National Hispanic Heritage Month
Every year since 1988, the U.S. Government has set aside the period from September 15 to October 15, to honor the many contributions Hispanic Americans have made and continue to make to our nation by observing National Hispanic Heritage Month. This September, EDSITEment celebrates the history and artistic heritage of the Hispanic people whose cultural heritage has roots in Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
The National Endowment for the Humanities Picturing America initiative begins with a handsome visual reminder of the Spanish influence on American history, religion and culture: Mission Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, one of the oldest surviving stone churches in America. In a new lesson plan, Mission Nuestra Señora de la Concepción and the Spanish Mission in the New World, students are invited to use the image of the mission to explore the way Spanish missionaries and native American tribes worked together to build a community of faith in the southwest in the middle of the 18th century.
The term Hispanic, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Spanish-speaking people in the United States of any race. On the 2000 Census form, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." More than 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino on the 2000 Census.
The Hispanic people were among the earliest settlers in the New World, and the accounts of their ventures into the uncharted territories of the southeast and southwest form part of our literary and historical heritage. You can find a prime example of one of these accounts of the journey of Alvar NúÑez Cabeza de Vaca, by visiting the EDSITEment reviewed New Perspectives on the West.
Cabeza de Vaca's journey is a gripping account of his years of wandering among the indigenous people in the Southwest. Published in 1542, it is as prized today for its literary merit as it is for its ethnological descriptions, and its easy-to-read style makes it accessible to even middle school students. You can find many other primary source documents relevant to Spanish exploration and colonization by visiting New Perspectives on the West.
For another perspective on Spanish exploration and settlement, visit Web de Anza, an EDSITEment participating website packed with primary source documents and multimedia resources covering Juan Bautista de Anza's two overland expeditions that led to the colonization of San Francisco in 1776.
The Hispanic people also have unique cultural ties to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The multi-faceted artistic heritage of these cultural ties has yielded outstanding examples of arts and handicrafts. You can explore one Hispanic culture's artistic legacy by examining the art and artifacts of Puerto Rico's history and culture at A Collector's Vision of Puerto Rico, an online exhibit documenting the people, history, and culture of Puerto Rico.
Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15, the anniversary of independence for five Latin American countries—Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on September 16, and Chile on September 18.
A recent lesson plan—Mexican Culture and History through Its National Holidays—encourages students to learn more about Mexico’s Independence Day and other Mexican holidays.
Pam Muñoz Ryan’s award-winning work of juvenile fiction is featured in another recent EDSITEment lesson, Esperanza Rising: Learning Not to Be Afraid to Start Over. Set in the early 1930s, twenty years after the Mexican Revolution and during the Great Depression, Esperanza Rising tells the story of a young Mexican girl's courage and resourcefulness when at the tender age of thirteen she finds herself living in a strange new world. The lesson for Esperanza Rising explores not only the life of the young heroine, but much of the historical background that Pam Muñoz Ryan introduces to lend depth and interest to her story. Students are given an opportunity to engage in interesting classroom activities that encourage them to imagine the difficult choices facing those who decide to leave home and immigrate to the United States.
Other EDSITEment lesson plans and Additional Learning Activities can also show you how to use online resources in the classroom. The EDSITEment lesson plan, Common Visions, Common Voices, examines the effects of intercultural contact, an issue vital to both contemporary and historical Hispanic culture, through an examination of the artistic and literary themes and motifs found in Mayan artifacts and trickster stories. You can complement this lesson plan with additional learning activities from the Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC). LANIC facilitates access to Internet-based information on, from, or about Latin America and has also become an important gateway to Latin America for primary and secondary school teachers and students.
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