Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage month with the following lessons, activities, videos, and more.

By: NEA

San Miguel de Gualdape was the first European settlement in North America. It was founded in Georgia in 1526, 81 years before Jamestown. St. Augustine, Florida, was founded in 1565 and is the oldest city in the United States. Hispanic Americans have been making contributions to life in the U.S. ever since.

To help celebrate and educate about these contributions, we offer the following list of resources. Educators should be mindful of cultural appropriation when teaching about other cultures and understand that Hispanic students in class may experience lessons differently than non-Hispanic students.

Resources for K-5

Lesson Plans

Tolerance: Comparing Cultural Holidays
Students in grades K-4 compare Halloween and El Día de los Muertos by looking at traditions, music, and visual art.

Let’s Travel to Mexico!
Students in grades 1-2 learn about the language and literature of Mexico.

Journal of Time: A Historical Perspective (Esperanza Rising)
Students in grades 5-8 use photographs as inspiration to write journal entries from the point of view of someone living during the Great Depression in California.

Hispanic Heritage Month begins today.
Students in grades 5-12 work in groups to research and present projects on Hispanic culture through PowerPoint, a webpage, a display, or an interactive tool such as the flip book or stapleless book.

Additional Lesson Plans

Smithsonian Education – Hispanic Heritage Teaching Resources
The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access compiles classroom resources from different Smithsonian museums that focus on Latino history and culture. K-12.

Hispanic Heritage Month
Lessons, activities, interactives, and resources for grades K-12.

Activities

Bring Hispanic Heritage Month to Life: A Collection of ResourcesK-8)
Interactive timelines, scavenger hunts, and other learning fun all about Hispanic Americans.

A Month of Ideas for Celebrating Hispanic Heritage (3-8)
From Aztec math to Carnival masks, these ideas are easy to put together and offer students the chance to celebrate their own heritage while appreciating the uniqueness of others.

Fact Monster – Hispanic Heritage Month Activities
Crosswords, population statistics, and more.

Colorín Colorado – Hispanic Heritage Month
Information, puzzles, biographies for English language learners. In English and Spanish.

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage with Recipes full of flavor (K-5)

Printables

Famous Hispanic Americans (K-5)
Coloring pages and hero cards for sports, science, politics, and the arts.

Background Resources

Day of the Dead – El Dia de los Muertos K-12 curriculum resources.

Library of Congress – Hispanic Heritage Month
Images, exhibits, audio, and video.

Smithsonian Latino Center Includes exhibitions, virtual museum, Virtual Museum Bilingual Teacher Training Took Kit, and more.

National Hispanic Heritage Month Selected resources for teachers.

Hispanic Heritage Booklists

Colorín Colorado’s children’s Hispanic Heritage booklists feature biography, history, cultural traditions, family stories, fun stories, and titles about growing up Latino.

Multimedia

MUSIC

VIDEO

  • History of Mexico
    Find 31 videos and 18 photo galleries.

Coco (2017) (1:45) Miguel, a 12-year-old frustrated musician, visits the land of the dead to get the blessing of a famous singer, his great-great-grandfather. This movie could be used as an introduction or culminating activity in an exploration of Dia de los Muertos and other aspects of Latino culture.SEE LESS

Resources for 6-8

Lesson Plans

Journal of Time: A Historical Perspective (Esperanza Rising)
Students in grades 5-8 use photographs as inspiration to write journal entries from the point of view of someone living during the Great Depression in California.

Hispanic Heritage Month Begins Today
Students in grades 5-12 work in groups to research and present projects on Hispanic culture through PowerPoint, a webpage, a display, or an interactive tool such as the flip book or stapleless book.

Mexican Culture and History through Its National Holidays
Students in grades 6-8 investigate Mexico’s religious and political history through its major holidays.

ADDITIONAL LESSON PLANS

Smithsonian Education – Hispanic Heritage Teaching Resources
The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access compiles classroom resources from different Smithsonian museums that focus on Latino history and culture. K-12.

Latino Americans Lesson Plans from PBS Media
Lesson plans for grades 6-12.

EDSITEment – National Hispanic Heritage Month
Four lessons for grades 6-12, plus recommended websites and background information.

Activities

Bring Hispanic Heritage Month to Life: A Collection of Resources (K-8)
Interactive timelines, scavenger hunts, and other learning fun all about Hispanic Americans.

A Month of Ideas for Celebrating Hispanic Heritage (3-8)
From Aztec math to Carnival masks, these ideas are easy to put together and offer students the chance to celebrate their own heritage while appreciating the uniqueness of others.

Fact Monster – Hispanic Heritage Month Activities
Crosswords, population statistics, and more.

Colorín Colorado – Hispanic Heritage Month
Information, puzzles, biographies for English language learners. In English and Spanish.

Background Resources

Articles Tagged as Latino American History

Library of Congress – Hispanic Heritage Month
Images, exhibits, audio, and video.

Smithsonian Latino Center Includes exhibitions, virtual museum, Virtual Museum Bilingual Teacher Training Took Kit, and more.

Multimedia

MUSIC

VIDEO

  • History of Mexico
    Find 31 videos and 18 photo galleries.
  • Coco (2017) (1:45) Miguel, a 12-year-old frustrated musician, visits the land of the dead to get the blessing of a famous singer, his great-great-grandfather. This movie could be used as an introduction or culminating activity in an exploration of Dia de los Muertos and other aspects of Latino culture.

SEE LESS

Resources for 9-12

Lesson Plans

Hispanic Heritage Month begins today.
Students in grades 5-12 work in groups to research and present projects on Hispanic culture through PowerPoint, a webpage, a display, or an interactive tool such as the flip book or stapleless book.

Five Artists of the Mexican Revolution
Students in grades 9-12 research the events and personalities of the Mexican Revolution, explore how these people and events influenced the artists and art of this time period, and create original art that demonstrates the style of one of the artists studied.

Smithsonian Education – Hispanic Heritage Teaching Resources
Lessons for grades K-12.

Latino Americans Lesson Plans from PBS Media
28 Lesson plans for grades 6-12.

EDSITEment – National Hispanic Heritage Month
Four lessons for grades 6-12, plus recommended websites and background information.

Common Visions, Common Voices
Students in grades 9-12 analyze similarities and differences between cultures by investigating themes and motifs found in literature or visual arts. Includes activities on the trickster stories of North and Central American Indigenous Peoples.

Activities

Fact Monster – Hispanic Heritage Month Activities
Crosswords, population statistics, and more.

Colorín Colorado – Hispanic Heritage Month
Information, puzzles, biographies for English language learners. In English and Spanish.

Background Resources

Day of the Dead – El Dia de los Muertos  K-12 curriculum resources.

Library of Congress – Hispanic Heritage Month Images, exhibits, audio, and video.

Smithsonian Latino Center  Includes exhibitions, virtual museum, Virtual Museum Bilingual Teacher Training Took Kit, and more.

Multimedia

MUSIC

Mariachi Music Online
Free downloads and brief artist biographies.

Cuban Music

VIDEO

History of Mexico
Find videos and photo galleries from the History Channel.

Coco (2017) (1:45) Miguel, a 12-year-old frustrated musician, visits the land of the dead to get the blessing of a famous singer, his great-great-grandfather. This movie could be used as an introduction or culminating activity in an exploration of Dia de los Muertos and other aspects of Latino culture.