En la Clase: More Resources for Teaching Las Posadas

Last week’s En la Clase shared a number of children’s books and ideas for how to teach about Las Posadas.  There were so many resources that I just couldn’t fit them all into one post, so today I’m sharing some other online resources and art activities that you can use to complement any of last week’s literature.

While I think children’s books are a great way to introduce a new theme or topic to students, articles can be a useful way to integrate shorter non-fiction texts into the classroom.  Mexconnect has two interesting articles on Las Posadas.  Since they are available online, you have the option of printing copies for your students or just projecting it onto a screen or smartboard. In the first article, “Posadas,” Maggie Van Ostrand shares what it was like to experience her first Posadas.  In “Mexico’s Christmas posadas, pastorelas and nacimientos” Luis Dumois shares a brief history of how these celebrations came to be a part of Mexican tradition.

One of the most frequently mentioned videos comes from The Other Side of the Tortilla where Maura Wall Hernandez shares both a short video and description of how her family celebrates Las Posadas, including the lyrics to two of the more common songs used during Las Posadas.  Oh Em Gee! It’s Eddie G shared the video What are Las Posadas? This is how we celebrate in Los Angeles @omgitseddieg.  It’s short and engaging, and one I think students would really like as well.

There are also lots of great art activities to use in a unit on Las Posadas.  Bright Hub Education shared the lesson plan “Las Posadas: A Mexican Christmas and Two Crafts for Elementary School” which has simple directions for making mock luminarias and foil Christmas ornaments.

Crayola shared a fun lesson for how to make a glowing luminaria path.  They suggest using gel markers on black construction paper, but you could also use crayons or chalk.

MommyMaestra, who I mentioned in last week’s post, has written instructions on how to make luminarias and piñata ornaments.

There are many, many different lesson plans for making poinsettias.  Here are just a few: Complementary Poinsettias with Paint, Poinsettia Felt Ornament,  Poinsettia Fans with lesson plans and instructions, Poinsettia Sponge Paint Art, and Construction Paper Hand Print Poinsettias.

Star Piñatas are a really fun part of the Las Posadas celebration.  If you aren’t brave enough to make twenty-something piñatas with your entire class (I’ve done it. It’s incredibly messy and fun. You will be exhausted, but you will survive), here are some other options: Cone Cup Piñatas, Mini-Piñatas, and Tissue Paper Pinatas.  There wasn’t a specific lesson plan for this last activity, but here’s a picture from Fabulous in First that’s pretty self-explanatory.

To see everything we’ve posted on Las Posadas, find our Las Posadas button under “Our Most Popular Themes” on the right hand side of the blog or do a search for Las Posadas at the top right hand corner.

We’d love to hear how you plan to teach about Las Posadas or any other resources you know of!

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Image: New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, Luminaria Display.  Photo by Darren Phillips