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INTRODUCTION
LEARNERS
STANDARDS
PROCESS
EVALUATION
CONCLUSION
RESOURCES

This lesson is intended for second graders who are studying the history of different regions and communities. It is meant to spark curiosity for historical events that lead to holidays and celebrations here in the U.S. Some students may have heard of Cinco De Mayo, but this lesson is designed to debunk the stigma surrounding it. What is the point of glorifying or participating in these celebrations if we do not understand the true history behind them? It is important that students learn why we celebrate the days that we do, and how historical figures made an impact on our lives before we were even born. 

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By the end of this lesson, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of Cinco De Mayo by creating a diorama representation of the holiday's history, traditions, and importance. Students will have an opportunity to participate in shared research to produce an expressive, 3-Dimensional report on their findings. Students will learn how historical events have made an impact on our present communities, traditions, and holidays. 

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As second graders, students should have a basic understanding of research from first grade. Students already know how to seek out key details in a resource, retell stories, use text features, and clarify vocabulary terms. According to the Oregon Social Studies Standards, in first grade students should have learned about various people and events associated with national holidays, and how different people celebrate their diverse cultural heritages in the community.  

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Ideally this lesson should fit in at the end of the year, lasting one week (five school days) beginning on May 1st and ending on May 5th, in celebration of Cinco De Mayo. In lessons leading up to this, students will have already learned to identify individuals who had a historical impact on their community, and how past events now effect the future. Once students have developed a context for this subject matter, they will be asked to end the unit with this mini-research project on the history of Cinco De Mayo.

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In third grade, students will expand upon this knowledge when they begin to compare and contrast the history of their own community to other communities in the region.

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Every day, our class has 35 minutes to work on Science, Social Studies, or Health. On each of the five days, our class will utilize the 35 minutes to work on this Social Studies project. The first day will be spent covering steps 1-5 below. Days two, three, and four are research days that students spend time learning about Cinco De Mayo and creating their shoebox dioramas to showcase their new found knowledge about the holiday. On the fifth day, Cinco De Mayo, students will be allowed the chance to showcase their dioramas to classmates. Since there won’t be enough time for each student to present their projects individually, the class will be split in half to view each others projects in two groups. While one group walks around the room viewing the dioramas, the other group will stay stationed with their diorama to present what they have learned. Each group will have 15 minutes to view the other groups dioramas, and then they will switch. The remaining 5 minutes of day five will be spent doing class reflection.  

 

  1. Lesson Introduction: Watch a video about Cinco De Mayo at http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/cinco-de-mayo - Warning: Video does contain reference to alcoholic beverages.

    • ​Discuss why we celebrate holidays and what things we know have happened in history to create different holidays

    • Have table groups (or rows) discuss what they know about Cinco De Mayo and why it is celebrated.

    • Walk around the room and observe group discussions. Offer insight, reiteration, or prompts when students have valid ideas to share, or seem to be struggling to contribute.

    • Have one person from each group contribute one idea about the holiday that they agreed upon with the class.

  2. Communicate Learning Targets: Students will receive the WebQuest site address outlining the project.

    • Go over the WebQuest student page, explaining instructions, expectations, and rubric.

    • Objectives and requirements will be explained to the students in detail.

    • Student Learning Targets may be provided in detail, or summarized within instruction (teacher preference).

      • I will research the topic of Cinco De Mayo using electronic resources in order to produce a comprehensive report on the subject.

      • I will be able to describe the celebrations, symbols and traditions of Cinco De Mayo, and why they are important to some people.

      • I will be able to describe the historical events that lead to the Cinco De Mayo holiday.

      • I will model my understanding of Cinco De Mayo through a visual representation (diorama) with image and text elements.

      • I will recount my research through an oral presentation to my peers.

      • I will recount key ideas and details about Cinco De Mayo in a class discussion after presentations.

