¡Hola profe! Tell me if you can relate: May 5th rolls around and your students want to know if you’ll be having a Cinco de Mayo party in class. You ask students what Cinco de Mayo signifies, and your students excitedly answer…it’s Mexican Independence Day.
While we, as Spanish teachers, know that is NOT the case, it’s understandable why our students might think Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day, as Cinco de Mayo gets a lot of hype in the United States. When our students bring up Cinco de Mayo, why not take the opportunity to teach a lesson or a mini-unit about the history behind the day?
Here are some ideas for teaching about Cinco de Mayo in your classroom:
#1: Show a video clip about Cinco de Mayo.
YouTube has lots of short videos that you can use to teach your students about Cinco de Mayo, and there are options in both English and Spanish!
Here are some English options:
- History Channel – Cinco de Mayo: A Celebration of Mexican Heritage
- NBC News – What Cinco de Mayo Is All About
Here are some Spanish options:
If you’re interested in the a Spanish option, I’ve got some ready-to-use activities that correspond to video #1 above – grab them (along with bonus Mary Glasgow audios, if you have a subscription) below!
#2: Read an authentic article about Cinco de Mayo.
For novice-level students, a text in English might be more appropriate, but for intermediate students, this is a great way to provide them with comprehensible input in Spanish! There are TONS of websites in Spanish that describe the history of Cinco de Mayo and a quick Internet search will bring up countless options. Choose one that seems the most appropriate for your students’ proficiency levels and your classroom needs. Then, come up with some comprehension activities for your students to complete! (Not sure what types of activities to create? Check out this blog post for ideas!)
If you love the idea of reading an authentic article, but don’t love the idea of scouring the Internet for the perfect one and then writing your own activities, don’t worry – I’ve already done it for you! Check out my Cinco de Mayo authentic reading activities below!
#3: Play trivia games.
After your students have learned about Cinco de Mayo through videos, articles, etc., play trivia games to keep students engaged and having fun while reinforcing the information! You could play online games like Kahoot!, Blooket, or Gimkit, you could create a board game, make task cards, or a Jeopardy-style trivia game. The possibilities are endless! If your students are anything like mine, these games will appeal to their competitive natures, which will lead to more engagement, enjoyment, and best of all, learning!
Want to play a game but don’t have the time to create your own? I’ve got you! Grab an editable Jeopardy-style trivia game for PowerPoint and Google Slides below!
#4: Try an AP-test task.
If you teach students who will one day go on to take the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam, studying Cinco de Mayo provides a great opportunity to practice AP-test tasks! For example, you could do a cultural comparison – have your students compare Cinco de Mayo to an event in their own communities. Is there a famous battle that ever took place near their town, city, or state? Is it celebrated in any way? What significance, if any, does it have for the country as a whole?
You could also have students participate in a simulated conversation in Spanish – perhaps a friend is confused about the true history of Cinco de Mayo and has a lot of incorrect beliefs. Students could correct them, using information they learned in the lesson or mini-unit.
Students could also participate in the email reply, an interpersonal writing task. Like the simulated conversation, you could have your students write an email in which they explain the meaning behind Cinco de Mayo and how incorrect ideas about its history have become widely accepted in the United States.
Interested in this interpersonal writing activity? Save yourself time and energy by grabbing my ready-to-use Cinco de Mayo email reply activity below!
If you liked the activities I mentioned in this post, check out my mini-bundle of activities below! Save time, energy, AND money by bundling 4 resources at a 20% discount! No need to reinvent the wheel when I have made everything for you! Lesson plans = done!
I hope this was helpful and gave you some ideas that you can use in your classroom! Have a wonderful week, profes!
Señora Q 