While September marks the start of our annual Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15), it’s so important to take time now and throughout the school year to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, cultures, and stories of the Hispanic and Latino American communities. Hispanic heritage is American heritage, woven into our country’s colorful history and ingrained into every aspect of our society, values, and culture, and Discovery Education has a collection of content to help you highlight Hispanic heritage in your classroom!
Keep reading for activities and resources to kickstart celebrations for this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month and incorporate into lessons all year long!
Introducing Hispanic Heritage in the Classroom
Start of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations by introducing your students with videos, instructional activities, and reading passages about the different Hispanic and Latin American countries and cultures.
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Channel
All Grade Levels
Dive into this diverse channel of content and ready-to-use activities to meet Latin American leaders and changemakers, learn about Hispanic traditions and culture. You can also find whole resource collections available in Spanish, such as Earth to Luna!, La Golda, and DEmystified.
Background Builder: Hispanic Heritage
Grades 3-5
Give students a primer on how to describe and explain other cultures and ethnicities with this Background Builder on Hispanic heritage. Easily incorporate this ready-to-use activity into your daily lesson, which comes complete with instructional strategies, videos, and a chance for students to show what they know and extend their learning.
Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Choice Boards
Grades 3-5, 6-8
Give students the power to explore fun and engaging Hispanic heritage topics that interest them. Let them follow their own curiosity, with topics around food, animals, geography, and even pop culture figures like Rita Moreno, Roberto Clemente, and Snoopy! Best part: each selection also has a corresponding activity to demonstrate understanding.
Celebrating Traditions and Culture
Create lessons about the exciting, unique traditions, food, and celebrations of Hispanic cultures.
Proud to Be Latino: Food/Comida
Grades PreK-2
Proud to Be Latino: Food/Comida teaches students how different Latino countries use similar ingredients to create unique regional dishes. Names and descriptions are given in both English and Spanish, and you can find fun foodie and culture facts as you dive deeper into these tantalizing dishes.
Hispanic Culture: Tweet Tweet Student Activity
Grades 6-8
Use this video and activity to highlight a variety of cultural traditions from Hispanic countries, including New Year’s Eve traditions, decorations, quinceañeras, schools, seasons, street markets, animals, food, and more. Students will then summarize and share what they’ve learned using the Tweet Tweet SOS Instructional Strategy.
My Beautiful Nicaragua Student Activity
Grades 6-12
Experience the story of Edelsin Mendez who lives in the community of El Castillito in Nicaragua. Take students inside her culture and her family dynamics, including a reliance on the coffee crop and the impact climate change is having on her community.
Highlighting Hispanic Leaders and Changemakers
Shine a light on some Hispanic leaders and changemakers to spotlight some of their great contributions to our country!
Out-Of-This World Contributions
Grades 3-12
See how Hispanic changemakers made an impact on space exploration by learning about Joe Acaba, first Hispanic person to be named chief astronaut, and Dr. Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic female astronaut to travel in space!
Leaders in Athletics
Grades 3-12
Made possible through Discovery Education’s partnership with MLB, students can learn about Hispanic changemakers working in the sports industry. Students can hear from Ruben Prieto, Systems Administrator for the Miami Marlins, about his day-to-day responsibilities, educational background, and personal connections to the sport of baseball or hear from Detroit Lions pitcher Joe Jiménez about the pride he feels in being Puerto Rican and what Hispanic Heritage Month means to him.
Celebrate Hispanic Americans’ contributions and influence on the history, culture, and achievements of our country throughout Hispanic Heritage Month and all year long with resources from Discovery Education!
