Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos)

Students will:

• Be able to research the Day of the Dead.
• Be able to write a paragraph or two on the topic. 
• Be able to locate images that are copyright free in Google. 

Vocabulary Words:

1. Day of the Dead: The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1 and 2 to honor their dead loved ones.

To prepare for this lesson:

• National Geographic Kids has a great article about the history of this Mexican and Latin American celebration. Read the article Day of the Dead. 
   
• Watch the following videos to learn more about the Day of the Dead. 
  • What is Day of the Dead?
  • What is Day of the Dead? National Geographic
• Use this Google Doc template or create one of your own and make copies for your students. If you are using Google Classroom, use the Make a Copy option to send out copies to your students. 
   
• Make sure your students know how to access the document.
   
• You will show them how to add images in the Google Document.
  • If using Google Docs, the students can go to Insert on the menu bar and then Search>Search the Web.
  • Teach them how to type keywords to find the images they need. 
     
• You should also show them how to resize the images as they will be very large as they are inserted into the document. 
   
• If your students are not using Google Docs, you can use public-domain image sites with them. 
  • PhotosforClass
  • Pexels
  • Google Images 
    • Have the students do a search for their images. 
    • Then show them Tools>Usage Rights. Have them choose Creative Commons Licenses. 

Note: If time, you can show the students the Pixar movie Coco an animated full-motion movie on the traditions of the Day of the Dead. 

See Accommodations Page and Charts on the 21things4students.net site in the Teacher Resources. 

Directions for this activity:

1. The teacher will share a Day of the Dead video with the students.
    
2. The teacher will share the National Geographic website with the students and give them time to read the article. 
    
3. The students will go to the Google Document and write a short paragraph on what they have learned about the Day of the Dead. 
    
4. The students will add one-two images by doing an image search in Google Docs or one of the copyright-free public domain image sites.  
    
5. The students will need to resize their images. 
    
6. The students will share or turn in their documents to their teacher. 

Different options for assessing the students:

• Observations
• Check for understanding
• Students will need to write a least 2-3 sentences and add at least one image to complete the assignment.