This unit explores the journey of the African people from the Yoruban and Dahomean cultures to the Caribbean through the forced migration of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Students will learn about the similarities of the music found all over Latin America in the countries Haiti, Cub, Trinidad and Brazil. There are 4 lessons within this unit.
This sheet provides a variety of activity ideas that students can enjoy in a fun day about Latin America. This can be used to finish off a long unit about Latin America.
This activity focuses on the migration of people from the Caribbean. Students will look at paintings by a contemporary Haitian artist that depict the political life in Haiti. In addition, students will read a poem that describes the poverty in Haiti and expresses the author's sentiments about this poverty. Students will also analyze the messages in political cartoons and construct a Hatian tap taps bus decorating it to illustrate the reasons people leave Haiti.
In this activity, students will read a declaration for political asylum by a Guatemalan refugee. They will examine this document to better understand how violent conflict can contribute to the large scale movements of people. Students will design a poster using elements of Guatemalan weaving to illustrate the reasons people leave Guatemala.
This activity on El Salvador illustrates aspects of forced migration, which differs significantly from those flows of people tied to international economic forces. Students will be able to distinguish between displaced persons and refugees. Students will examine drawings of the war in El Salvador done by children in refugee camps. To evaluate students on what they have learned they will be asked to create a 3 dimensional sculpture.
In this lesson, students will learn the term "endemic" and understand how the presence of an introduced species affects an area. The Galapagos Islands are used as a case study for understanding these concepts.
In this lesson, students will read quotes from an interview with balseros who made the trip from Cuba to Florida. In addition, students will examine Coast Guard statistics showing the increasing numbers of people leaving Cuba. Overall students will understand the migration patterns between Cuba and the United States and why people migrate from Cuba.
This unit provides an introductory look at Brazil and its physical and human characteristics. The unique characteristics of Brazil will be explored from a geographic spatial perspective. Students will be asked to compare and contrast their life in the United States with teens living in Brazil. Students will understand that Brazil has a unique clture characterized by people who, in spite of poverty and oppression, display open-mindedness, optimism, friendliness, hospitality, caring attitude fullness of life, love of music and more! Brazil is indeed the "land of happiness".
This unit contains four lesson plans which each span over one class period, making this unit four periods long. Day one focuses on the historical narrative of Candomble, day two focuses on identifying the primary orixas of Candomble, day three focuses on the various rituals and ceremonies practiced in Candomble and day four consists of the role of ancestors in the religion.
In this unit, students will explore literature and music to gain an awareness and understanding of the history, people and culture of Brazil. Students will have the opportunity to listen to various types of Brazilian music and will make connections to the cultural and historical significance of these music forms. At the end, students will conduct research and present a final project that creatively brings together what they have experienced and what they have learned.
