This curriculum unit introduces students in grades K-8 to an important Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead (November 2). The unit provides an overview of the celebration and is divided into two lessons: (1) "Classroom Altar" (with seven typical art and food preparation activities); and (2) "Day of the Dead Procession" (with…

Teaching materials for a comprehensive and integrated study of Mexico at the elementary level are presented. Emphasis throughout is on developing cross-cultural comparisons between Hermosillo and its sister city, Phoenix, for whom the program was created. Mexican geography, history, current events, politics, art, entertainment, education, people,…

This project shares the information that an elementary school media specialist gleaned from a summer seminar in Mexico. The document consists almost entirely of pictures of Macintosh video screens. The author used still frame video slide pictures and computerized notes to prepare a "hypercard stack" that readers could access using…

Two contrasting cultures are briefly examined in this unit of study for elementary school students. The student's pamphlet outlines the significant aspects of Swazi and Tepotzlan societies, highlighting customs of the two cultures from birth through death. Objectives of the lessons and exercises provided in the teacher's manual are to help…

This packet shares general impressions and interpretations of Mexico offered by a participant in a 5-week Fulbright-Hays Seminar. Included are suggestions on how to use this information to open up communication between the school and Mexican students and their parents. In addition to the background information and statistics, the material also has…

Developed for elementary school children, this unit is designed to teach about Mexican American culture through the study of holidays celebrated throughout much of Latin America and the southwestern United States. The unit describes and provides background information about nine Mexican American holidays. Among the activities included are the…

The story of the conquest of Mexico, Mezo-America, and South America is widely known, and most of the known traditions are referred to as historical events and in the past tense. "El Dia de los Muertos," however, is a perfect example of the blending of two cultures or transculturation. To ignore what California's large Hispanic…

This curriculum guide is intended: (1) to expose students to the people and customs of Michoacan, Mexico; (2) to explore the meaning of traditional Day of the Dead customs through hands-on experiences; and (3) to build the self-esteem of second language learners of Mexican descent. During the study, students whose primary language is Spanish read…

This simulation allows students to learn of the shared Hispanic background of the Southwestern states and help students realize that the states developed in a parallel fashion, not in isolation. The packet is divided into eight sections: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Land"; (3) "Native Americans"; (4)…

Written to provide a view of the American landscape as it was before the European colonization, this book consists of 14 units which provide portraits of the American Indian tribes who occupied the land, on a bio-regional basis. The units are about the: basket makers of California, gatherers of desert and mountain, fishers of the streams, boat…