The Day of the Dead
Día de los Muertos
Children's Book

Most holiday traditions are taught to children through children's books, movies and TV shows (think of It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and How the Grinch Stole Christmas).

For this assignment you and your group will be researching the popular Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, then using what you learn about the holiday to create an electronic children's book. Each group will create a Power Point containing a fictional story using pictures and information found on the Internet that will teach elementary school children about the history, traditions, spiritual significance, food, and decorations that are important to this holiday. GET CREATIVE!

Topics to Research

History Traditions Spiritual Significance Food Decorations

Origin

Significance of death in ancient Mexican civilizations

Celebrated in other countries?

 “Ofrendas”

Going to the cemetery

 

 Expectations of dead spirits/ souls

Religion

Sugar skulls

Bread of the dead

Other food?

 

In the home

In the community

At the cemetery

 


           

 

 

 

           

Resources
Books
394.266 GRE     The Days of the Dead
394.269 AND    Day of the Dead in Mexico: Through the Eyes of the Soul:
                           Mexico City, Mixquic & Morelos
394.269 AND    Day of the Dead in Mexico: Through the Eyes of the Soul:
                          Puebla, Tlaxcala, San Luis Potosi, Hidalgo
R 394.26 FES    Festivals and Holidays
R 394.26 HOL    Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary
R 394.26 THE    The Folklore of World Holidays

                                          Internet Resources
 Day of the Dead from Mexico Connect contains links to a variety of articles and photo essays on the holiday.
Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos from Mexonline.com
Day of the Dead Cultural Articles  Contains links to articles on Inside-Mexico.com
What do Mexicans Celebrate on Day of the Dead?   Article written by Ricardo Salvatore, a professor at Iowa State University, from Culture and Society in Mexico website.

                        Multimedia-- Use these databases to search for pictures and movies
                        AP Multimedia Archive from AccuNet
                        United Streaming