Lesson / Unit Plan Template for Global Collaboration Project

Global Collaboration Project Lesson Template

Lesson / Unit INFORMATION
Group Name: Dia De Las Chicas Muertas
Date: 11/22/2016
Lesson: The Day of the Dead
Information for lesson taken from http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~kihlstrm/dayofthedead.htm
Additional resource that can be used http://latino.si.edu/DayoftheDead/
PRE-INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING
What is the learning goal for your students?
Students will be able to use what they learned about the Day of the Dead and ofrendas to
design their own ofrenda.
What state adopted academic or content standard(s) are you addressing?
(Provide the name of the standards document, the grade level, the correct
numerical citation, and the text of the standard(s) you select. Add standards
from different states if you have group members from different states.)
Minnesota
Art: Grade K-3
Strand: Artistic Process-Perform or Present
Standard: Perform or present in a variety of contexts in the arts area using the artistic
foundations.
Benchmark: Share and describe a personal artwork.
Code: 0.3.1.5.1.1
Taken from Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in the Arts (2008)
Alabama
Art: Arts Education (2006) Grade 3 Visual Arts
Create Symbolic works of art to communicate ideas.
Alabama Standards: http://alex.state.al.us/browseStand.php

What is the learning objective(s) for this unit and each lesson/day? Identify
what the students will be able to do following instruction. Include an action
verb (observable behavior), and criteria for success.

Lesson / Unit Plan Template for Global Collaboration Project

Students will be able to build their own ofrenda using what they learned about the Day of the
Dead and then will be able to present their ofrenda and explain how it is connected to the Day of
the Dead and its symbolism. They should identify at least two ways it is connected to the Day of
the Dead and explain one symbol.
Assessment Plan: What tools/procedures that will be used throughout this
lesson to monitor and measure students learning of the lesson objective(s).
(Multiple and varied assessments should be used in the lesson.) Attach to
your lesson plan any rubrics, checklists or other assessment tools that you
will use.
When the students are learning about the Day of the Dead, they will be asked questions that
reviews what they have learned. Their responses will be used to measure if they understand
what the Day of the Dead is.
Students will look at an example of an ofrenda and discuss the different parts of the ofrenda and
what they symbolize. They then will be asked what were some of the things included in an
ofrenda and what do they mean. This will check if they understood what an ofrenda was and the
symbolism that is part of it.
Students will make an ofrenda and present their ofrenda sharing how it is connected to the Day
of the Dead and one symbol.
What materials will the teacher use?
Computer
Video from website
Picture of an ofrenda

Taken from
http://www.creativelanguageclass.com/authres/culture/let-them-plan-a-festival/

Write directions on the board

What materials will students use?
Shoebox
Tissue Paper

Lesson / Unit Plan Template for Global Collaboration Project

Construction paper
Fake flowers
Markers, crayons, colored pencils
Pencil
Scissors
Glue
Anything they want to bring from home to put in their shoebox

INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE
Plan your teaching steps by addressing What will the teacher do and What will students do.
Provide evidence of scaffolding, linking new content to prior learning, engaging students,
monitoring progress, supporting students so they can use academic language, and transitioning.
Think through each activity and the time it will take. Be specific.
Time
1 min

2 min

What will the teacher do?

Introduction
Good afternoon students! Today we are
going to be learning about the Day of the
Dead or Dia de los Muertos. Does
anyone know where the Day of the Dead
is celebrated?

What will students do?

Students turn their attention to the
teacher and get ready to learn. They
answer the question.

Yes, it is commonly celebrated in Mexico, Students listen to what they will be

but it also is celebrated throughout Latin doing today and watch the video.
America. The Day of the Dead is a
celebration that remembers those who
have died. It is celebrated on November
1st and 2nd which are also All Saints
Day and All Souls Day in the Catholic
church. In fact, the Day of the Dead was
influenced by catholicism, or the catholic
religion, and aztec tradition. The Aztecs
were the people who lived in Mexico
before the Europeans came. Today we
are going to learn about a part of the
celebration where the people make an
ofrenda. An ofrenda is an altar that is
setup to remember people who have
passed away. Then everyone will have
the opportunity to make their own
ofrenda! To begin we are going to watch
a short video about the Day of the Dead.
Play video from website found under
History -> youtube link.
Lesson Tasks

Lesson / Unit Plan Template for Global Collaboration Project

1 min

The video mentioned that families make

altars to remember those who have died.
Those are also called ofrenda. On the
ofrenda they will often include flowers, a
picture of the one who has passed away,
and food the person liked.

Students listen to what an ofrenda is.

5 min

On the board I have a picture of an

ofrenda. What do you see on it?

They examine the picture and begin

sharing what they see.

Yes there are candles. The candles are

meant to show the spirits where to go
because it is believed that the spirits of
those who have died return on the Day of
the Dead.
You are right! There is also bread. The
bread is meant to be food for the spirit.
Yes there are also flowers. The flowers
remind people that life is short.
Thats right. There are skulls. The skulls
are a way they honor the dead.
1 min

Some other things you may see on an

ofrenda are toys, papel picado which is
cut out tissue paper, or water. The toys
are usually for children they are
remembering. The papel picado is a
tissue paper that has cutouts kind a like
when we make snowflakes from paper.
This reminds people that life is fragile.
The water is for the soul since they had
to make the journey back here and might
be thirsty!

Students listen about what also can

be included on an ofrenda.

3 min

Now can anyone remind me what the

Day of the Dead is?

Students raise their hands and

answer the questions.

And what is an ofrenda?

What are some things you might see on
an ofrenda?
2 min

Now that everyone knows what the Day

of the Dead is and what an ofrenda is,
you are going to get to make one. I have
a shoebox for each of you. On the table
up front here you will find some tissue

Students listen to the directions and

begin thinking about how they will
decorate their ofrenda. If they have
any questions they ask them.

Lesson / Unit Plan Template for Global Collaboration Project

paper, construction paper, glue, and

other various craft items. Earlier this
week I had sent home a letter about
picking a person who has died and
bringing in some objects like pictures,
their favorite food, or other things they
enjoyed. When I say start you can go get
those things to use for your ofrenda.
Once everyone is done making their
ofrenda, you will be sharing it with the
class. Before you share, write down two
ways the ofrenda is connected to the
Day of the Dead and write an
explanation of what one thing you
included in your ofrenda means. When
you share it, I want you to identify two
ways your ofrenda is connected to the
Day of the Dead and I want you to at
least explain what one thing means that
you included in your ofrenda. Are there
any questions? You may start.
25 min
15 min

Students work on their projects.

Float around helping students as
needed.

Students start to share their projects.

It looks like everyone is done with their

ofrenda. We are going to start on this
side of the room with the presentations.
As students present thank them and give
positive feedback.

2 min

Closure
All of your ofrendas were great.
Remember these ofrendas are just part
of the celebration of Day of the Dead.
Other celebrations also take place to
remember the people who have passed
away. If you want to explore more about
the day of the dead, during the your free
time you can use the iPads to go to
http://latino.si.edu/DayoftheDead/ There
you will be able to explore more about
the celebration of the Day of the Dead.

Students listen and take not of the

website they can explore if they want
to learn more about the Day of the
Dead.