Since 1988, the 31 days between September 15th and October 15th have been marked by the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Beginning with Independence Day for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on September 15th, for Mexico on September 16, and for Chile on September 18th, the United States honors the many contributions Latinos have made and continue to make to our country. - National Endowment for the Humanities

Lesson Plans

A Blending of Cultures -- The United States is a blend of different cultures. Through this lesson, third grade students learn about Hispanic-American culture through food, music, dance and holidays.
Subject(s): Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 3

A Ribbon Around a Bombshell - A Glimpse into the Life and Art of Frida Kahlo --Explore how Frida Kahlo expressed her Mexican heritage and physical disabilities through her art and have your students create a PowerPoint presentation about their own heritage.
Subject(s): Arts, Language Arts, Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11, 12

Celebrate Hispanic American Month -- highlights publications, properties listed in the National Register, and National Parks related to the creativity, culture, and political experiences of Hispanic Americans.

The Handbook of Latin American Studies -- is a bibliography compilation of more than 5,000 resources on Latin America consisting of literary works selected by scholars and edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress.

Integrating Mathematics, Science and Language: An Instructional Program -- is a bilingual curriculum and resources guide and is designed to help elementary school teachers organize instruction to increase achievement of Hispanic primary-grade children whose first language is not English

The Luso-Hispanic World In Maps -- includes maps created back to the early 16th century, when exploration and new discoveries brought the need for improved information about the world.

Mango Madness -- Examine the coming-of-age novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and have your students build a dream house using 3-D Architectural technology!
Subject(s): Language Arts, Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11, 12

National Hispanic Heritage Month -- This page from EDSITEment features resources relating to National Hispanic Heritage Month, and presents information about the cultural ties and history of the Hispanic people

New Americans - Latinos in America -- What is the difference between "Latino," "Latin American," and "Hispanic"? Students will research these terms and study immigration rates from different Latin American countries, comparing these rates with immigration from the Dominican Republic.
Subject(s): Foreign Language, Social Studies
Grade Level(s): 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! -- provides information to help Hispanic/Latina girls aged 9-14 enhance decision-making and communication skills.

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MPT Programming

Maryland Public Television proudly presents V-me programming, bringing intelligent, engaging Spanish-language entertainment to our local communities. V-me (pronounced veh-meh, from the Spanish veme, meaning "see me") entertains, educates and inspires families in Spanish with a youthful, contemporary mix of sophisticated TV and Web content and educational programs.

The network brings a new kind of quality entertainment to Latino viewers through relationships with world-class content producers and a unique partnership with American public television stations.

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ITV Programming

Top! En Espanol - #101-105
Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007 1:30-3:10 am
This fast-paced game show, hosted by an adult fluent in Spanish, models various levels of fluency by combining teams of capable student speakers and beginners. All activities -- most of which are played against the clock -- are designed to introduce and reinforce vocabulary and sentence structure through reading, listening, and the motivation to speak. Basic subtitles in the target language appear during the games to aid comprehension. Subject areas covered are numbers, weather, months, food, family members, clothes, and topics of personal interest to the contestants.

Spanish Media Collection –Weston Woods
#101-114 Thursday, October 11, 2007 3:10-5:30 am
#115-135 Friday, October 12, 2007 1-4:30 am
The Spanish Media Collection features Spanish-language adaptations of 31 outstanding children's books which are familiar to any elementary school or public library. Useful with both students learning English as a second language and students learning Spanish, this series has multiple uses for the creative teacher who wants to introduce Spanish or English vocabulary, emphasize translation skills, and give students a rich language experience.

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