Resources to Teach about Puerto Rico
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I know many of us plan units around a topic, theme, or studying a particular country so today I wanted to share with you a few resources to teach about Puerto Rico in your classroom! Just a quick note, there are so many amazing options out there, I tried to gather as many as I could, but if there’s something I’m missing, please feel free to drop a comment to help other teachers as they are planning!
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Hands-On Projects and Displays to Highlight Puerto Rican Culture
If you’re looking for more resources to teach about Puerto Rico, consider bringing in some hands-on activities that go beyond paper and pencil. Encourage your students to create trifold posters, dioramas, or visual timelines based on what they’ve learned. These can highlight Puerto Rican geography, traditions like bomba or vejigante masks, or important figures like Roberto Clemente and Julia de Burgos.
Take it a step further by turning your classroom into a cultural showcase. Create a Puerto Rico corner with maps, flags, and artifacts students have researched. You can even include student-created art, menus with Puerto Rican dishes, or QR codes linked to songs and dance videos. These visual and interactive elements offer a memorable way to engage learners while using real resources to teach about Puerto Rico in a fun, student-driven format.
Teachers from Puerto Rico
Make sure you check out these amazing authors and creators to see what they have shared!
- @lamisideespanol
- @laclasedemaestrasoto
- @hablemoselmismoidioma – Check out her interactive foldable resource on culture here!
- @madeforteaching1st
- @frommartztoclass – Check out her resource for San Juan in kindergarten here!
- @magia_educativazbr – Check out her resource for geography in Puerto Rico here!
Click here to download the resource from La Clase de Maestra Soto!
Readers Based in Puerto Rico
Just a head’s up, I haven’t read all of these, but I have read books by these authors that have been amazing! The ones I have not read myself came highly recommended in a Spanish teachers’ group online by others who have used them as resources to teach about Puerto Rico. It’s always a good idea to preview a book before adding it to your library to make sure it fits your specific classroom and learners’ needs. These types of authentic texts can be powerful additions to your collection of resources to teach about Puerto Rico and offer meaningful context to your lessons.
- María María: un cuento de un huracán by Jennifer Degenhardt
- Cuentos de mi tierra: Puerto Rico by Enid López Reed
- Cuando Era Puertorriqueña by Esmeralda Santiago
- Un coquí de Boriquén con los Reyes a Belén by Lara M. Mercado Maldonado and Armando A. Valdés (and check out this resource to go with it from Made for Teaching 1st!)
- Vejigante Masquerader by Lulu Delacre
Another reading resource I wanted to mention is this one from La Misi de Español! It would be a great addition to exploring la cultura y la comida in Puerto Rico in your food unit. Keira (La Misi de Español) is a friend of mine who teaches in Puerto Rico, so I wanted to be sure to clarify that this set of readings is for Spanish speakers and isn’t in a “comprehensified” style like we might use with novices! She says it would likely be best for upper level students, AP Spanish, and heritage classes.
Research Projects
It’s always great to have students dig further into the countries that you are teaching. You could have them do a research poster project to focus on one person from Puerto Rico, then share about what they learned in small groups, as a gallery walk, or just hang their finished projects on a bulletin board in your classroom or out in the hall for the school to see!
You could also have students research holidays and celebrations in Puerto Rico. Grab the free printable and digital template here!
Channels, Shorts, Movies, and Documentaries
As always, I’d recommend watching these before showing them to your students. Just because it’s a good fit for one classroom doesn’t mean it’s a perfect fit everywhere! I’ve also tried to list where they can be found now, but we know the internet is always changing on us, so hopefully if they’re not on that host any longer it might be found through a quick Google!
- Calle 13 – La Perla (Short Version) ft. Rubén Blades, La Chilinga
- Puerto Rican Masks – YouTube (this might be handy if you’re teaching about Carnaval!)
- Lin-Manuel Miranda – Almost Like Praying (feat. Artists for Puerto Rico)
- El Coquí Lesson Plan (links to audio on the side of the page)
- Children’s Songs
- Había un Sapo (YouTube)
- Afro-Latinx Revolution: Puerto Rico (YouTube)
- Explore Puerto Rico with Lin-Manuel Miranda (series)
- Puerto Rico | Discover Humanity [Episode 5] (YouTube)
- Puerto Rico’s Bomba, A Dance of The African Diaspora | If Cities Could Dance
- Bomba Beach: A Puerto Rico Dance Trip
- Himno Virgen de la Divina Providencia – (Patrona de Puerto Rico)
Conversation Starters and Culturally Rich Bell Ringers
Bell ringers can be more than just a quick review, they can build curiosity. Use them to sprinkle in resources to teach about Puerto Rico right from the start of class. Share a quote from a Puerto Rican poet, a short music clip, or even a “Did you know?” fact about an island tradition or holiday.
One idea is a “Coquí Fact of the Day” short, simple tidbits students can journal about, discuss in pairs, or use to spark deeper questions. Another fun option is using visuals from El Yunque or San Juan and having students describe what they see or imagine themselves traveling there. These small moments help students connect emotionally and culturally while reinforcing your content goals.
Additional Resources
Here’s a few more resources you could use in your unit on Puerto Rico!
- Virtual Field Trip (Spanish only // English only // Spanish and English)
- Country Report Project (Printable | Digital)
- Gallery Walk Readings & Classroom Display in Spanish & English
- Cultural Reading Activity El Yunque
- Download the bundle of resources to explore Puerto Rico!
Resources to Teach about Puerto Rico
I hope these are helpful for you as you plan your unit on Puerto Rico! Like I mentioned in the beginning, I know there is so much to cover, so if you have a video, book, or another resource you love including, please feel free to share in a comment below so I can add it for others to see!
