Mexico  

  Literature 

Borreguita and the Coyote ~ Verna Aardema

Postcards From Mexico ~ Helen Arnold

A Day's Work ~ Eve Bunting

The Legend of the Poinsettia ~ Tommie dePoala

Abuela ~ Arthur Dorros

Mexico, A True Book ~ Ann Heinrichs

Day of the Dead ~ Tony Johnson

Life World Library: Mexico ~ William Webber Johnson

A Birthday Basket for Tia ~ Pat Mora

And Now Miguel ~ Joseph Krumgold

Count Your Way Through Mexico ~ Jim Hawkins

Cukoo: A Mexican Folk Tale ~ Lois Ehlert

Diego ~ Jeanette  Winter

A Family in Mexico ~ Tom Moran

Hill of Fire ~ Thomas P. Lewis

The Hummingbird's Gift ~ Stefan Czernecki

Pedro and the Padre ~ Verna Aardema

The Story of Ferdinand ~ Munro Leaf

Nine Days to Christmas ~ Marie Hall Ets

 

   Links  

Mexico Crafts

ABC Teach Mexico

Zoom School

Education World

Fact Monster

Mexico for Kids

Gander Academy

The Beat of Mexico

Mexico Mini Unit

Mexico

Meet the Neighbors

Cinco de Mayo

Fiesta Navidad

First Grade - Mexico

Viva Mexico!!!

Kids Connect

Mexican Flag

Zoom School Number Booklets

Spanish games

Time For Kids

Tooter 4 Kids

A to Z Teacher Stuff

 

 

 

  Activities  

      Print out copies of Mexican flag.  Have students color the flag.  Discuss the meaning of the colors and symbols. Compare it to our flag and what our colors and stars represent.

      Make a mariachi.  Use  plastic panty hose eggs, heavy duty paper plates, beans, paint and glue.  You can listen to mariachi and let the children play along.

      Have a tasting party with foods that are original to Mexico.

      Make a God's Eye using yarn and sticks.  You can use popsicle sticks or other small sticks.  Discuss what the different colors represent to the Mexican people.

      Make a paper flower using tissue paper.

      Make a piņata with balloons, crepe paper, newspaper, flour and water.  Discuss how the children in Mexico use piņata when they celebrate birthdays and holidays.

      Make a paper bag poncho.  Discuss  the native clothing and how the climate affects their clothing. 

      Read the book "Nine Days to Christmas".  Talk about the differences in their Christmas celebrations and ours.

      Discuss the type of animals that live in Mexico.  Could they survive in the USA?

      Finish  the unit with a fiesta.  Play the Mexican hat dance and have children dance.  Hang a piņata and have fun.  Arrange for Mexican refreshments to taste. 

      Print the face activity  paper from Zoom school and label a face with Spanish  words.

 

    All the directions for the activities listed above can be found in my link section.

Number Words  

   Use the number words below to do fun math activities.  The children can do simple addition and subtraction problems that you dictate using the Spanish  word numbers.  There is a number booklet at Zoom School that you can print with Spanish number words.

   1. uno  2. dos  3. tres 4. cuatro 5. cinco 6. seis 7.  siete  8  ocho  9.  nueve  10.  diez

  Vocabulary   

   adios...good-by                                     amigo....friend                              Senor.... Mr.

   Senorita... Miss                                     Senora....Mrs.                             pueblo...village

   muchacho...boy                                     muchacha...girl                            fiesta....festival

   numero..number                                    zocalo....public square                   gracias...thank you

   muchas gracias....thank you very much                          piņata...hanging pot filled with treats