Hispanic Heritage Month Meet your #Maker
Last year we celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month in our high school makerspace. Our ELLs (English Language Learners) made paper flowers practicing following directions, new vocabulary including names of colors all with beautiful results. We also made piñatas with foreign language classes where students had to keep in mind they were engineering to fail as the purpose of piñatas are to break. We’ve all been there when a piñatas refuses to break even though beaten unmercifully. Too light on the tape and they fall apart before you hang them up. Too much tape, well forget about getting at the candy.
Piñatas: “The original piñata was shaped like a star with seven points. The points represented the seven deadly sins, and the bright colors of the piñata symbolize temptation. The blindfold represents faith and the stick is virtue or the will to overcome sin. The candies and other goodies inside the piñata are the riches of the kingdom of heaven. Thus teaching that with faith and virtue one could overcome sin and receive all the rewards of heaven.” We’ve come a long way in piñata design.
We not only made piñatas again this year but also expanded the celebration and learning to other cultural items such as worry dolls, typical of Guatemala and Peru and calaveras (skulls) a prominent feature in Day of the Dead celebrations.
Worry Dolls: “According to the Mayan legend, when worrying keeps a person awake, he or she tells a worry to as many dolls as necessary. Then the worrier places the dolls under his or her pillow. The dolls take over the worrying for the person who then sleeps peacefully through the night. When morning breaks, the person awakens without the worries that the dolls took away during the night.” Perfect for our stressed out teens!
Calavera: “Calaveras are whimsical caricatures-most commonly drawings- of skulls or skeletons.” Look at the individuality and creativity!
Our celebration included building an ofrenda (an altar in honor of the dead. RIP Selena.) I learned that November 1st is a day honoring children and November 2nd is the day honoring adult spirits. I mistakenly thought the spirits were all honored on one day only.
Cultural literacy is important and as such is part of the Foreign Language curriculum. The activities were available to anyone, students and staff, regardless of scheduled class participation. Anyone could stop by the makerspace during the day and participate as we all benefit from a global cultural education. I also believe one successful program leads to another…
So now the Italian teachers approached me stating, “You know Italian Heritage Month is also celebrated in October, Gina.” There’s an emphasis on ‘Gina’ as they know I’m of Italian descent my father having emigrated to NY in his twenties. It’s amazing, I didn’t have to seek out the department to work on a project together; they contacted me! It’s wonderful to collaborate with enthusiastic teachers and I’m looking forward to using and highlighting maker activities to celebrate Italian heritage. So stay tuned, blog post on the events coming soon.
For instructions on how to create the items listed above, check out my HHM Libguide at http://hslibguides.islipufsd.org/HHM
Originally published at ginaseymour.com on October 9, 2016.
