Hispanics in History Fandex

I have to admit it: Hispanic Heritage Month always inspires me. Every year, I discover new people or learn fascinating facts about the ones I already know, and their stories are remarkable. But they should be shared all year long, not just one month out of the year.

So I was motivated to create a new activity that can be used at any time. The Hispanics in History Fandex is my new favorite printable.

Once printed and cut out, these fact files may be used as individual bookmarks or a fandex. As bookmarks, your students can choose one and take turns presenting their figure to the class, or write a report. The fandex is awesome for literacy centers. Students can flip through it and select three figures they enjoyed learning about and use the worksheet to share what they've learned.

Download the sample file for ideas on more activities

These fact files feature 36 historical figures:

Cesar Chavez
Dolores Huerta
Sonia Sotomayor
Ellen Ochoa
Pablo Picasso
Tito Puente
Celia Cruz
Roberto Clemente
Rita Moreno
Frida Kahlo
Dara Torres
Mario José Molina
Diego Rivera
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Soledad O'Brien
Sylvia Mendez
Martina Arroyo
Pelé
Salvador Dalí
Pura Belpré
Linda Ronstadt
Carolina Herrera
Isabel Allende
Miguel de Cervantes
Carlos Santana
Sammy Sosa
Tomás Rivera
Plácido Domingo
Rafael Nadal
Sandra Cisneros
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Franklin Ramón Chang Díaz
Narcís Monturiol
Bernardo de Galvéz
Helen Rodríguez Trías
Sonia Manzano

And the best part? It is available in English, Spanish, or both!!

Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras

There are a few new books out this year to celebrate Día de los Muertos, and they are fabulous so I want to share them with you. The first is a wonderful biography of José Guadalupe Posada, who is best remembered for his drawings of calaveras, especially La Catrina.

This post contains affiliate links.

Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh

There are a lot of talented Latino authors and illustrators out there, and Duncan Tonatiuh is one of my favorites because I love his unique art style, as well as his fearlessness when it comes to the topics of his books. He's not afraid to address controversial issues such as immigration and segregation. And he both writes and illustrates his books.

His latest book is another treasure. My kids and I loved learning about Posada and the way in which he created his artwork. From lithography to engraving to etching it amazes us how much talent people can have. I especially enjoy how Duncan's collage technique merges Posada's art into his own illustrations.

He also challenges the young readers to think about Posada's calavera drawings and to guess what message the artist was trying to get across through his work.



This book provides a unique perspective and allows us to study Day of the Dead from a totally different perspective. As an educator, I especially appreciate materials that allow us to delve deeper into history and explore an aspect of the holiday other than the traditional focus on the ofrenda.

Funny Bones is a treat not just for children, but parents, abuelos, and teachers, too.




You can find this wonderful book on Amazon:

DIY Calavera Poems

Teach your students about Calavera Poetry by having them create their own calavera poems! 

This activity includes a brief description of calavera poems, directions, graphic organizer for writing your own poem, sample calavera poems, and various Día de los Muertos writing pages. The directions and sample poems are in English only. The writing pages may be used in any language.

Get your Calavera Poems PDF file from my TpT shop.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

• José Guadalupe Posada Lesson Plans
  
  
• DIY Catrina Activity for Kids
  
  
•  Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead Lesson Plans and Activities
  
  
• MommyMaestra's Favorite Dia de los Muertos Books for Children

Es Halloween! Kids Halloween Song in Spanish by Mariana Iranzi

Here comes Halloween, and it occurs to me that I don't have a lot of Spanish resources for this holiday available on MommyMaestra. So I'm happy to share a new one! Here's a fun song from the talented Mariana Iranzi, whom you may remember from a feature I did a couple of years ago. This is a wonderful little song to help teach your children counting from 1 - 10 with a Halloween theme.

Enjoy this with your nenes!

Free Download: Meet & Greet Dialogue in Spanish

One of the comments I receive from MommyMaestra readers is how much they appreciate the free resources that are shared from time to time on this site. I try to offer a variety to appeal to a wide audience so we share freebies for parents of preschoolers and middle schoolers, English learners, Spanish readers, world culture explorers and more. 

Some of the most popular are the mini-lessons from our sponsor Spanish for You! Created for Spanish learners, this month's activity helps them learn and practice key phrases used during meeting and greeting. 

This mini-lesson teaches key vocabulary associated with introductions. The 3-page lesson comes with worksheets, and a word search activity, as well as the audio to help you with the pronunciation of each word. 

