Our Lady of Guadalupe Activities for Spanish Class

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Our Lady of Guadalupe is a fantastic cultural symbol to teach about, but let’s go even further and share with our students the history of this image and how her feast is celebrated throughout the world! Check out 3 Our Lady of Guadalupe activities for Spanish class you can use in your lesson plans this December!

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Information about Our Lady of Guadalupe

If you’re not familiar with this story, let me share some basic info to help you with your lesson:

What is Our Lady of Guadalupe? This refers to a title of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She appeared to Juan Diego in 1531, in Mexico. The image of Mary in this apparition is called Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Why is Our Lady of Guadalupe so important? This is a tough one to sum up in a few sentences, but the gist is that Mary chose to appear to an indigenous man, speaking his native language, and appearing with many aspects that were clear to the indigenous people in the area that she was speaking to them. Consequently, many converted to Christianity.

What is Our Lady of Guadalupe famous for? Not only is the apparition of Mary significant, but there is also a miracle associated with this apparition. Mary asked Juan Diego to build a church for her in that location, but the local bishop asked for proof. Mary provided roses, but when Juan Diego returned to the bishop to deliver them, they found not only the roses, but the image of our lady added to his garment. This image has lasted and the material has not decayed. This image is what is recognized world-wide.

When is Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Feast Day celebrated? The feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12th. Juan Diego’s feast day is December 9th. Celebrations sometimes span between the two days!

How do you celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Feast Day? Celebrations vary across countries and cultures, but music, food, dancing, processions, and special prayers and dedications are common to include!

Why pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe? First, an important distinction. Mary is not God! She is the Mother of God, but she is not God. It’s important to clarify that we pray for her intercession – basically, we ask Our Lady to put in a good word for us with her Son. You can pray and ask for her intercession for any of your intentions, but she is especially known as the patroness of the Americas.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Activities for Spanish Class

Reading Activities for Spanish Class

If your students aren’t familiar with the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, reading is a great option! I personally remember reading this picture book when I was younger.

There are editions in Spanish and in English so you could pick which version you prefer for your classes!

I have also written a short, comprehensible version of the story for students! It has multiple versions to choose from, so you can mix and match for different levels, differentiate with your students, or just pick the one that is the best for your group of students this year.

This reading also comes with comprehension activities for your students to complete in Spanish or English so you can check for their understanding. Then, they can do the included craft (details below) or coloring pages!

Our Lady of Guadalupe Virtual Field Trip for Spanish Class

Virtual field trips are one of my favorite ways to explore cultural traditions and celebrations with students! This virtual field trip includes more than 80 markers with images, information, and even video to teach students about this miracle and the impact it has had on culture and society since 1531.

Students explore the history of the apparition, the canonization of Juan Diego, political and social movements’ usage of the image, ways the image is portrayed artistically and religiously around the world, as well as examples of feast day celebrations world-wide!

The political and cultural aspects of this virtual field trip mean it is great for older students who are ready to dig deeper into the effects of this miracle.

Learn more about using virtual field trips in class in my blog post here!

Our Lady of Guadalupe Craft Ideas

Tissue Paper Roses

I always love the “surprise” at the end of this story with the big reveal, but we also have to remember that the roses themselves were miraculous! They had no business growing there in December. Making tissue paper roses is a great addition to any of your lessons on Our Lady of Guadalupe & her feast day. Check out this tutorial:

Materials needed:

tissue paper – red, rose, pink
stapler
scissors

When creating the examples in the video above, I found they were good sized flowers with just one sheet, folded over. If you prefer larger or fluffier flowers, use more sheets!

The flowers are great to add to a bulletin board or classroom display! Just staple through the middle and fluff it a bit!

Juan Diego’s Tilma

This is a project I actually did as an elementary student! The way I remember doing it is each student brought in a paper grocery bag. We then crumpled and rumpled the bag until it wasn’t so stiff, and instead had a softer texture. Then the teacher passed out coloring sheets of Our Lady. We colored her and added her to our paper bag “tilmas” to finish!

Check out this tutorial here!

Tilma and Roses Craftivity

Another craft option for Our Lady of Guadalupe is reinforcing the moment when Juan Diego opened his tilma, flowers spilling out, and all present seeing the image of Our Lady on the cloak! In this craft, students will color the image of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, then color and cut out roses and the top layer of the tilma. Next, students glue the folds on so they can open and reveal the image! Finally, students can glue their roses on and around Juan Diego and the image of Our Lady.