With an influx of Hispanic immigrants in our community, and Miami being the gateway to the Americas, studying Latin American countries should be an integral part of the learning environment. Students bring into the classroom perceptions and knowledge of the world through their own culture. By learning about and exchanging cultural traditions, our students will become more sensitive to diverse communities. Through the use of technology, students have the opportunity to explore and can experience life styles, customs, the arts, etc., of a chosen culture at the speed of a click.

The following lessons support the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) developed by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

The major focus of this project is to teach students in grades three, four or five about Mexican Culture using technology as its vehicle. It is interdisciplinary as it addresses the standards in reading, writing, music, art, foreign language, and technology. Students will work collaboratively using project based learning. Here they will learn to work together as a team using decision-making and critical thinking skills. After their research is complete, they will present their work to their peers and will be judged by them using a rubric.

The most valuable feature of this project is that students will be involved in learning a variety of skills while having fun creating, collaborating, and producing authentic projects. When students are involved in hands-on self-motivated activities, self-esteem is raised, consequently increasing student achievement. When learning is meaningful it becomes long lasting. Effective uses of new media include the integration of the latest technologies with the curriculum and replacing sometimes outdated and boring textbooks. The Internet has revolutionized learning to such a degree that through culturally-rich web sites students can learn about different cultures without actually being in that country, making learning exciting and fun.

The lessons in the arts add a cultural flavor to this unit enriching the students in an area almost forgotten by the pressures of standardized tests. Here, students will use art, music and culinary skills to broaden their scope of the world at large.

Activity Structure: Individual and Collaborative Projects

Grade Level: Three - Five

Duration: Four weeks

Content Areas: Language Arts, Music, Art, Foreign Language/Spanish S

Objectives:

1. Students will compare and contrast two Mexican literature books.

2. Students will know, sing and understand the relationship between music and other cultures.

3. Students will explore the life and artistic style of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and demonstrate abilities of using technology to create self-portraits in the style of Frida Kahlo.

4. Students will learn about a Mexican poet and one of his poems.

5. Students will use the Internet to gather information.

6. Students will create and utilize maps for comparisons and analyses.

7. Students will use multimedia technologies to present their work.

Technology CBC: Information Management/Communications III

Library/Media CBC: Pre-search Strategies II; Research III

Language Arts Lesson 

Spanish Lesson

Evaluation
Language Arts Art Spanish Music

duarter@southsidemail.dade.k12.fl.us