Hispanic Americans
Lesson Plans

[Detail] The Teaching of the Indians

Use these lesson plans, created by teachers for teachers, to explore the Hispanic American experience.

• Drake’s West Indian Voyage 1588-1589 (Grades 6-8) Students will investigate a series of maps depicting a voyage by Sir Francis Drake which involved attacks on the Spanish settlements off the coast of Africa (Santiago), Caribbean (Santo Domingo), South America (Cartagena), and North America (St. Augustine).
• Exploring Community Through Local History: Oral Stories, Landmarks and Traditions (Grades 9-12) Students explore the local history of their own community to learn the value of local culture and traditions as primary sources. This lesson could focus on Hispanic influences in a community.
• Family Customs Past and Present: Exploring Cultural Rituals (Grades 6-12) In this lesson, students investigate rituals and customs of various cultures and then explore their own cultural rituals through interviews with family. This lesson could be adapted to focus on Hispanic immigrants.
• The Huexotzinco Codex (Grades 3-8) Students will analyze a set of pictograph documents created by native peoples of Puebla, Mexico, in 1531.
• Immigration and Oral History (Grades 8-12) Students engage in visual and information literacy exercises to gain an understanding of how to identify and interpret primary historical sources, specifically oral histories. This lesson could be adapted to focus on Hispanic immigrants.
• Using Oral History (Grades 6-12) Students study social history topics through interviews that recount the lives of ordinary Americans. This lesson could be adapted to include interviews with Hispanic Americans.