Central America

Students will learn about and make, Salvadoran dishes such as Guacamole, Quesadillas, Licuados de fruta, Charamuscas and more! A fun way to get students familiar with the Salvadoran culture.

In this lesson plan, students will learn how to create a Salvadorian craft known as "Seed of God" or "Semilla de Dios", which is a folk art style that utilizes bright colors and is inspired by adobe homes. Students will get the opportunity to practice this folk art style after learning about it, either creating a cross similar to the one they are shown or by coloring in sheets with images similar to those panted onto crosses.

This unit contains a brief background on Ecuador followed by 5 lesson plans directed to map reading, exploration of the regions of Ecuador and look into the overall natural environment. Attached at the end of this file is a detailed annotated bibliography.

This unit includes 4 separate lesson plans, the first two being social studies, the third focusing on the subject of science and the last focusing on math. This unit provides a well rounded introduction to the country of Costa Rica and the lessons are planned with great attention to detail and instruction. Some of the lessons span out for multiple class periods and others do not. There are adaptions given for each lesson plan so feel free to adapt!

In this lesson plan, students will be asked to investigate the topography and climate of Costa Rica, a Central American country known for its rich and colorful rain forest. Students will view a work of art from Costa Rica depicting an animal, prompting them to research animals like the one depicted in the artwork and identify layers of vegetation within the rain forest.

This guide gives a thorough background of the textile art called Mola. Clear instructions are included if students wish to make a Mola and become more apart of the Panamanian tradition.

In this lesson, students will read the tale "La Carretanagua" and listen to various descriptions given by the Nicarguan people on the "Death Cart". A "Death Cart" was used by the Spanish to instill fear in the peoples they had colonized. As an extension activity, students can make their own "Death Cart".

Learn how to make a Mola, a form of textile art that originated within Panama with the women of the Kuna tribe in the San Blas Islands. This guide gives you background on what a Mola is, instructions on how to make one and examples of previously made Molas. A fun look into the indigenous cultures which reside in Panama!

As a result of this lesson students will be able to identify some of the main colonial builds of Leon Viejo in Nicaragua, analyze the motivations of the conquistadors to settle in Leon Viejo and their treatment of the Indians. This lesson focuses on the struggle of indigenous peoples against the conquistadors. Students will get to view many images and read documents in Spanish. This will help students learning to read and comprehend Spanish.

Students will examine the economic, health and environmental risks of a one-crop economy, such as the coffee economy in Honduras, in the developing world.