ACT

Dia De Los Muertos
2nd Grade

CGI Animated Short Film-Dia De Los Muertos
Brief Background of Dia De Los Muertos

The clips above were used to have a motivating discussion about the Mexican Holiday, Dia De Los Muertos. We talked about the comparison to Halloween and also the parts of the celebration. Students learned that Dia De Los Muertos means, "day of the dead" and that it is celebrated Oct 31-Nov 2. They believe that loved ones who have passed away can return to earth during the 3 day celebration.
 The skeleton is a popular symbol for the celebration and many people dress up and paint their faces to look like skeletons. The celebration includes parades, face painting, dancing and lots of food. They create altars to celebrate loved ones who have passed and light up their homes. We created these works of art to celebrate their culture.

After I introduced the lesson I had a 2nd grade boy come up to me with tears in his eyes. He told me he was not comfortable doing the lesson because his dad had passed away from a snowmobiling accident. I felt terrible because I had no idea, I was so impressed that he was able to communicate how he was feeling and advocate for himself. I allowed him to have a free draw day in place of the project. A few other students took notice that hew as not doing the project and became curious and the topic of "being fair" came up. I told the students to worry about their work and that the student and I had talked and it was between him and I. Young children know equality even at their age. It is important to be fair in teaching, but I believe that this was an appropriate example of making exceptions. The student eventually sat down and drew a skeleton after taking time to process his emotions. I reminded him that Dia De Los Muertos was a celebration of the life of loved ones.