10 Fun Activities for Cinco de Mayo in Spanish Class
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Inside: Activities and lessons to teach about Cinco de Mayo in Spanish class with your middle and high school students so they learn about the history and culture of the day.
Cinco de Mayo is one of those holidays that can also be a great learning opportunity for our students, not just an end of the year celebration. Many of our students don’t know a lot about the history behind the party, so it’s a great opportunity to educate them! It’s a relatively minor holiday in Mexico. In the US, people use it to celebrate Mexican customs and culture.
If you’re looking for a way to introduce your students to the history and culture behind the holiday, here are a collection of Cinco de Mayo resources I’ve used in my classroom! You’ll find learning activities, printables, readings, graphic organizers, and more!
If you’re looking for videos, websites, and other virtual lesson plan ideas for Cinco de Mayo, check out my post Digital Cinco de Mayo Activities for Spanish Class here!
Websites and Videos for Cinco de Mayo in Spanish Class
- Social Studies for Kids has a simple explanation
- TIME Magazine has a slideshow walking through the holiday
- WatchKnowLearn has a gallery of videos for learning about Cinco de Mayo
- Pinterest board of videos that explain and celebrate the history of Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo in Spanish Class PDF Worksheets
This reading and comprehension activity is a great option for your students to learn about the history. The reading in Spanish or English to introduce your novice students to more information about the holiday! The questions are also included in Spanish and English! Mix and match to fit your students’ needs. Click here to download!
Some simple, free coloring pages – not super educational, but could be fun to include while you play some of the videos linked above!
Scrambled sentences are a great way to get students thinking about the language! With this set not only do they have to put the words in order, once they have all of their sentences they put those in order to create a logical paragraph about the history of Cinco de Mayo. Tons of great language practice, plus real facts about the holiday!
Need another reading option for your students? This infographic and coloring sheet is a great set to help your students learn about the holiday and show their understanding in a non-traditional manner!
Cinco de Mayo in Spanish Class Virtual Field Trip
A virtual field trip is one of my favorite ways to let students connect WHERE they are learning about with the information. This virtual field trip lets students explore the global interactions that occurred with the Batalla de Puebla. Check out the full lesson plan here and take your students on a field trip!
Cinco de Mayo in Spanish Class Short Story
Check out this quick lesson plan for el Cinco de Mayo for your middle school and high school Spanish classes! This novice friendly short story is perfect for your students to learn about el Cinco de Mayo and its insignificance as a holiday.
Boom Cards on Cinco de Mayo in Spanish Class
Boom Cards are a great option for a digital lesson on Cinco de Mayo in Spanish class! (New to Boom Cards? Check out my post here to learn more about Boom Cards!)
This set starts with a reading and listening activity to introduce students to the holiday. Then students complete some comprehension questions, order a timeline of events and unscramble sentences. Finally, they do a cultural comparison activity looking at how the Fourth of July and Cinco de Mayo are celebrated, what they have in common, and what’s different between the two! Click here to check out the set in a short preview.
My favorite part about this set? It basically encompasses all of my printable stations, so if I have an absent student while I’m using them in class, I can just share the link with them and they’re set! Handy!
Shop Resources for Cinco de Mayo in Spanish Class
Want a print & go option to save you time? Check out this bundle of 6 different activities! Use them as stations or split up the activities over a few days!
How do you educate about Cinco de Mayo in Spanish Class?
How do you educate students about Cinco de Mayo in your classroom? Do you do anything special for the day, or is it a normal day of class? Let me know!
2 Responses
Hola hello!
My name Cristina Vázquez and I’m from Puerto Rico. I’m a recent graduate planning to start my master’s degree next year. I read some of your posts and I fell in love with your content. I’m not an educator but one of my goals is to become a professor in the future (yes! one of my biggest goals). Not that I don’t like what I studied in my BA’s degree BUT I’m looking forward to start a new path. I always ignored the fact that I love the language of Spanish. Not only because is my native language but because of its history and how it shapes the world. Is it possible to reach you out via email? I want to hear some recommendations but from a person that’s not from Puerto Rico. Looking forward to talk to you.
Hi there! You can reach out to me through the contact page on the top of my site 🙂