World history curriculum continues to be plagued by Eurocentric narratives and perspectives eliminating local and community agency in Caribbean history. Textbooks and curriculum standards exclude much of Caribbean history and marginalize the influence and contributions of the African Diaspora. Oftentimes, Caribbean achievements are attributed to…

The authors describe a month-long unit on Afro-Latin@ identity in which third grade students began with a discussion of complex questions with which many historians, anthropologists, and scholars struggle to make sense. The goal of this month-long unit was to have students adopt the lens of cultural anthropologists as they explored the historical…

This article demonstrates how teachers can represent a different culture in their instructional planning while still meeting state-mandated content standards. It shares the lessons learned by practicing and pre-service teachers through an experience designed to help them become more culturally responsive teachers. Participants spent a month in…

The study of the beautiful monarch butterfly lends itself to a vast array of subject matter, and offers the opportunity to meet a large and varied number of standards and objectives for many grade levels. Art projects featuring monarchs may include many cross-curricular units such as math (symmetry and number graphing), science (adaptation and…

In this article, the authors make a case for teaching vocabulary in the elementary grades through a focus on the morphological structure of words, in particular English words that are derived through Latin and Greek roots and affixes. The authors present a set of engaging instructional ideas for the use of Latin and Greek derivations to teach…

The secret to a good celebration is to involve as many students as possible and to give them genuine responsibilities and encouragement to be creative. Literacy celebrations offer students, and teachers, the opportunity to have fun and show off what they have learned during their deeper exploration of various literacy studies. The author conjures…

This article describes how the author teaches 8th graders to imagine the experiences of people from another time in history and make connections to today. Through a role play, the author teaches the hidden story of Japanese Latin Americans during WWII. The role play engages students in exploration of a little-known piece of history--the…

Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas in Peru, was recently voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Also in Peru are the mysterious Nazca Lines--a humming bird, a spider, and trapezoids--which are etched in the desert so large they can only be seen from an airplane. The author experienced some of these places recently when he and his…

September 11, 2001, is a day most American high school students remember. They may not fully grasp the events that took place, the reasons behind the terrorist attacks on the United States, or their implications, but they remember. They were children when this national trauma occurred--and they saw those unforgettable television images of the…

High school teacher Suzanne R. Kail and her students uncover the relevance of learning Latin and Greek roots to enhance vocabulary and spelling. Kail reflects on her experience of combining what might be seen as an old-school practice of memorization with promoting higher level thinking skills and anticipates what she will revise for the next…

The rooster is an important symbol in Cuban culture. It represents strength and power. It is considered a compliment for a male to be called a rooster. Jesus Rivera, a folk artist, who is best known for using Cuban symbolism in his ceramics and illustrations, visited the class described in this article. Senor Rivera described the culture of Cuba…

In this article, the author describes her book, "Amazing Maya Inventions You Can Build Yourself," a new book designed to help kids learn the history of the ancient Maya civilization. "Amazing Maya Inventions You Can Build Yourself" offers the reader an engaging exploration of the history and culture of the Maya through building and crafts projects…

Discusses the ideology contained in Caribbean literature as influenced by Marxism, feminism, politics, and the fragmented sociopolitical history of the region. Examines the short story "Isolda's Mirror" as it relates to the new socioeconomic system in Puerto Rico caused by industrialization and the resulting political and economic…

An introductory course on Latin America is probably the only course most college students will take on that region. It provides the best opportunity for influencing the educated public about the area. There is an urgent need to increase understanding of Latin America because so much of the American public, including public officials, are so…

Art often becomes an effective tool for teaching history, as well as political and social justice issues. During the 1980s, the author had the privilege of visiting Chile where she was introduced to small fabric collages called "arpilleras," which, at the time, were known as "embroideries of life and death." Today, the…