Skip to main content

¡Olé! Celebrate Cinco de Mayo

¡Olé mis amigos! Holy Guacamole! It’s once again time to celebrate Cinco De Mayo—the 5th of May! Instead of all the controversy around Mexico in the past year, this may be an excellent opportunity to educate your students and allow them to ask questions about what they hear on the news.
Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day from Spain (which is September 16th)!
C:\Users\JLazzarini\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\WTN6PKS9\bart[1].png“¡Ay, caramba!” as Bart Simpson would say….

This is “la verdad” (the truth): when the French invaded Mexico in 1862, Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza’s force of 4,000 soldiers defeated 8,000 French soldiers in the Battle of Puebla on May 5th. The Mexicans’ courage inspired Mexican Americans (Chicanos) to celebrate the victory even though the French occupation continued four more years.
Later in the 1960’s and 70’s, Chicanos involved in the civil rights movement associated Cinco de Mayo with their quest for respect in the U.S. They identified with the Native Mexican and Mestizo (people of mixed Native Mexican and European descent) soldiers who triumphed over European efforts of conquest.
Chicano activists made Cinco de Mayo a popular holiday in the United States. Today many celebrate Cinco de Mayo con muchos fiestas!

RAFT has muchos Cinco De Mayo ideas for you and your students to explore!

  • Make sombreros or colorful paper flowers with large coffee filters from RAFT!
  • Make yarn weavings from the Northwest Mexican Huichol people with this RAFT idea: Ojo de Dios
  • Imitate woven blanket patterns using strips of shredded file folders with this RAFT idea:
  • Use pigmented sand or salt to create art designs with this RAFT idea: Sand Art

¡ Olé y qué Maravilloso!

Written by Jeanne Lazzarini, RAFT Math Coach/Curriculum Writer
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

National Arbor Day is Coming… Hug A Tree!

“The cultivation of flowers and trees is the cultivation of the good, the beautiful and the ennobling in man, and for one, I wish to see this culture become universal.”
Those words, from J. Sterling Morton, the founder of Arbor Day, got me thinking about how caring for trees and respecting all living things greatly impact future generations. National Arbor Day (held this year on April 27th) is an annual observance celebrating the role of trees in our lives and promoting tree planting and care. This holiday was first observed in 1872, in Nebraska, but tree planting festivals are as old as civilization. Trees have appeared throughout history as the symbol of life and hope. As teachers, we can encourage students to appreciate trees, nature, and all living things for future generations to enjoy! Here are a few STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) ideas to help you spread agricultural information and enthusiasm for trees on Arbor Day with your students: SCIENCE: Explore t…
Post a Comment
Read more

CUSD Shares Possible STEAM Projects by Grade

Twelve STEAM Innovation Leaders from the Campbell Unified School District (CUSD) came to RAFT earlier this month to create new motivational activities for the start of the school year!  They met in grade-level teams with our RAFT Education staff to generate new ideas using RAFT materials that will motivate, challenge, and inspire their students. Each team was given a RAFT Makerspace-in-a-Box containing a wide variety of upcycled materials. They were asked to create a Design Challenge that directed students to solve the instructor’s challenge with the materials from the box. The Design Challenges addressed an engineering standard appropriate for each grade level and could include standards from other subjects. Here are some of their exciting back-to-school ideas:
************************************************************************************* Grades TK – 2 Engineering Standard: K-2-ETS1-1:  Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to chan…
1 comment
Read more