A Simple Unit Study About Mexico

A unit study is something educators use to teach. Instead of teaching math for math and science for science, they teach a topic of interest to their students. The math and science and everything else is all mixed together and easier to learn when the focus is elsewhere. This is a simple unit study about Mexico.

Cinco De Mayo is a very popular holiday in the United States of America. It represents pride in ones heritage, and cultural awareness and diversity. A common misconception is that Cinco De Mayo is the celebration of Mexican Independence Day. That holiday is actually in September. Cinco De Mayo is the celebration of a short lived victory against the French in Mexico's fight for independence. Spain wasn't the only country that felt it had a claim to parts of Mexico. It is a little known and rarely celebrated holiday in Mexico. Yet, it is a very important holiday in the United States. It is comparable to Saint Patrick's Day and other American ethnic heritage holidays.

Mexican Independence Day is celebrated in September. It begins at 11 pm on September 15th, when the President of of Mexico rings the Mexican liberty bell to call the people. Then, he makes "Ell Grito" (The Cry). He yells "Mexicanos, Viva Mexico!" and the crowd repeats him. Occasionally, a president adds to the yell to honor fallen soldiers that won or protected Mexican Independence from Spain. The day of September 16^th is one of celebration with parades, rodeos, concerts, etc. It is comparable to USA's 4^th of July Independence Day celebrations.

Subject Key

After the title of each component, the academic subjects it covers are listed. They are abbreviated for simplification.

LA = Language Arts (Reading, Writing, Grammar, etc.)

MA = Mathematics (Numbers, Measurement, etc.)

SC = Science (Scientific studies, Scientists of note, etc.)

SS = Social Studies (History, Geography, Sociology, etc.)

FA = Fine Arts (Music, Art, etc.)

PE = Physical Education (Physical Activities, Games, etc.)

Maps
SS

Freemap.jp provides free, printable maps of Mexico. There are several levels of detail available so you can choose a map thats appropriate for your students. http://english.freemap.jp/americas_e/mexico.html

They also offer a free, printable map of North America so your students can locate Mexico in relationship to themselves. http://english.freemap.jp/americas_e/continental_n.html

Games
SS, PE

Blind Chicken
One child is blindfolded. He is the Blind Chicken.
The other children stand in a circle around the Blind Chicken and turn him around until he's disoriented.
The Blind Chicken then tries to catch all of the other children while they run around trying not to be caught.
The other children can yell "Blind Chicken" at the Blind Chicken to distract him when he's about to catch another child.

El Bote - The Tin Can
El Bote is similar to hide and seek. One child is "It." "It." slams a tin can down against a curb.
Another child then kicks the can as hard as he can.
"It." runs to retrieve the can and slam it down against the curb again.
While "It." is retrieving the can, the other children run and hide as fast as they can.
"It." has to find them. When "It." finds a child, both children race back to the can.
The first one to slam the can against the curb wins.
If "It." wins, the other child becomes "It." and the game starts over.
If the other child wins, "It." continues searching for the other hiding children.

Craft
SC, SS, FA

Maracas
Maracas are a simple Mexican instrument. You can dry out a gourd and add seeds or beans if it's own dried seeds aren't noisy enough. DLTK http://www.dltk-kids.com/World/mexico/mexican_maracas.htm has an excellent simple maracas craft, too.

You just put some beans in a balloon.
Inflate the balloon.
Cover the bottom in tape so the beans won't end up in the handle of the finished maraca.
Tape a toilet paper or paper towel tube to the bottom for the handle.
You can play with the maraca as is, or cover it in paper-mache.
Once the paper-mache dries, it will make a long lasting maraca to play with.

Food
LA, MA, SC, SS

There is nothing better than real, home made, traditional Mexican foods. I could, and may, devote a whole series of articles to this delicious craft. Instead of filling this article with recipes, I've found you a wonderful site full of simple recipes for traditional Mexican foods. Some you will recognize, but many may seem foreign even if you're Mexican. mex-recipes.com has really done an excellent job of providing recipes from all over Mexico, even recipes that aren't common elsewhere. http://www.mex-recipes.com/easy-mexican-recipes.html

Books
LA, SS

Here are a few books you might want to take a look at, too.

Look What Came from Mexico by Miles Harvey. "Gr 2-5-These titles present a variety of inventions, sports, food, holidays, and customs that originated in their respective countries. In each, glossy double-page spreads cover topics such as "Fashion" and "Music," illustrated with full-color photographs, reproductions, and drawings. A recipe, a pronunciation guide to some foreign words, lists of further reading, and organizations and informative on-line sites are also included. On the last page of each book, the author informs readers about something traditionally associated with the country which, in fact, began elsewhere." - School Library Journal

My Mexico / México mío by Tony Johnston. "Sway to the sounds, reach for the colors, dance to the rhythms, and you will find your own Mexico in these poems in both English and Spanish. "