all the items on the altar; student caught peers and teacher's attention
  • 2 points - student explained why he/she chose that person but only used the Spanish words to mention some of the items; student caught peers and teacher's attention
  • 1 point  - student either didn't explained reason for choosing person or used Spanish words; unable to catch peers' attention
  • 0 points - students did not do the oral presentation of his/her project

DISCUSSION OF REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS

  • 3 points - student answered all questions and participated in class discussion of the questions
Conclusion

With this lesson you have learned about a Mexican tradition that most students your age have not even heard of. If they have heard about it they probably have not had the experience of making an Altar. It is important to learn about other cultures because we live in a global society.

As a reflection on what you have learned, answer the following questions. Also be prepare to share your answer in a class discussion after all the presentations on the Altars.

  • Do you like the Day of the Dead tradition? Explain why.
  • What two activites from the celebrations you like the most?
  • What two activities from the celebrations you like the least or did not like at all?
  • Should Day of the Death be celebrated in the Unite States? Would you celebrate it? Why?
  • What would you change about this tradition/celebration?
Teacher Page

Standards for Foreign Language Learning (The Five C's) covered

  • Communications - through the readings students learned new vocabulary
  • Cultures - because through the study of other languages students gain knowledge of other cultures.
  • Connections - learning languages provide connections to additional bodies of knowledge that may not be available to monolingual English speakers.
  • Comparisons - through camparisons and contrasts students gain insight into the culture and realize that there are multiple ways if viewing the world.
  • Communities - learning in a variety of contexts and in culturally appropiate ways,