Teach Central America Week: October 4-10, 2021

Teaching for Change hosted the third annual Teach Central America Week from October 4-10, 2021. Hundreds of educators from 38 U.S. states, D.C., and five other countries (Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Colombia, and Honduras) signed up to participate and organizations across the country endorsed the week. If you have not already, we encourage you to sign up to pledge to Teach Central America and share your stories about how you teach Central America all year long. 

Below we share news about lessons, teaching stories, and events from this year’s Teach Central America Week. In support of this important week, a number of publishers donated titles by Central American authors and/or about Central America as gifts for educators who share teaching stories. We extend our appreciation to Groundwood Books, Beacon Press, Copper Canyon Press,Haymarket Books, Verso Books, Hard Ball Press, Arte Público Press, Candlewick Press, and Shout Mouse Press for their generous support of Teach Central America Week.

TEACHING STORIES

Read below for examples of activities and events during Teach Central Week. (Please add your story.)

WASHINGTON, DC

Cesarina Pierre (Washington, DC) hosted an expo at her school titled “Honoring Our Central American Identity with Loving Engagement.” A schoolwide celebration, the expo featured several immersive displays of content around Central America that the K-5 scholars designed. Displays ranged from ancient Aztec calendar and mathematics to biographies of modern historical figures of the Central American diaspora. The expo showcased the vast and deep expanses of Central American history and culture. 

Elizabeth Barkley (Washington, DC) and her high school students engaged in deep learning about the history of the Salvadoran Civil War. As part of their learning, students watched La Manplesa: An Uprising Remembered. After viewing the film, Barkley and her class hosted a panel featuring some of the film’s producers. Students asked the producers various questions about their experiences and reflections on the film. As students engaged with the panelists, they shared aspects of their own culture, including their home countries and own experiences.  

INDIANA

Donna Cunningham (Muncie) taught her guided reading group about animal camouflage. Inspired by Karen Brown's Beauty and Eco-Relationships in the Natural World of Central America lesson, Cunningham focused on three creatures indigenous to Central America: the Motmot of El Salvador, the Exquisite Spike-Thumb Frog Plectrohyla exquisita of Honduras, and the Owl Butterfly from Guatemala. Students concluded the lesson by drawing their own illustrations. 

Student drawings of the Owl Butterfly, Exquisite Spike-Thumb Frog, and Motmot.

HAWAI’I

Jennifer Knerr’s (Honolulu) 7th grade students learned about El Salvador through Justin Sybenga's Salvadoran History Through Poetry lesson. Seventh graders discussed what impacts culture in their geography class. Students then learned about the history and culture of El Salvador through reading and discussing the poem “Little Cambray Tamales.” Students then collaborated to write a similar recipe poem for Hawai’i.

GEORGIA

Brian Crouch (Valdosta) focused on Central America in his high school Spanish Language class. Each week, students explored a different Central American country to make connections among the country’s culture, language, and history. Crouch used supplemental assignments from TeachingCentralAmerica.org in order to help students grasp a deeper understanding of the region.

CALIFORNIA

Imelda Mazas (Los Angeles) used the advisory period to introduce high school students to Teaching for Change’s Geography is History: Locate the Countries of Central America lesson. Students worked together to use the clues to locate each country in Central America. Through the lesson, students had the chance to share about where they or their parents are from. For many students, this lesson was an eye-opening experience.

MASSACHUSETTS

Ana Maria Restrepo (Belmont) taught about traditional Guatemalan clothing and traditions to 7th grade students in her Language class. Inspired by the Mayan attire, students designed a style they believed would be a perfect mix of Guatemalan-style clothing and their favorite clothing. Read more about Restrepo’s lesson.

Lynn Ditchfield used Borders to Bridges: Creative Activities for Belonging, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Sovereignty, and Justice Education to lead roleplay activities to teach about Central America in schools across Massachusetts. In one lesson, students experience empathy with and a deeper interest in and understanding of people who leave their countries fleeing from poverty, violence, war, or other kinds of traumatic situations, focusing on El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Download the lesson plan for this roleplay activity. 

VIRGINIA

Teresa Martin (Harrisonburg) read aloud Wilfredo in her middle school ESL/Bilingual class. Students appreciated that the book is bilingual.

Many of Wildredo’s experiences resonated deeply with students who shared stories about their own family members’ journeys and their loneliness in school. Students' own experiences were validated, as well as situated in a larger context.

TENNESSEE 

Jaquelina Schmittlen (Knoxville) taught about Central America through art during afterschool programming.

First, educators read Abuela’s Weave to students. Students then learned more about the art of weaving and Guatemalan culture.

Finally, students and educators did their own weaving!

Students and teachers complete their own weavings after learning about weaving in Guatemala.

EVENTS

Several endorsers of Teach Central America Week sponsored events during the week on topics ranging from teaching early grade literacy to migrant children to conversations on displacement and struggles to remain in Honduras. We encourage you to check out our events page for more information on the topics covered during the week. 

#TeachCentralAmerica

People also shared what they were teaching about Central America on social media at #TeachCentralAmerica and #TeachCentralAmericaWeek.

Share Your Teaching Story — Get a Free Book!

Please tell us how you teach about Central America in your classroom.

2022 Teach Central America Week

We hope you will join us in teaching about Central America during next year’s Teach Central America Week — and all year long.