Click here to download this file

If this is your first time here, you can find other free samples from Spanish for You! here. There are some fantastic downloads of games and activities for you and your family to enjoy. If you enjoy this activity, be sure to visit the Spanish for You! website where you'll find tons of additional resources for you to help your young Spanish learner!

And to supplement this lesson, check out these books in Spanish that highlight greetings! 
The links below are affiliate links

• ¡Hola! ¡Gracias! ¡Adiós! (Primeros lectores) by Elisenda Roca and Cristina Losantos
• Say Hola to Spanish by Susan Middleton Elya

He Named Me Malala Opens Today

This week, in theaters across the country, a new film is being released that I wish everyone could go and see. He Named Me Malala is the true story of Malala Yousafzai.

Do you remember her? She's the Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban at age 15 for advocating for girls' education. She survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls' education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund. 

Around the world 62 million girls are not in school today. The reasons vary from lack of schools to poverty to cultural mores. I believe in the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Right which states that everyone has the right to an education. I cannot even imagine growing up in a world in which I couldn't go to school because I was a girl/woman. But this remains the case for too many people.

Malala was shot for daring to speak up and say that girls deserve to go to school. The Taliban thought that they would silence her, but in fact, they only shouted her message to the world. Malala recovered more determined than ever to fight for girls' education and her work has earned her the title of being the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Today, her story is being released in 75 cities and special screenings across the country. You can learn more about it here and create your own I Stand #withMalala image here. Educators who want to incorporate her story into their classroom lessons, can download the Toolkit here.

DIY Calaverita Crayons

This week I'm over at Latinamom.me sharing one of my favorite Day of the Dead crafts so far: Calavera Crayons! Aren't they adorable? They are fun and so easy to make. Put them inside a super cute bolsita I designed that you can print and assemble yourself, and you'll have a fun treat bag to give your child or their friends this holiday. Head over there and find out how to make your own!

Enjoy!

NEW! Transformative Calendar by Alma Flor Ada & F. Isabel Campoy

The prolific writing team of Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy have created a tremendous number of works that highlight the Hispanic experience for children. These works are precious resources for parents and educators alike. What I love most about these authors is that they are 100% committed to helping teachers in any way they can. They often send free books to educators to help them with their lesson plans, and they have certainly been generous with MommyMaestra readers over the years, too.

And they show no signs of slowing down. Every few months, I learn about new resources, new books being published. And now they have another fantastic tool for us.

A few days ago, Alma Flor said...
"We are delighted to have been able to prepare a first version of our Transformative Calendar with suggestions for books and poems appropriate for different dates throughout the year. We hope you will find it useful, and will welcome your comments and suggestions."

Of course, I immediately downloaded it and was thrilled to find it as comprehensive as it is useful. And the best part? IT IS FREE!!

So go and download your copy today!

Target's Dia de los Muertos Collection

So I was out shopping around on Sunday (usually my only day to shop ALONE), and when I was walking through Target, I was so surprised because this year their collection of calaveritas and Dia de los Muertos decorations has exploded! Just in case you're looking for ways to decorate your house, check out most of what I saw...

Party Supplies

 Baking Supplies

Crafts and Activities

 Treats

 Decorations

Free Homework Book for Spanish Readers: Segmentación

We are SO grateful for our wonderful sponsor, Lectura para niños, and all the fantastic FREE downloads that they share with MommyMaestra readers every month. Today's download is a great resource for parents of Spanish readers.

Leah says...

Parents always ask me how they can help their child at home. I started sending these home with my kiddos a few years ago, but I have recently updated this file. Usually at the beginning of the year, I start with sending the “segmenting syllables” pages only. Around November, I start sending the pages that segment words into syllables and sounds. Segmenting words into sounds is a developmental skill. Having the students at least say the sounds for each word while looking at it is a start. Soon, the students will be able to segment a 4 sound word without looking and then progress to a 6 sound word. I wouldn’t expect students to segment words with blends or diphthongs until they get to 1st grade. I do have many of my students who can do this by the end of the year, but not all are quite ready for it.

I hope your readers enjoy this!

You can get the entire unit here: Spanish Homework: 006: TAREA Segmentación por sílabas y sonidos

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS FILE

For more awesome Spanish materials, especially those that teach children to read in Spanish, check out Lectura para niños on Facebook, Teachers Pay Teachers, Blog, and Pinterest.

Celebrate "Odd-tober" with New Episodes from PBS KIDS

Here come the holidays and with them new episodes from PBS KIDS! 

They start tomorrow with an all-new ODD SQUAD one-hour special and the return of Halloween-themed family favorites from various series. On Monday, PBS KIDS will premiere “ODD SQUAD: Against the Odds,” which will include five 11-minute stories with Olive, Otto and the rest of the gang as they solve the community’s strange problems.

