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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Important to You?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students examine the life of Frida Kahlo, a Mexican artist known for her self-portraits. After discussing her works and life as an artist, students use mirrors to examine their faces and begin drawing their own self-portraits.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Days of '49: "I've Been Toiling Hard for the Last Two And a Half Years"

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students trace the stages of gold mining in California. They discuss the life of a gold miner and how the discovery of gold influenced towns and cities in California during the 1949 Gold Rush.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Las Tejanas

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders recognize that the Tejanas were Texas women of Spanish-Mexican origin who contributed to the history of Texas. Students read and research the Tejanas women, complete an essay about a day in the life of a Tejanas woman ,and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Dollar Goes A Long Way

For Teachers 4th - 9th
Investigate life along the Old Spanish Trail! They visit websites and identify the history and environment. They create journals, dramatic enactments, and maps to discover the role individuals played in society. They also explore the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lincoln, Patriotism and Protest

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore arguments surrounding Abraham Lincoln's opposition to the Mexican War. They compare the arguments surrounding Lincoln's opposition to war with those surrounding war protestors during the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Remember the Alamo

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders comprehend how the siege of the Alamo and the Texas revolution laid the groundwork for the United States-Mexican War. They discuss how westward expansion led to Texas Independence. Students complete the "Remeber the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Americans Settle in Texas and Life in Early Texas

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Students participate in a layered curriculum unit that includes: Create a political cartoon about the effect of the Mexican colonization laws on Texas settlement. The cartoon should be from the point of view of a Tejano. Write a caption...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mexican Masks

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Young scholars explore the Mexican mask-making tradition and create maks that tell stories. They desribe how art tells stories and examine early Mexican culture in California.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Eagle Has Landed: Aztecs Find a Home

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Pupils examine the Aztec civilization in what is now Mexico. Using a map, they locate the empire and explain the legend of the founding of Tenochtitlan. They explore the symbols on various Mexican flags and what they meant to the Aztec...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Migration and the Spirits of Life

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students study the Mexican traditions for the Day of the Dead. In this Mexican traditions lesson, students study monarch butterflies and learn about the role that the mariposa plays in the Day of the Dead. Students learn about migration,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Friday and Friends: A Prospectus of the Mexican Family through Children's Literature

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students use literature to examine how the structure of families in Mexico has changed over time. In groups, they examine how their life now relates to their ancestors and the Spanish conquest of the area. As a class, they are read...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mexico: Introduction to History and Literature

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students study the geography of Mexico (i.e. major cities, surrounding countries and bodies of water, mountain ranges, rivers, volcanoes), They take turns reading aloud information provided (xerox copies) about Mexico. After each...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ofelia Romero The Maya Culture and Civilization

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders investigate the Mayan culture, number system, alphabet, hieroglyphics, history, civilization, artistry, and sports in this series of lessons.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dia de los Muertos

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders research the Day of the Dead, an important Mexican holiday. They view videos, investigate Mexican geography and history and compare the Day of the Dead to the celebration of Halloween.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fabric Poncho

For Teachers K - 5th
Students create a fabric poncho to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. They sample food and drink from Mexico and follow instructions to make the ponhco. They also discover the history of the holiday.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Operation Mexfly

For Teachers 8th - Higher Ed
Students research information about pesticides. Students discuss the history of the Mexican fruit fly. They experiment to discover malathion concentration levels in organisms. Students explore the effect of toxins at the top of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Democracy

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the denial of rights to individuals in the United States.  In this American Government lesson, 11th graders study President Roosevelt's Day of Infamy speech.  Students create a presentation on the denial of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's Your Brand?

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students explore the history of branding livestock and discover it began as early as 2000 BC. They discuss reasons for branding and then design their own brand from pipe cleaners. Students dip their brand into paint and print it on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Africans in Mexico

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners read case studies to examine the role of Africans in Mexico. Using maps, they research the areas that are discussed in the text and map out movement maps of Africans to and from Africa. They research the history of the Mexico...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Life of Albert Pike

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders study the ways Albert Pike affected the history of Arkansas. They discover the many roles that he experienced such as being a teacher, poet, author, lawyer, Freemason and a Civil War General. They work in groups to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scenes of Reverence: The Virgin of Guadalupe

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students learn the history of Christianity in New Spain. They learn the story and significance of the Virgin of Guadalupe. They compare and contrast images of the Virgin and religious art to European counterparts.
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Lesson Plan
McGraw Hill

Study Guide for Island of the Blue Dolphins

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question to be...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Kanaka Village at Fort Vancouver: Crossroads of the Columbia River

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars study the interaction between Native American and European cultures in the Pacific Northwest in the 1800s. They focus their study on the Hudson's Bay Company and Fort Vancouver.