Día de los Muertos Lesson Plan: Build an Ofrenda Challenge

Día de los Muertos Lesson Plan: Build an Ofrenda Challenge is a great way to plan some fun group work and skill review all while learning about the Día de los Muertos celebration! I thought I would share about the set up and ideas for you to use in your own classroom.

Watch the Video

Día de los Muertos Lesson Plan: Build an Ofrenda

In this challenge, students work in groups to reinforce common Spanish 1 skills all while learning about different elements of the Día de los Muertos celebration.

Here’s how it works:

Students can work in teams or individually to complete all 6 tasks. Each task is focused on an element of the ofrenda and includes a short description of its significance. As they complete each of the tasks, they will bring you their answers and you will quickly check them. If they are correct, you will hand them an element for their ofrenda and the next task. They continue this process until all 6 tasks are completed and their ofrenda is decorated. When they finish, they are “Challenge Champions” and you can give them a prize or an award.

Tasks Include:

• Task #1: Color by Number (1-30)
• Task #2: Read and Color the family tree
• Task #3: Decode food vocabulary
• Task #4: Color the Calaveras (emotions)
• Task #5: Word Search (color vocabulary)
• Task #6: Connect the Hobbies (gustar + pasatiempos)

Students will learn about the following elements of the ofrenda and their significance:

• flores
• fotos
• comida
• calaveras
• papel picado
• recuerdos de los difuntos

Each task includes a short description of the element and its role in the celebration of Día de los Muertos!

This is a great way to do a review for the end of quarter 1 in Spanish 1, while learning about Día de los Muertos! There are no locks, no hiding of objects, or any extra prep work. The beauty of this escape room style activity is that it is very low prep. Just make copies, organize your teams, and you’re set!

Looking for More Seasonal Learning?

• Day of the Dead Activities
• Día de los Muertos Digital Activities
• Alternate Activities for Day of the Dead