20 Resources for Hispanic Heritage Month!

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15-October 15th!  During this month, we celebrate the cultures, histories, and accomplishments of Americans whose ancestors have come from Spanish-Speaking countries. Below are twenty resources that you can use during Hispanic Heritage Month, and that you can integrate into your lesson plans throughout the entire school year.

1. Scholastic's Celebrate Hispanic Heritage page has online activities that provide your students with the opportunity to discover the contributions and rich cultures of Hispanics in the United States. Students can explore Hispanic History in the Americas, Meet Famous Latinos, learn about Latinos in History, find out from some Americans of Hispanic descent what their heritage means to them, play a Piñata Concentration Game in Spanish, or Explore More with Maya and Miguel.
2. Latino Virtual Gallery is an interactive learning site that teaches visitors about Latino cultural heritage. The nine different galleries available are Argentina at the Smithsonian 2010, Panamanian Passages, Mexican Treasures of the Smithsonian, DIVEDCO (Division of Community Education of Puerto Rico), LEGACY: Spain and the United States at the Age of Independence, Day of the Dead, Roberto Clemente: Life After Baseball, Smithsonian Latino Center's Kids Corner, and LATINO ART NOW: 3D Art Installation
3. Gale Free Resources: Hispanic Heritage Biographies has around 50 links to biographies of famous Latinos such as author Isabel Allende, singer Celia Cruz, and actor Antonio Banderas.
4. Teacher Planet Hispanic Heritage Lessons, Worksheets and Activities has lesson plans such as United States/Mexico Border (Gr. 9-12), worksheets like as Central America & South America Outline Maps, Units such as The Roots of American Culture, Resources like 1492: An Ongoing Voyage, and Web Quests such as El Juego que Aprende: The Learning Game. 
5. EDSITEment National Hispanic Heritage Month has a variety of  great resources for Hispanic Heritage Month. Some of the sections of the site are The Roots of Hispanic Culture in the New World, Historical and Cultural Legacies, Hispanic Culture and Literature Today, Spanish Language, Hispanic Culture, Featured Lessons, Featured Websites, and Featured Additional EDSITEment Resources.
6. National Hispanic Heritage Month contains an Exhibitions and Collections page, Images of famous Hispanics, and an Audio/Video page with podcasts, songs, videos, speeches, and poetry. In addition there is a Teacher Resource Page with links to primary sources that you can use in your classroom such as collection guides and research aids from The Library of Congress, National Archives Experience -- DocsTeach, National Archives, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, and the Smithsonian Institution.
7. Smithsonian Education Hispanic Heritage Month 2013 has a Hispanic Heritage Virtual Tour that teaches students about the history and culture of America. Students learn through specially chosen objects from the Smithsonian Institution. Each object tells a story about Hispanic history and culture.
8. Teacher Vision Hispanic Heritage Resources for Teachers offers lesson plans, printables, art and music activities, and references that will inspire your students. In addition, it has Spanish, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Literature Resources.  
9. Education World: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month offers teaching ideas for activities that focus on the contributions of people of Hispanic heritage, and the history of the United States. It also has links to more Hispanic Heritage Month resources on the web.
10. ReadThinkWrite Hispanic Heritage Month begins today is a lesson plan that includes classroom activities, including online research, and also provides teachers and students with websites, and related resources. 
11. PBS Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month 2013 will give you PBS Hispanic Heritage Month TV program information. 
12. PBS Kids: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Maya and Miguel has games, videos, printables and fun facts for elementary students.               
13. United States Census Bureau provides statistics on Hispanics living in the US.    
14. The Learning Network-Teaching and Learning with the New York Times  has put together some of their best articles and resources in The Times that celebrate the accomplishments and cultures of Hispanic-Americans. The site gives teachers ideas for ten ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with their students, including seeing Hispanic-American art, and listening to Latin music. The activities are aligned with the Common Core Standards, and the site provides teachers with the Common Core ELA Standards 6-12 that students can work towards while completing the activities. 
15. New York Times Article: "What's the Problem with 'Hispanic'? Just Ask a 'Latino'" is an interesting informational text that your students can read to spark a class discussion, or pull evidence from for a writing assignment. 
16. Classtools.net Fakebook can be used to create a fake profile page for a famous Hispanic-American after doing some research.  
17. Huffington Post Crafts to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month offers printables and ideas for crafts organized by country. Students can create crafts such as Guatemalan kites, or Peruvian bead necklaces 
18. DiversityInc Hispanic Heritage Month Timeline and Facts & Figures has free downloadable PDFs. The facts and figures are put together in an infographic that you can use in class. 
19. YouTube Hispanic Heritage Month can be used to search for videos to incorporate into your lessons.
20. Google Images for Hispanic Heritage month is useful for printing off public domain images to hang up in your classroom, use on a bulletin board, or paste into your Hispanic Heritage Month assignments.

• I have also bookmarked more resources and teaching ideas in my Diigo Library at https://www.diigo.com/user/ebucrek for Hispanic Heritage Month.
• You can find more YouTube videos on Hispanic Heritage, and more resources on my Liz's Lessons Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/LizsLessons/hispaniclatino-heritage/!