Day of the Dead Worksheets & Reading Activities
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It’s almost that time of year where we start seeing beautiful, vibrant colors, papel picado, and sugar skulls out and about! If your students are curious about el Día de los Muertos and you want to add it to your lessons, check out these Day of the Dead worksheets for your Spanish students!
Day of the Dead
While many might think of this celebration as a Mexican holiday, it is actually celebrated in many different cultures and countries. on November 1st and November 2nd. Celebrations can start as early as the end of October around October 31st in a multi-day celebration.
This also overlaps with the celebrations of All Souls’ Day and All Saints Day, so some families have combined those Christian beliefs and traditions in a blend of culture and practices. While this is seen in Mexican culture, it’s also found throughout the world.
I loved this example in my church in Illinois that they would create every year:
Isn’t it just beautiful? The photos are the beloved dead of members of our parish. I love the reminder that Heaven and Earth are with us together when we pray in the Mass!
Día de Muertos or Día de los Muertos is a way to remember and celebrate the lives of friends and family members who have died. I think it’s a great way to talk about death in a way that isn’t scary for kids. It is an important tradition and celebration in many Latin American countries, and is becoming more and more common in the United States.
Day of the Dead Celebrations
Day of the Dead celebrations include many different elements, so it’s helpful in your lesson plans to give students an overview and explanation. Depending on their levels of Spanish you can do this in English, or Spanish. Up to you! Here are some of the elements often seen in Day of the Dead celebrations:
- candles
- photos of the loved one(s)
- favorite food (s)
- papel picado
- flowers
- ofrendas (or a Día de los Muertos altar)
- sugar skulls
Because of the importance of family during this celebration, some teachers like to connect it to their Spanish family unit, which is a great option to practice that novice level vocabulary with this rich cultural celebration!
Day of the Dead Worksheets
Day of the Dead Word Search
In this printable worksheet set, students find 20 related Day of the Dead vocabulary words in Spanish, then do the follow up extension activity.
Pages include:
- Word Search of Spanish terms related to Day of the Dead
- Extension activity – label images, then choose and explain how the terms are related to the celebration
- Answer keys
This is a great option for independent work in Spanish class! Click here to download.
Sugar Skull Color by Conjugation Printables
Have you ever tried color by conjugation? Think color by number, but with verb forms instead! This fun set includes the following subjects:
- Present Tense
- Preterite Tense
- Regular AR Verbs
- Regular AR ER IR Verbs
- Regular ER IR Verbs
+BONUS – Irregular preterite verbs!
Click here to see similar products!
There are six different color by conjugation Day of the Dead worksheets included for each set of verbs. This is a great option for after a quiz, a calm review day, or with a sub! Plus, answer keys are included so you can project or post for students to check their work. Click here to see them all!
Roll a Calavera Day of the Dead Worksheets
In this Day of the Dead dice game, students roll a die to choose different elements of their calavera. Then, they use their creativity to create the rest of the skull! Middle school and high school students will love this easy printable Day of the Dead art project.
If you’d like to see more easy printable projects for Day of the Dead, check out my blog post here!
Los Sentimientos Practice Worksheets
This set of Día de los Muertos worksheets is a combination of coloring and review. Your students will love practicing Spanish emotion vocabulary with these cute calaveras! Reinforce feelings vocabulary in Spanish with listening, reading, writing, and drawing activities.
Audio listening files are included so you can play them for students or load them into a secured student platform. A secured student platform is any platform students have to log in to access, like Google Classroom. Then, students read, solve puzzles with the vocab, and illustrate to show comprehension! This includes audio files, listening activity page, reading & writing pages, and answer keys!
