TeachersFirst's National Hispanic Heritage Month Resources
Other TeachersFirst Special Topics Collections

This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers and students celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month and the important contributions of those whose heritage traces to Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America through related projects and classroom activities.
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Primary Source Sets - Library of Congress
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): 20th century (50), authors (120), black history (56), civil war (144), constitution (88), hispanic (17), jefferson (20), lincoln (84), new deal (5), primary sources (93), segregation (16), thanksgiving (33), veterans (17), washington (29), westward expansion (29), womens suffrage (25), wright brothers (20)
In the Classroom
When introducing a new unit, show students photos from the era and have them describe what they see and what period they think it is. Find plenty of questions and activities (including a blank analysis organizer for students) in the Teacher's Guides. Also look at Library of Congress: for Teachers, reviewed here. Encourage your students to use this tool for projects. Challenge students to find a photo (legally permitted for reproduction), and then narrate the photo as if it is a news report. Have students create a multimedia presentation using Voicethread, reviewed here. This tool allows users to narrate a picture. Include this site on your class webpage for students and parents to access as a reference.You must be registered and logged in to add items to your favorites.
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Latino Vote Map - Latino Decisions
Grades
8 to 12tag(s): elections (73), electoral college (15), hispanic (17)
In the Classroom
Although the Latino Vote Map specifically looks at the 2012 election, it is still useful as a tool for teaching any election unit. Show the map on an interactive whiteboard or projector and discuss changes based on moving the sliders. Have students predict what will happen before moving the sliders. Challenge students to create a timeline using History in Motion,Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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The Historical Marker Database - HMdb.org
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
tag(s): 20th century (50), american revolution (85), anthropology (12), civil rights (119), civil war (144), disasters (40), explorers (65), heroes (24), hispanic (17), labor day (5), native americans (78), natural disasters (20), natural resources (58), vietnam (34), war of 1812 (15), world war 1 (55), world war 2 (142)
In the Classroom
Use the Historical Marker Database to find information and locations of important events near your hometown or relating to any area of study. For example, choose the Civil Rights link to find markers noting important events related to Civil Rights. Then have students create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Easel.ly, reviewed here or Venngage reviewed here. Have students create maps using Animaps (reviewed here). Students can add text, images, and location stops! Have students create timelines of historic events near your school (with music, photos, videos, and more) using Capzles (reviewed here).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Zinn Education Project - Zinn Education Project
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): civil rights (119), hispanic (17), women (94)
In the Classroom
If you are looking for additional teaching materials that focus on issues of social justice, or which provide information from a progressive point of view, you can search by time period or theme (i.e. African American, LGBT, War and Anti-War, or Latino). The teaching materials are in PDF format you can download once you log in. Language arts teachers will find the articles here great for nonfiction reading and terrific as discussion starters!Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music - Smithsonian Institute
Grades
5 to 12tag(s): biographies (91), cross cultural understanding (123), cultures (109), hispanic (17), mexico (33), south america (40)
In the Classroom
When studying music or Latin America, introduce your units with a clip from a specific type of music. Assign other types of music for your students to research; allow them to choose by listening to a section of a song and seeing what they like. Challenge students to find current examples of one of the genres and then create reports or reviews of the music using TubeChop, reviewed here. Share them using a tool such as SchoolTube, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Daria -World Music for Children - World Music by Daria
Grades
K to 5This site includes advertising.
tag(s): hispanic (17), martin luther king (36), musical instruments (51), native americans (78), sound (105)
In the Classroom
Turn up your speakers and try the limbo. Make simple instruments as part of your cultural heritage celebrations. Record your class singing one of the simple songs using a simple tool such as PodoMatic (reviewed here ) or your computer's own recording software; then share the link to the recording on your class web page for younger students to sing along at home. During units on sound in elementary science class, make some of the instruments to explore how sound is created and transmitted. PE teachers can teach lessons using the song/dance options, such as the limbo. World language classes and world cultures classes may even find some of the ethnic instruments from other parts of the world interesting, despite the more juvenile appearance of this site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Mapping America: Every City, Every Block - NY Times
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): african american (109), census (19), cross cultural understanding (123), hispanic (17), maps (298), racism (15)
In the Classroom
Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Encourage your students to use this tool for projects and organization including making assumptions about neighborhood breakdowns, relationship to poverty levels, and effects of industrialization. Compare known cities or towns, including those known as affluent or distressed. Have students select a map view from this site to kick off a project about a family member and the community where he/she lived. Have students use a mapping tool such as Click2Map, reviewed here, to create their own maps (with display markers featuring text, photos, and videos!). It might be helpful to use screenshots from these maps as images in their projects. Mac users press Command+shift+4 to save the screenshot image on you computer. Windows users, press the PrntScrn key, then paste the "copied" image into a document or slide.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Corridos sin Fronteras - Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service
Grades
5 to 12This site includes advertising.
