Why Hispanic Heritage Month Matters
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated every year from September 15 to October 15. Share about the history of this month! Regardless of the location of your school or the students you teach, it can be challenging to truly express the value of learning a second language. Highlighting Hispanic and Latino food, culture, traditions, music and people helps students see the importance of learning Spanish.
Why Biographies Matter
Biographies share real-life role models over generic, one size fits all history lessons. When you are able to share the hardships of Ellen Ochoa, and the adversity Rita Moreno has overcome, we are able to broaden cultural perspectives and give students a chance to see themselves in our curriculum. As Spanish teachers, it is so easy for us to push aside cultural lessons because we have soooooo much content to get through. When we incorporate biographies of iconic Latin figures, we can bring culture and grammar together; easily killing two birds with one stone.
How I am Sharing Biographies in Class
I am a high school Spanish teacher with experience across the board. In recent years, I have primarily taught Spanish 3. I am incorporating a few different biographies throughout Hispanic Heritage Month while reviewing the preterite and imperfect. The first biography I am going to use is Celia Cruz. The amazing queen of Salsa is a fun and lively choice for sharing about latin music, too! Pair this biography with the showing of a few different songs like La Vida es Un Carnaval and Quimbara to have students discuss adjectives, express preference and compare and contrast the two songs.
Are you teaching about science and technology? Share about Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina to space. Introducing students to art? You can’t go wrong with Frida Kahlo. Love to share latin music? Check out this FREE biography all about the queen of Tejano – Selena Quintanilla! I love sharing about Selena and then showing the movie. My students love to quote Anything for SELENNAASSSSSS! (So only share about Selena if you’re ready to hear that 103 times 🤭)
Biography Extension Ideas
All biographies include between 4 and 5 after-reading activities to check for comprehension and understanding of the reading. I find that reading and worksheets take students between 25-30 minutes to complete. Depending on how long your class period is, this might only be half or less of your class! Here are some ideas of how to extend your lesson:
- Song Comparison. Listen to 2 songs by the influential person as a class. Have a conversation with a partner with questions like ¿Cuál canción prefieres? ¿Cuál canción es más [feliz/intensa/divertida/triste/etc]? This can be as quick as an extra 10 minutes or you can extend it even further by having students swap partners every 1-2 minutes.
- Video Clip. For trailblazers like Rita Moreno or Sonia Sotomayor, share a short YouTube video about their accomplishments. For example, I like to show this iconic scene from West Side Story featuring Rita Moreno. Students can share their opinions afterwards with you as a whole class, partners, or in a short exit ticket.
- Writing Practice. Extend the learning by having students write about their personal reaction or connection to the person featured in the biography. For Spanish 1 students, maybe it’s a scaffolded fill in the blank. For more advanced students, encourage them to go deeper and do a true compare and contrast to draw on their personal experiences! I like this extension because its a double whammy of reading and writing.
- Poster Project. To make the most of your class time (or perhaps a couple classes), have students make a poster one pager all about this person and their accomplishments. Requirements could be as simple as include their name, a picture/drawing, and 5 facts about them using your own words. When I do this in Spanish 3, I require them to also write 1 paragraph in Spanish based on a prompt like how is this person important to their industry or how do you connect to this person.
- Compare and Contrast. After reading a few different biographies, have students compare and contrast the two figures. To start, you could pick people like Selena (PS this biography is FREE!) and Celia Cruz since they are both musicians. To encourage deeper critical thinking, ask students what similarities and differences there are between Ellen Ochoa and Frida Kahlo.
It’s more than just a person of the day.
Sharing biographies of important figures opens the doors to practice grammar, reading skills, inferences, detecting the main idea, watching videos, listening to music, and more!
Start today by grabbing this FREE biography about Selena!
Check Out All Biographies Below
✨ Frida Kahlo Reading Passage Biography
✨ Celia Cruz Reading Passage Biography
✨ Rita Moreno Reading Passage Biography
✨ Ellen Ochoa Reading Passage Biography
✨ Sonia Sotomayor Reading Passage Biography
✨ Selena Reading Passage Biography
Conclusion
Biographies aren’t just a break from your regular lesson plan… they’re a chance for students to build vocabulary, practice grammar in context, and see themselves (or someone new) reflected in your curriculum. Whether you’re teaching Spanish 1 or AP Spanish, weaving these stories into Hispanic Heritage Month (and beyond!!!!) makes culture and language instruction work together instead of competing for class time.
Ready to bring these figures into your classroom? [Grab the full Hispanic Heritage Month Biography Bundle here →] Click HERE to see all my Hispanic Heritage Month Biographies or start with the free Selena biography to try it out risk-free.
I’d love to know: which Hispanic or Latino figures do you love teaching about? Send me a DM, email, or drop a comment below. I’m always adding new biographies to the collection!