Cinco de Mayo Worksheet Printables for Spanish Class

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With the fifth of May coming up before you know it, it’s time to think about Cinco de Mayo worksheet options and activities for your Spanish classes! Let’s look at a fun way to make sure your Cinco de Mayo celebration or Cinco de Mayo party doesn’t get in the way of students learning about Mexican history and culture.

The Celebration of Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that commemorates the Battle of Puebla which took place in Mexico in 1862. During the battle, the Mexican army won against the French soldiers. Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the victory of the Mexican army against the much larger French forces and the French empire under the leadership of general Ignacio Zaragoza.

Click here to download the printable worksheet!

Today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in the United States as a way to honor Mexican heritage and Mexican culture. You’ll often see the Mexican flag hung up, chili peppers, traditional clothing items, traditional Mexican foods, mariachi music, paper flowers, and festive celebration & parade floats in the streets. Sometimes the attempt to have a Cinco de Mayo theme party doesn’t quite turn out as a positive way to celebrate different cultures and the Mexican people, so let’s talk more about the cultural significance and historical context to help students understand this celebration of Mexican culture.

Cultural Significance

A common misconception is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day. It’s not! Their Independence Day is September 16th. May 5th might be a popular holiday, but it’s really more about cultural appreciation than it is an important Mexican holiday in most of the country of Mexico. The state of Puebla still celebrates and recognizes this important event in their history with re-enactments of the battle, but otherwise, most people would say it’s a bigger celebration in the U.S. than it is in Mexico!

With that in mind, why would you add the holiday of Cinco de Mayo to your lesson plans? It’s a great way to address that common misconception, teach some of the rich history of Mexico, culture, and have some fun while doing it!

Cinco de Mayo Worksheet Printables

This set of digital and printable Cinco de Mayo worksheets is great for your Cinco de Mayo lesson! This activity includes an infographic in Spanish about the history of Cinco de Mayo and the victory of the Mexicans over the French army. There is a comprehension activity to go with the reading in the form of a coloring activity!

In the printable activities, students read the question and the options, then color the picture to match the correct answer. The activity and questions are provided in English for your novice students as well as in Spanish if you would like to use this with upper level classes!

It includes:

Spanish infographic in color and B&W
English infographic in color and B&W
Spanish coloring comprehension activity
English coloring comprehension activity *color words in Spanish!
Printable PDF of each page
Digital version for Google Slides

Infographic shows each French and Mexican soldier to help students understand a visual of how outnumbered they were and how the Mexican army’s victory was so amazing!

This is a fun, creative way to teach students about the upcoming holiday! Whether you use the printable worksheet or the digital version on Google Slides, add this to your lesson ideas for your Spanish classes!