This year, the Day of the Dead celebration filled our middle school Spanish classes with different lessons, materials, and activities. Students were eager to learn about Mexican traditions and vocabulary, and learned from videos, articles, books, and more.
Sixth grade students made calaveritas de azucar using a traditional recipe and authentic molds; they had a lot of fun learning about the sweet meaning of memories, practicing colors, and formulating questions in Spanish.
Seventh grade discussed the holiday and engaged with audiovisual materials that led them to a choice project. Some students followed a recipe in Spanish to bake pan de muerto, while others created altars for people who are no longer alive. On Friday, October 31, we visited the pre-kindergarten classroom for a Day of the Dead celebration, focusing on memories of the monarch butterflies they released; we shared pan de muerto baked at the school by Chef Ferrulo, made paper marigolds, and shared books and other crafts related to the celebration. It was a very special time for everybody!
Eighth grade students read a book called Tubas. They read articles about traditional rugs made in the streets of Central America to celebrate the Day, then recreated the idea on a piece of art. They drew a Day of the Dead icon, made a template, and filled the piece with wood dust and paint; they framed it and were proud of the results because they followed the steps in a Spanish video.
– Ana María Restrepo, middle school Spanish teacher