  3. Question/Answer Session: To ensure that everyone understands this project, allow a few minutes to answer any questions students may have about the criteria.

  4. Brainstorm: Allow students time to confer with classmates about the project, explore the example diorama provided by the teacher (optional), or begin brainstorming ideas for your diorama.

  5. Research Tutorial: Show students how to access the pre-determined research websites (see below) for this project.

    • Using a projection of your computer screen, model how students should seek out information on the websites provided.

    • Students may pull up a Word document to copy and paste facts or images that they feel will be useful for their project (for sustainability purposes, teachers may opt to forgo this option or assign a page limit per student).

    • They should be looking for information that answers our question “What happened in history to make Cinco De Mayo a holiday?”

  6. Research Time: Allow students time to gather research on student computers/tablets. Students may have to be paired or grouped if there are not enough digital resources available for each student to perform research on their own. 

  7. Conclusion and Clean-Up: Make sure students save and clean up all their diorama materials once they start constructing.

  8. Presentations: 

    • Split students into two groups (two halves of the room) and allow time to set up their dioramas on their desks.

    • One group will rotate around the room looking at their peers dioramas while the other half stands by their dioramas and presents.

    • Be listening for students to touch on the main research points and targets covered on the WebQuest site.

    • The two groups will switch tasks and rotate or present accordingly.

  9. Reflection: Meet on the carpet for whole class discussion.

    • Encourage students to compliment other classmates on their work.

    • Answer the question “What happened in history to make Cindo De Mayo a holiday?”

    • Prompt students to relate this project back to previous unit work on historical knowledge, events in history, and the community and traditions which originate from these events. Cinco De Mayo is not just a holiday because people wanted a reason to gather and celebrate Mexico, there is a deeper meaning behind it that can be traced back to history.

    • Discuss any issues they faced, and answer any questions that remain.

      • Optional Day-After Activity: To promote further reflection on this lesson, or to simply incorporate writing, students may be asked to write a brief statement about what they learned in their journals.

This compilation of standards combines history/social studies, oral and written practices, group and individual research, class participation, comprehension, and expressive arts - while still allowing for differentiation and individual creativity to transpire.    

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  • Oregon Social Studies Standard 2.3 Identify and describe community celebrations, symbols and traditions and explain why they are important to some people.

  • Oregon Social Studies Standard 2.6 Identify important school days, holidays, and community events on a calendar.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.2 Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.2.4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.

  • ELP 2-3.1 Construct meaning from oral presentations and literary and informational text through grade appropriate listening, reading, and viewing.

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  • WebQuest Student Page

  • Classroom laptops, iPads, or tablets - 1 per student/pair/group

  • Classroom printer and printer paper

  • Writing paper and utensil - 1 per student

  • One shoebox per student - Student provided

  • Colored construction paper

  • Decorations (Tissue paper, feathers, buttons, pipe cleaners, etc.)

  • Markers, colored pencils, crayons 

  • Scissors

  • Glue

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Grades will be awarded for this project based on individual student performance. The research portion of this grade can be altered for pairs or groups that worked together on gathering research (determined by access to technology). Formatively, students should be observed during research time to assess their utilization of resources for the purpose of learning about the history of Cinco De Mayo. The facts students gather should correlate to the four main points they are required to include in their presentations: 1) The Battle of Puebla, 2) The people/countries involved, 3) The importance that May 5th holds for the people of Mexico, and 4) What influence this day has on present traditions and celebrations in the U.S. Students will be evaluated on their overall learning via their physical diorama and accompanying oral presentation.

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Grading Rubric:

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By completing this WebQuest, students will gain an understanding of how historical events influence American holidays; how the past effects the future. Students will understand the true history behind Cinco De Mayo, including the people, countries, and events involved. Using gathered information from websites, students will learn how to identify and summarize key information for presentation purposes. Students will build their research abilities using technology and expand their creative development, all in one lesson. 

 

ACCESS THE STUDENT PAGE HERE

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