There are four teachers at North Buncombe Middle School that are working on receiving the Global Educator Digital Badge and are also a part of the North Carolina Museum of Art's Art of Collaboration.
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/globaled/actions/gedb-implement-guide.pdf
http://ncartmuseum.org/programs_and_events/view/educators
It seemed like a natural for us to then work together to create global connections for our students. When I received an email from Emily Chavez, Outreach Coordinator for The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University about the opportunity to borrow and receive a box with authentic art and objects about Dia de los Muertos I immediately contacted her. It took a village to retrieve the box from Durham and now it is in our hands and in our students hands in Weaverville.
My colleague Sarah LaGuardia teaches Spanish and we have the same student schedule. In years past we have collaborated and taught our students about this important Hispanic celebration and helped many students understand misconceptions while at the same time helping them celebrate the lives of those they have loved that have passed on. It was exciting for me and Ms. LaGuardia to now have access to objects to make it more real and tangible for our students. Although many of our students had heard of "Day of the Dead" and some of our students are Hispanic, there are many of them who had not learned about the holiday or did not understand it.
My colleague Sarah LaGuardia teaches Spanish and we have the same student schedule. In years past we have collaborated and taught our students about this important Hispanic celebration and helped many students understand misconceptions while at the same time helping them celebrate the lives of those they have loved that have passed on. It was exciting for me and Ms. LaGuardia to now have access to objects to make it more real and tangible for our students. Although many of our students had heard of "Day of the Dead" and some of our students are Hispanic, there are many of them who had not learned about the holiday or did not understand it.
We combined our 7th grade classes and discussed how Dias de los Muertos is a CELEBRATION of life and how this is a beautiful thing. We watched videos on the celebration in Mexico and discussed what symbols are used in the celebration and how the symbols may be different than the ones many use at Halloween (which falls at the same time of the year on the calendar) in the US. Having the actual objects for the students to hold and see rather than just see on a video made a bigger impact.
We then asked the students to choose someone in their own life that had passed away to celebrate and honor. If they had not experienced the passing of a loved one we asked them to think about a pet or a famous person they admired that had died. We sent them home asking them to ask their family members stories about the person... what did they like to do, what did they like to eat and drink... etc. and then to think of 5 symbols to incorporate into a skull design. We showed them a couple of examples to get them started.
We then asked the students to choose someone in their own life that had passed away to celebrate and honor. If they had not experienced the passing of a loved one we asked them to think about a pet or a famous person they admired that had died. We sent them home asking them to ask their family members stories about the person... what did they like to do, what did they like to eat and drink... etc. and then to think of 5 symbols to incorporate into a skull design. We showed them a couple of examples to get them started.
Students were excited to share about the lives of their great grandparents, grandparents, and in some cases cousins, siblings, or friends. We reminded the students how we often mourn the loss of loved ones, but this was a chance to celebrate the lives and to remember them and smile at all the good memories they left with us. We also told our students that if they were not ready to do this or if it was too hard for them at this time that it was OK not to and to instead honor a living loved one. We started with sketches on paper and then the students created prints using styrofoam and the relief printmaking method. We displayed the final pieces with the objects we borrowed in the school lobby to share with the rest of the school. Through our collaborative efforts and love for global education we are excited to see what else our year holds.