| Lesson
Plans LESSON: OUR COUNTRY’S HISPANIC HERITAGE
Grades: 2-4
Subject Areas: Language Arts, History, Geography
Estimated Time: Three 45-minute sessions
I. Summary: National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 – October 15. During this month, the United States celebrates the traditions, ancestry and experiences of residents who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The theme for the 2007 celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month is “Hispanic Americans: Making a Positive Impact on American Society.”
This lesson will provide information on Hispanic Heritage Month as well as Hispanic Americans in the United States. Students will have the opportunity to learn important facts relating to Hispanic culture and will be introduced to four important Hispanic Americans and their achievements.
A guided mapping activity will be provided to help students visualize the impact of Hispanic language and culture on the United States.
II. Objectives:
- Students will consider the significant contributions Hispanic Americans have made to the United States.
- Students will explore the influence of Hispanic culture and language in the United States.
- Students will understand that many U.S. cities and states have names rooted in the Spanish language.
- Students will identify the location of the U.S. in relation to Spanish-speaking countries like Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.
III. Materials:
- Related activity sheets: Maya & Miguel’s Latin Fun Fiesta.
 (PDF 345 KB)
- A Hispanic Heritage Map (PDF 122 KB), showing the U.S., Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
- Short biographies of the following 4 famous Hispanic Americans:
- Rita Moreno, actress, singer, and dancer
- Pat Mora, writer
- Jorge Posada, baseball player
- Mario Molina, scientist
IV. Procedure:
(Session One)
This session will provide background information about Hispanic Heritage Month and Hispanic Americans.
1. Allow students to share what they currently know about Hispanic Heritage Month. Ask students if they know why it is celebrated. Ask them what they think the word “Hispanic” means. Write down answers for students to view on a chart.
Add important facts to the list. Include the following: According to the United States Census Bureau, on July 1, 2006, it was estimated that the Hispanic population of the United States was 44.3 million people. This makes people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. The Bureau also notes that the projected Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2050, will be 102.6 million. According to this projection, Hispanics will constitute 24 percent of the nation’s total population by that date.
2. Pass out the first page of the Maya & Miguel activity sheet, Latin Fun Fiesta (PDF 345 KB). Review it together. Ask students what other historical facts they learned. Add these to the class chart.
3. Ask students if they can name any famous Hispanics. Do they know any English words that come from the Spanish language? Allow time for students to share their ideas. Pass out the second page of the handout, and review as a group. Were there any surprises?
(Session Two)
Note: Prior to the session, please print out the 4 short biographies of the Hispanic Americans featured in this session. Alternately, students can read the biographies online or find biographies of other well-known Hispanic Americans.
1. Review the information provided from Session One on Hispanic Heritage Month to activate prior knowledge. Ask the students to fold a large piece of paper into fourths. (Demonstrate for the students with a sheet of paper in front of the class.) Write one of the following names in each section: Rita Moreno, Pat Mora, Jorge Posada and Mario Molina. Each box will have a different name. Solicit students to see if they know any information about the four people. If so, ask students to write their responses in the appropriate box with the matching name. (If students are younger, allow them to draw pictures to represent their knowledge.)
2. Arrange students into four groups. Provide each group with the biography of one of the famous Hispanic Americans. Ask the groups to discuss the biographies amongst themselves. Then, ask each group to create a poster or chart illustrating the important accomplishments of the person they’ve discussed. Ask each group to share the information gathered.
(Session Three)
1. Print out the Hispanic Heritage Map (PDF 122 KB). Discuss which area is the United States. Which areas are other countries? Where are the United States and other countries featured on map in relation to each other? (For younger students, you may wish to keep the discussion to the United States.) Which countries and U.S. states have Spanish names? Ask the students why they chose those countries and states? Was it by the sound of their names, or from another source? (If there’s time, you may wish to ask students to color and mark on their maps the countries, and states they’ve identified.)
2. If time permits, work in small groups to match famous Hispanic Americans students learned about in Session Two with the places they were born and/or currently live on the map. (Key: Rita Moreno: Berkeley, CA; Pat Mora, Santa Fe, NM; Jorge Posada, New York, NY; Mario Molina, both San Diego, CA and Mexico City, Mexico.) Come back to the large group to compare their answers and discuss why these people might live where they currently live. Ask the students if they know other famous Hispanic Americans who live in other places?
V. Assessment: Students should successfully demonstrate knowledge about Hispanic Heritage Month, and information on Hispanic Americans including cultural achievements. Students should be able to name and identify a few countries and/or states on a map where they know Spanish speakers live, and should be able to identify some non-English place names on the map.
VI. Extensions in Learning:
- Ask students to create a travel brochure for one of the countries or states discussed in the lesson plan. Depending on age level and available resources, children can create their travel brochures by hand or on the computer.
- To learn more about the places you’ve discussed in this lesson, organize a field trip to the school library or a virtual field trip to the following Web sites:
http://pbskids.org/buster/blog/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hispanic/americas.htm
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/spanishnames.html or
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0854966.html
- If videotaping is an option, consider working with the class to create a video postcard about your town and send it into http://pbskids.org/buster/pfy/index.html.
VII. Related Resources:
- Some books about Hispanic Americans’ contributions to the United States, or what it’s like to be Hispanic American are: Standing Tall, by Argentina Palacios (grades 4-6), The Rainbow Tulip, by Pat Mora (K-3), Look What Came From Mexico, by Miles Harvey (K-3), Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan (grades 4-8)
- For more Hispanic Heritage books, resources, and activities, see the following Web sites:
- The U.S. Census Bureau’s Press Release on Hispanic Heritage Month for 2007 is chockfull of interesting facts and figures. While the reading level is not appropriate for grades 2-4, it is a valuable resource for background information for teachers.
- Print out a poster featuring famous Hispanics celebrated during Hispanic Heritage Month 2007 at: http://www.patmora.com/pdf_files/hispanicheritage_060927_eng.pdf (PDF 1 MB)
Related National Standards (These are established by McREL at URL: http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/.)
Language Arts
- Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process to decode and identify unknown words
- Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes in group discussion
History
- Understands how historical figures in the U.S. and in other parts of the world have advanced the rights of individuals and promoted the common good, and the character traits that made them successful
- Understands the historical events and democratic values commemorated by major national holidays
- Understands the people, events, problems, and ideas that were significant in creating the history of their state or region
Geography
- Understands the spatial organization of places through such concepts as location, distance, direction, scale, movement, and region
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