Dead of the Day celebrations are held November 1st and 2nd. Â While this holiday may not be one that you grew up with, for many of your ESL/ELL students, it is an important family tradition. Â In addition to making your ESL/ELL students feel included when you teach it, it is also a great opportunity to expose your students to a holiday that they may not be familiar with while also teaching them about art.
The Day of the Dead
The Day of the Dead is a celebration that is held in many Latin American countries. Â It is when the spirits of those who have passed on are believed to return for a visit. Â It is a cause for celebration, and although the symbol used to represent the festivities is a skeleton, it is meant to bring laughter and smiles. Â The most famous skeleton artwork was done by Jose Guadalupe Posada. Â Introduce your students to the famous artist as a chance to integrate art appreciation into your curriculum.
Make the lesson a hands-on activity by having students create their own skeletons and then write about them. Â Graphic organizers can help them organize their thoughts and develop critical thinking skills. Â If there is enough time, you may want to have the students create paper mache skeletons for a truly intense art integration project.
As with all holidays, the purpose is to teach students about cultural similarities and differences. Â The sense of community that occurs when students begin to learn that classmates of different cultures have a lot in common with them leads to less behavior and bullying issues. Â Respecting differences, embracing similarities, and having fun learning about new traditions and celebrations – that is what teaching about the Day of the Dead can do for you.