This book was prepared to enable schools to incorporate material on the Caribbean into existing curricula. Four aims guided the editors in their selection and presentation of materials: (1) to show Caribbean history and contemporary realities through the eyes of ordinary people, both real and fictional; (2) to promote critical thinking rather than…

This mini-unit focuses on the lives and accomplishments of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood and their contacts with the Maya. This project deals specifically with how Stephens' published accounts and Catherwood's drawings became the basis from which all further Mayan research developed. These two explorers were the first to describe…

This curriculum project offers ways to teach students about Mexico to make the country come alive for them. The curriculum is designed to create avenues for third-year Spanish students to practice the following language skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The lessons included can be adapted for other-level students. There are four…

This paper provides the text, both introduction and more detailed description, of a "photoessay" photoessay developed by a participant in the Fulbright program in Mexico. The "photoessay" was presented at the participant's school. Viewers comments are included in the paper. The paper also briefly describes an educational…

This paper provides a description of programs for Spanish language study in Mexico. The programs listed were chosen because of the interest and beauty of the cities where they are located as well as for the competence of the instruction delivered. A substantial part of the paper is entitled "A Mesoamerican Worldview: The Huichol of Mexico.…

The materials in this resource guide include a four-part video, a poster-size cultural map with additional exercises, and the five sections of this guide. The unit, presented in English and Spanish, intends to introduce students to the peoples and cultures of the U.S.-Mexico border, to explore the concept of borders in their own communities, to…

This anthology presents the voices of women and men of Caribbean backgrounds living in the United States. Focus is on five most prevalently represented groups: Puerto Ricans, West Indians, Cubans, Haitians, and Dominicans. The book is organized into five sections: (1) "A Primer on Caribbean Migration" presents an overview of Caribbean…

This research discusses Mexico's maquiladora industry, its employees (mostly women), and how the working conditions and the living environment affect worker health. The paper also explores how the employers, mostly U.S.-owned companies, deny responsibility for worker health, safety, and well-being. This research examines how the continued growth…

This unit provides relevant material for teaching Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima." This material gives the classroom teacher the opportunity to focus more deeply on the teaching of Anaya's work, especially in the areas of Mexican history and folklore on which the book is based. Objectives for "Bless Me, Ultima" include: (1)…

This study addresses the basic question: What are the factors that influence the academic experience of Mexican children, and, to what extent do these factors result in deficits in student learning and achievement? The study was conducted over the course of 5 weeks throughout Mexico in the regions of Juarez, Chihuahua, Michoacan, Mexico, D.F.,…

This educational packet is produced as a tribute to Guatemalan activist and Nobel Peace prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu, and in honor of the Year of Indigenous People, 1993, as declared by the United Nations. The core of the packet is a simulation exercise based on an indigenous family in a Guatemalan village on the day the Peace prize was…

Jamaica is known mainly as a tourist playground and the home of Reggae music. This Jamaican teaching unit dispels stereotypes and shows Jamaica for what it really is--an economically-troubled, developing nation. The unit illustrates the challenges this island nation is facing in its struggle toward economic development. Contents are: Teacher…

The text explores Mexico's history, geography, art, religion, and lifestyles in the context of its complex economy. The text focuses on Mexico's economy and reasons for its current situation. Part I of this teaching unit includes: Teacher Overview, Why Study Mexico, Mexico Fact Sheet, Map of Mexico, the Land and Climate, History, Government,…

The guide was designed to assist secondary school classroom teachers in developing and implementing units on cultural diversity. The activities stress the impact of diversity globally as well as in Latin America and can be used as models for examining diversity in other geographic areas. Diversity refers to the heterogeneity of cultures and social…