In the Classroom
This site will be a nice addition to your Hispanic Heritage month resources or units on multiculturalism. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Be sure you have speakers attached to your computer and listen to the different ballads. The lyrics are even provided for you. Have the students listen to the songs and then have them work in pairs or groups to write their own ballads. Take a screen shot of the lyrics and give to students. Have them compare the lyrics and write what they have in common.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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New Mexico Kids - New Mexico Tourism Department
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): hispanic (17), native americans (78), states (165)
In the Classroom
Share this site with students on your interactive whiteboard, then let them explore on their own. Print out the trading cards and/or stories for students to read and share during Guided Reading time. Have students create their own trading cards featuring animals, state symbols, or other information included on the site. Have students or student groups create an online, interactive poster using Web Poster Wizard (reviewed here) featuring information found on the site.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Cinco de Mayo Resources - TeachersFirst
Grades
K to 12In the Classroom
Use these resources to connect Cinco de Mayo to your curriculum in almost any subject or select one or two ideas to highlight along with your regular lessons.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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REFORMA - UCLA
Grades
4 to 12tag(s): spanish (111)
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Vistas - Dr. Dana Leibsohn and Dr. Barbara Mundy
Grades
6 to 12tag(s): cross cultural understanding (123), cultures (109), hispanic (17)
In the Classroom
You could share this site with your students on your interactive whiteboard or projector and at the same time create a timeline for the Spanish Americas using a tool such as Timeglider, reviewed here. What a wonderful resource for higher level students during Hispanic Heritage Month!There are several themes listed on the site. You might want to put small groups of students in charge of a theme, and have them explore the site for what their theme is all about. Have the small groups use a tool such as Mindmeister, reviewed here, to create and share concept maps of the important ideas about their theme. They may want to use the images from the site, too, so be sure to remind your students that they must cite their source, and give credit to the people who created this site when they create a project on line.
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Celebrate Hispanic Heritage - Scholastic
Grades
2 to 8tag(s): cinco de mayo (12), explorers (65), hispanic (17), spanish (111)
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 an interactive whiteboard or 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).Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Salsa - Georgia Public Broadcasting
Grades
K to 12Although the site contains the option to buy the TV segments and booklets, the materials are available for free on the website. The site also includes a complete broadcast schedule from Georgia Public Broadcasting.
tag(s): spanish (111)
In the Classroom
Use these episodes as a supplement to regular Spanish language classes or as enrichment for elementary classes wishing to learn a language. Encourage your Spanish speaking class members to assist with pronunciation, episode summaries, songs, etc. Provide this link on your class website for students to use both in and out of the classroom; both the activities and stories help with Spanish language comprehension. Share the stories on your interactive whiteboard or projector as a model for world language stuedents, then challenge students create their own stories (on video, of course). Use a tool like Stupeflix, reviewed here, and share them on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Colorin Colorado - WETA
Grades
1 to 10In the Classroom
All classroom teachers who have ELL/ESL students should consider this a primary source of information about how to teach and help second language learners. Share this link on your teacher web page and/or in a parent newsletter for those who are concerned with the challenges of the increasing number of ELL/ESL students.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Americas Award for Children and Young Adult Literature - University of Wisconsin
Grades
3 to 12tag(s): book lists (131), hispanic (17), reading lists (81), spanish (111)
In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans and classroom activities within the "resources" section of the page. Explore through these resources to find one to add a multicultural perspective to your history or language arts class. Be sure to save the site as a favorite to allow for easy reference later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Hispanic Historic Places - National Park Service
Grades
4 to 12In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans listed on this site! A great resource for a history or geography classroom, just be sure to save it as a favorite to allow for easy retrieval later on.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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Understanding Hispanic/Latino Culture and History Through the Use of Children - Yale University
Grades
3 to 5In the Classroom
Take advantage of the free lesson plans on this site! This would be a great resource for a social studies or Language arts classroom.Add your comments below (available only to members) | Become a Member
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