Resources for Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo Grade 2 to 6 - Kiddyhouse.com- 5844

This site offers great detailed information about Cinco de Mayo. Highlights include "When is Cinco de Mayo?," "What is Cinco de Mayo Celebrated About?,"Why is Cinco de Mayo Celebrated on a Much Larger Scale in the United States?," and many other links and printables. Be aware: this site has not been kept up to date and many of the "extra" links are no longer working, however the information is still useful.

In the Classroom: Use this informational site about the history behind the May 5th holiday as the focus of a teacher-made Web hunt. Check out the links at the end of the narrative for printable coloring activities and Word searches.

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Cinco de Mayo Grade 4 to 9 - The History Channel- 10001

This pdf file (Acrobat Reader file) offers a traditional (but solid) look at Cinco de Mayo, beyond the food and fun! Learn about the historical impact of the holiday and its significance to Mexicans (and folks from other countries, as well). This site (PDF) is set up as a study guide. It includes historical information, curriculum links (history, world cultures, and social studies), vocabulary words, discussion questions, extension activities, map challenges, related literature, and websites for additional information. Opening this link does require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom: This site is ready to use in class. Have cooperative learning groups debate the discussion questions. Better yet, turn the discussion questions into a class wiki, allowing students to input their thoughts on the wiki. Have students write a journal entry (as a blog) highlighting one of the discussion questions or from the perspective of someone living during the 1800s. Share maps of Mexico on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups create commercials highlighting what they have learned (be sure they include some new vocabulary words) or even a video advertisement for your class's Cinco de Mayo celebration. Share the videos using a tool such as SchoolTube (reviewed here).

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Cinco de Mayo Words Grade 4 to 10 - Vocabulary University- 8079

This visually "plain" website provides numerous resources about Cinco de Mayo. The history of the holiday is discussed in detail and simple to comprehend. This website also includes unique vocabulary activities and printable puzzles. There is also a wordbank and other useful information.

In the Classroom: When planning your Cinco de Mayo lessons, don't forget to check out this unique website. Share the word puzzles on your interactive whiteboard or projector.

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Celebrating Cinco de Mayo Grade 2 to 6 - Julie Vickery- 5849

This Cinco de Mayo site offers a small but nice collection of recipes, games, activities, language exercises, and crafts to incorporate into a class celebration. At the time of this review, one of the interactive games was not working. There are also links to more information (several of which are out of date). However, the links that are active, offer lots of detailed information. Be aware: this site does include unobtrusive advertisements.

In the Classroom: Use this site to prepare for your classroom's Cinco de Mayo celebration. Have cooperative learning groups explore one of the additional sites or a specific topic and create a multimedia presentation: a PowerPoint, video, or blog entry.

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Cinco de Mayo Webquest Grade 2 to 3 - Cheryl J. Cox- 2126

Students will learn about the history of Cinco de Mayo and the Hispanic culture on this WebQuest. In groups of four, they work through seven different activities involving web research. Activities range from answering questions to making a piñata to sampling Mariachi music (some of the music links were not working at the time of this review). A list of books on Cinco de Mayo is also included. Be sure to visit the Teachers' Link.

In the Classroom: Have cooperative learning groups explore this site (and the activities) together.

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Kaboose: Cinco de Mayo Grade K to 8 - Kaboose- 9668

Are you looking for some fresh ideas to use to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in your classroom? Check out this site, created by Kaboose, offering everything from recipes to crafts to printables to historical information and MORE. There are booklists, activities, music information, and countless other tidbits of facts! Although the site does include some advertisements, it does have something for any elementary or middle school class celebrating this holiday.

In the Classroom: Have cooperative learning groups use this site to prepare a project for your Cinco de Mayo celebrations. There are SO MANY ready-to-go activities, you are certain to find something for nearly every subject area. Challenge groups to do the basic activities listed at this site (i.e. cook the recipe in FCS class), but go a step further and create a multimedia presentation. For example, have students create a video of their cooking experience, the cultural impact of the food, and what else they learned about Cinco de Mayo. Share the videos on a site such as Teachers.TV (explained here).

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Cinco de Mayo Grade 1 to 6 - BellaOnline- 5846

This site offers a booklist all related to Cinco de Mayo. Try out these two books and related hands-on activities that explore the traditions and culture of Mexico. There is also a link to other sites for additional information. MOST of these sites were working, at the time of this review. This site does include some advertisements.

In the Classroom: Read the stories to your class and try some of the activities together!

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Taking the Fifth Grade 3 to 6 - Pearson Education- 5845

This site offers a quick 5-question quiz. Test your students' knowledge Cinco de Mayo with this quiz. Be aware: there are LARGE advertisements at this site (all appropriate, but a bit distracting).

In the Classroom: While studying Cinco de Mayo and/or Mexico, share this quick quiz on your interactive whiteboard or projector.

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Make Your Own Piñata Grade 2 to 6 - Culinary Institute of America- 5847

This simple site provides complete directions for constructing a traditional piñata.

In the Classroom: While preparing for your Cinco de Mayo celebration, have groups of students create their own piñatas. Share this link on your class website, for students to use at home to create piñatas with their families.

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Cinco de Mayo Grade 2 to 6 - abcteach- 5842

Celebrate with this collection of activities that includes an informational essay with reading comprehension questions, a coloring page, and printable worksheets for poetry and creative writing tasks inspired by the Mexican holiday. Many of the printables require Adobe Acrobat. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom: Share this informative site with your students on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have cooperative learning groups explore this site together. Why not challenge students to create a news broadcast highlighting the holiday. Tape the broadcasts and share them on a site such as Teachers.TV (explained here).

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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Grade 2 to 8 - Scholastic- 8418

This site highlights the historical contributions of Spanish speaking people, focusing on Hispanic America. Language learning opportunities, research projects, cultural analysis, and biography writing are just some of the offerings available at three levels. The teacher's guide provides all the materials for each lesson, but the lesson is certainly adaptable to including the Latina students in your classroom who might have contributions to make. Additional site activities include music, recipes, crafts, games and other writing suggestions. In the Pinata concentration games, students learn a few Spanish words as they play! This site requires Flash. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom: Use the activities on this site as part of cultural heritage or explorer study in social studies or in conjunction with Latino literature selections in your reading classes. As you study communities and cultures with younger students, this site will give you a way to focus on an example. Use this site as part of your Cinco de Mayo celebration, as well. Many of the activities would work well as either whole class lessons on a projector or small group "scavenger hunt" activities for upper grades on lab or laptop computers (make sure reading levels are appropriate if students must read on their own).

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La Bamba Spanish Lesson Grade 8 to 12 - musicalspanish.com- 5843

Learn more about the language and culture of Mexico through the words and music of La Bamba – a tune that was sung and played hundreds of years before it appeared as a Top 40 hit. Listen to the song, then explore a series of lessons that link back to the vocabulary and grammar of the lyrics. Although this site is part of a "for a fee" site, there is a lot to explore here (for FREE). The sample lesson does require Flash. You can get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.

In the Classroom: Share the interactive lesson and information on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Play the song for students to hear while they explore the meaning behind the song.

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