Then, during the week before Halloween, “Odd-tober” will continue on PBS KIDS starting October 25th with the return of family Halloween favorites, including “CURIOUS GEORGE: A Halloween Boo Fest.” Favorite episodes from series such as DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, WILD KRATTS, PEG + CAT and DINOSAUR TRAIN will also air throughout the week. Families will be able to play Halloween games and stream the Halloween-themed episodes free on pbskids.org and the PBS KIDS Video App.

Here's a peek at the upcoming episodes:

“ODD SQUAD: Against the Odds” – premieres Monday, October 5 (check local listings)

Five all-new 11-minute stories are packed into a super special hour:

“Undercover Olive” (Parts 1 and 2): In this half-hour episode, Olive goes undercover in a high-stakes “Rock, Paper, Scissors” game.

“The Curious Case of Pirate-itis”: Otto and Oscar try to stop Olive from turning into a pirate.

“Not So Splash”: Olive and Otto must figure out why parts of the town are turning snowy and cold — in the middle of summer.

“By the Book”: Olive and Otto interrogate two suspects to figure out which one is innocent and which one is guilty.

Halloween Programming – airs October 25-31
Check local listings for airdates and times.
ARTHUR
“Hick or Treat/ Mr. Alwaysright”
“Tales of Grotesquely Grim Bunny/ Pet Projects”

CAILLOU

“Caillou Loves the Fall”

“Fall Is in the Air”

THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT!

“Trick or Treat/ King Cecil the Seahorse”

“Aye Aye!/ Trick or Treat”

CURIOUS GEORGE“CURIOUS GEORGE: A Halloween Boo Fest”
“Night of the Weiner Dog/ Animal Trackers”

DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD“Katerina’s Costumes/ Dress up Day”

DINOSAUR TRAIN“Haunted Roundhouse/ Big Pond Pumpkin Patch”
“One Big Frog/ Caving with Vlad”
“Night Train/ Fossil Fred”

MARTHA SPEAKS

“Martha Gets Spooked/ Martha Changes Her Luck”

“Martha: Deadline Doggie/ It’s the Giant Pumpkin, Martha”

“TD’s Magic/ Scaredy Cat”

PEG + CAT
“The Halloween Problem”

THOMAS & FRIENDS“Tricks & Tales”
“Spooky Charms”

WILD KRATTS“Secrets of the Spider’s Web”
“A Bat in the Brownies”
“Little Howler”

WORDGIRL

“Tobey’s Tricks and Treats/ Escape Wham”

Disclosure: I'm a PBS KIDS Ambassador. This allows me to learn about and share special opportunities and news from PBS KIDS with you as they become available.

Day of the Dead Activity Calendar

Guess what! Day of the Dead - or Día de los Muertos - is exactly one month away! I have tons of activities here on my site (and a few others that I love) for kids to make, read, watch and more. But it can be tricky to find all of them, so I've created this living calendar to help you!

My Day of the Dead Activity Calendar is full of 32 resources for celebrating the holiday with your children. I'll be updating some of the links as we go through the month and new, fun content goes up on MommyMaestra. Please note that a couple of the book links are affiliate links to my Amazon store. And you know what happens when you buy one them? Amazon puts a small percentage on a gift card for me to buy more books for my kids and to share reviews with you.

I hope you all enjoy my Day of the Dead Activity Calendar!

Click here to access the calendar

¡Abrazo!

Nominate Your Student for the Latino Youth Summit

Parents and teachers of STEAM geniuses! Don't miss this opportunity for your child or student. You have 5 days to nominate him or her.

Nominate a Hispanic student excelling in science, technology, engineering, arts, or math to showcase his/her work during this year's 7th Annual Latinos in Technology Innovation and Social Media (LATISM) conference.

Help us celebrate the contributions of Latino Students. Nominations will be accepted until October 5th, 2015.

For more information join our Twitter Party every Thursday or visit http://conference.latism.org/latino-youth-summit/

We'll be waiting for you at the usual 9:00 PM (ET). 

WHAT
LATISM is pleased to host the first National Latino Youth Summit on October 28, 2015 at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the STEAM Fair and engage in several hands-on interactive activities related to science, technology, engineering, arts, and math principles (STEAM).

WHEN 

Thursday, October 1st - 9:00 PM (ET)

WHERE

Twitterlandia! 

Follow #Latism and #LATISM15 with @Latism @AnaRC @WendyRivera_Esq