Spanish Vocabulary Includes:
- Alegre
- Bien
- Cansado
- Confundido
- Emocionado
- Enfermo
- Enojado
- Feliz
- Mal
- Muy
- Nervioso/a
- Regular
- Sorprendido
- Triste
- Estoy
- Está
Zip File Download Includes:
- 3 Listening Files
- 1 Listening activity page PDF file
- 3 Reading & Writing pages PDF files
- Answer Keys – key not included for drawing page as student illustrations will vary
Please note, the listening files are not recorded by a native speaker.
These print and go pages are a great no prep option for your students to review feelings vocabulary in Spanish. Click here to download these Día de los Muertos worksheets!
Close Reading Comprehension Activity
While I love a simple coloring page from time to time, a great way to level up a coloring sheet is by adding a short passage for students to read. Then, students complete the coloring comprehension activity using the information. This helps students with close reading as they have to refer back to the short passage to complete the coloring page correctly!
Day of the Dead Craft and Writing Worksheet
This is a great craft and writing activity you can use with your students to celebrate the Day of the Dead or El Día de los Muertos!
Materials Needed:
- Copies of skeleton template
- Paper and glue OR brass fasteners
- Coloring materials
- Scissors
First, students choose from ten different options to build a skeleton. They can choose from a plain skull or sugar skull designs to complete the skeleton. Students can color the skeleton before putting it together. This resource also includes a sheet for students to write about their skeleton in a creative writing activity. Writing sheet is offered in Spanish and English!
Or, you could give students a writing prompt to have students write about what they’ve learned about Day of the Dead – up to you. This also makes a great classroom display or bulletin board to show off your students’ work!
Fun Activities for Day of the Dead
This escape room style challenge is a great way to take a printable Day of the Dead worksheet and turn it into a fun game that requires some critical thinking. Don’t worry, there’s no locks or boxes to set up or purchase! Your students will love this review for quarter one of Spanish class. They will practice common Spanish 1 skills while learning about Day of the Dead all in one!
Here’s how it works:
- Put students into teams or have them work 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 (printed on the provided page) 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.
This low prep resource includes these printable Day of the Dead worksheets and resources:
- Teacher Guide
- Blank ofrenda printable
- 6 printable elements to decorate the ofrenda: flores, fotos, comida, calaveras, papel picado, and recuerdos de los difuntos
- 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)
- Challenge Champion Award Certificates (color and bw version)
- Answer Keys
This challenge is a great team builder to encourage problem solving and critical thinking while they use their Spanish skills and learn about Day of the Dead festivities. Check out the blog post here for a full walk through of this fun challenge for your middle school and high school Spanish 1 students!
Virtual Field Trip
This Day of the Dead virtual field trip is a great way for middle school and high school students to learn about Day of the Dead celebrations of Spanish speakers around the world. Students navigate the interactive map and complete the graphic organizer and the comprehension questions worksheet. Click here to check out the blog post with the step by step lesson plan for your classes!
Day of the Dead Activities Bundle
Looking for more activities for Day of the Dead? In this activities bundle, students explore a variety of activities to learn about the history, traditions, and practices that comprise Día de los Muertos. Print OR post and go stations are ready for your students to use!
The stations include:
- Halloween vs. Día de los Muertos Comparison Sorting Activity
- Chumba la Cachumba- Canción*
- Las Calaveras y Las Calacas Reading and Coloring Comprehension Activity
- Design a Calavera Activity and Classroom Display
- Un Cortometraje*
- Las Ofrendas – Matching Activity
- Historia de Día de los Muertos
*requires access to a device to listen or watch the file
Click here to download this Day of the Dead Activities Bundle!
Día de los Muertos Art Projects
If you’re looking for more than Día de los Muertos worksheets for your Spanish classes, make sure you check out my blog post here with an easy Día de los Muertos art project for your Spanish students. Bring some color and creativity into your lessons!
Want a simple printable project? Check out this post!
More Day of the Dead Lesson Plans for Spanish Class
If you’re looking for more activities for Day of the Dead, check out this round up with 6 more ideas!
Need a back up? Check out this list of alternate activities for Day of the Dead!
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