Day of the Dead Activities for Middle School
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Nov 28, 2023
Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is celebrated each year on November 1st and 2nd. This special day is celebrated in central and southern Mexico. It is also celebrated in other areas around the world. On the Day of the Dead, people set aside time to celebrate and remember those who have died. Incorporating Day of the Dead activities into your classroom curriculum is a great way to look closely at a different culture. It also helps to further your students’ knowledge of world history. In this post I share some fun Day of the Dead activities for Middle School and Upper Elementary students. I hope you are able to find some activities to help you teach all about this special day.
History of Día De Los Muertos
The original Day of the Dead celebration took place in Hispanic civilizations from 2,500-3,000 years ago. This was long before the Spaniards conquered Mexico. The celebration lasted an entire month.
Today, the Day of the Dead is on November 2nd. The celebration, however, begins the day before. In coincides with the Catholic celebrations of All Saint’s Day (Día de los Santos) and All Soul’s Day (Día de los Fieles Difuntos). The traditions involved in the Day of the Dead blend the traditions of the indigenous peoples of Mexico with the traditions of the Catholic religion brought to Mexico from Spain.
Those who celebrate the Day of the Dead believe that the souls of loved ones will come back and visit the living during this celebration. The indigenous people of Mexico believe that this is possible because the soul is eternal, and can travel between this world and the next. Instead of being a sad time, the Day of the Dead is a joyous celebration.
This provides a unique contrast to the Halloween festivities commonly celebrated in the classroom. If you are looking for some Halloween activities to do with your students, you can explore further with our Halloween Activities for Middle School, offering a range of engaging classroom ideas.
Day of the Dead Activities: Close Reading
To start our unit, we begin by learning some background information about the Day of the Dead. I found that many of my students are already familiar with the day, largely in part to Disney’s “Coco” movie (which is fantastic!).
We start our unit with some Close Reading activities to help fill in their knowledge gaps. According to gurus Fisher and Frey, Close Reading is “an instructional routine in which students are guided in their understanding of complex text”. Basically, Close Reading is an instructional approach that integrates several reading strategies, where students add knowledge gained from text to their schema. Doing so builds habits of successful readers, and builds stamina and persistence with complex text.
As they work through the activity, students are given time to read and annotate a passage, and share their learning with peers. It is a super effective way to build background information before moving on to additional activities.
For more information on Close Reading, check out this blog post.
Day of the Dead Activities: Comprehension Pennants
After students have read through the information, I have them complete these fun comprehension question pennants. These fun Day of the Dead activities contain a variety of different comprehension questions, as well as a fun sugar skull topper for students to color.
These pennants are a nice break from traditional comprehension questions. Also, they make great classroom of bulletin board displays to showcase student learning.
Day of the Dead Activities: sugar skull art
Candy skulls made of sugar are an important Day of the Dead tradition. These are called calaveritas or “little skulls”. The sugar skulls are often left as part of the Day of the Dead alter offerings.
For these engaging Day of the Dead activities, students examine images of sugar skulls. After examination, they discuss things they notice and wonder about them with a partner. After, students practice drawing their own sugar skulls.
Finally, students choose their favorite draft skull. They then use it to help them complete a large sugar skull image. These colorful drawing make gorgeous classroom displays to help celebrate the day!
Incorporating these artistic elements into your lessons can be a gateway to discussing the broader benefits of art in education. Learn more about this in our article on the Benefits of Art Integration.
The vibrant imagery in Day of the Dead celebrations is a perfect opportunity to explore figurative language. Enhance your teaching strategies with our 5 Tips for Teaching Figurative Language, especially useful in discussions about cultural symbolism.
Day of the Dead Activities: Scavenger Hunt
This fun scavenger hunt activity is a great way to review and wrap up your unit on the Day of the Dead.
To complete the activity, simply tape up the fact cards all around your classroom, hallway, or outdoor space. Students hunt around for the facts, and use them to answer questions on an included template.
This is fun way to review student learning. I love how it gets kids up, out of their desks, and moving around the classroom.
Interested in trying these resources out in your own classroom?
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