Social Sciences

Students will research an Afro-indigenous group’s culturally relevant sustainability practices and creatively share their understanding of that practice’s impact on local sustainable ecological management.

Students will examine the lives and stories of 21 Californians to enhance their own understanding and comprehension of identity, diversity, marginalization and pre-conceived notions.  

Combining poetry and visual arts, students will gain a holistic understanding of the diverse and impactful contributions of Afro-Latino artists from Latin America and the Caribbean. By integrating discussions on the cultural significance of themes such as resilience, resistance, and community students will be able to connect these themes to broader discussions on social justice and activism. 

Students will explore how Afro-Latinos have shaped the cultural, social, and historical landscape of Latin America and their significance. Through the use of research methodology students will create a project to show their comprehension of Afro-Latino history. 

Students will explore the rich contributions of Afro-Latino individuals to history, culture, and society through engaging online articles, videos, and readings. By the end of the lesson, students will gain a deeper understanding of the diverse Afro-Latino experience and its impact on various fields. 

Through the use of videos and music, students will examine the impact events had on the Afro-Latino community and identity. 

Students will analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. 

Students will examine and analyze Afro-Latino poetry, identifying their connotation and denotation. 

Students will examine and analyze Afro-Latino poetry. Students will learn to identify sound devices in poems. 

Students will examine and analyze Afro-Latino poetry. Students will learn to identify figurative and macaronic languages within poetry. 

Students will examine and analyze Afro-Latino poetry. Students after completing poetry packs 1-4 will review and complete a task in written or art form.

Students will examine Afro-Latin American contributions to culture and art, analyzing and discussing the intersectionality of language and art. Using examples from Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, students will demonstrate their knowledge of the lesson through creative means.

Students will learn the history of the Garifuna and explore their community. Students will then identify challenges they faced, while highlighting their contributions to Central America.

Students will identify the Garifuna people and learn about their community, and countries of residence. Students will learn about the diversity of cultures within Afrolatinidad.

Students will compare and contrast key elements between the Afro-Latino communities (specifically the Garifuna) in various Spanish speaking countries and their own communities. 

Students will critically analyze and evaluate the historical context and complexities of "Gracias al Sacar" and its impact on colonial Latin American society. 

Students begin by learning about the San Pacho clebration in El Choco, Columbia, understanding the historical and cultural significance of the celebration. Students analyze how this festival aids in shaping identity and community building. 

Students will virtually visit the Afróntalo exhibition, learning about the erasure of Afrodescendants in Mexico, their history and culture, and the contributions of Afrodescendants in Mexico and California.

Students will learn about the key elements of Afro-Latino poetry then compare and contrast the poets and their works. 

Students will learn about Black Indigeneity and its significance to Spanish-speaking countries. 

Advocates, Líderes, and Allies Series (ALAS) presents a 75-page toolkit for youth-serving programs. It includes facts about AfroLatinx history, activities supporting youth who are learning about their AfroLatinx identities, and resources for youth interested in AfroLatinx issues. 

Using their own nationality and identity, students reflect on how they see themselves and how others may see them. After understanding their own feelings, students watch five short videos (mostly in English, from the Pero, Like YouTube series) exploring subjects of race, ethnicity, nationality, and identity, three featuring Afro-latinos, of various skin tones and nationalities. This activity is fully editable and easy to share via Google Classroom or a similar platform. 

Content available through third party platform for a fee

A K-12 curriculum guide that explores Afro-Mexican history and culture. It contains 25 pages of included reading content, vocabulary of important people, places and cultural products, as well as lesson plans and activities to incorporate separated by grade levels.

Students will pick a topic related to Afro-Latino culture, either from the list provided or a different topic the teacher approves, to conduct a research project to present. The students should watch a video on the topic of Afro-latinos before completing this project. An option of formats for the research project is provided and a rubric at the end for the teacher to calculate the grades

Note: The Video in the file no longer exists. I recommend looking at the video list under  “other resources” to find a video that may work.

This content contains two activities with the learning objectives of understanding key ideas and details, integration of knowledge and Ideas, and comprehension and collaboration.Students start by answering three pre-video questions regarding information they already know about Puerto Rico. The teacher then plays a YouTube video entitled: For the Ancestors: Bomba is Puerto Rico’s Afro-Latino Dance of Resistance. The students take notes and then, following the video, answer six questions. A second activity has students read the “Introduction,” “Importation of African cultures” and “Puerto Rico” sections of an Encyclopedia Britannica entry on “Latin American Dance, then answer eight reading comprehension questions.

This content contains two activities with the learning objectives of understanding key ideas and details, integration of knowledge and Ideas, and comprehension and collaboration.Students start by answering three pre-video questions regarding information they already know about Puerto Rico. They will then read “La Guinea (The Stowaway Hen)” from the book The Song of El Coquí and Other Tales of Puerto Rico by Nicholasa Mohr and Antonio Martore. After reading the story, students will answer six questions based on what they learned. The second activity is an observational activity based on a virtual exhibit of the Teodoro Vidal Collection of Puerto Rican History. 

Teachers will play the 46 minute podcast on the history and origin of Santeria, the religion not the song.The teacher will provide the students worksheets with discussion questions. As the podcast plays the teacher will stop the podcast at indicated times to allow students to reflect and answer questions.

Note: The link in the lesson plan does not work, use this link instead. 

Completed within the context of the collaborative work between the teachers from the Escuela Normal Superior N°2 “Mariano Acosta” located in Buenos Aires and the Agrupación Afro Xangô. The units were developed by student teachers with the supervision of Mr. Esteban Sottile, a teacher at the institution. This section contains the final work of Mariano Acosta students: María Belén Iglesias, Soledad Canteros, Ileana Di Vruno, Paola Kler, and Lucas Barrientos. 

Students will watch two Youtube videos (both on the topic of Carnaval in Brazil). There are two pages of questions for them to answer based on the videos. Next the students will read a two page article called “From Samba to Carnival: Brazil's Thriving African Culture,” and complete another page of questions. Another activity for the students to complete is based on the readings from seven pages of a time break down for a perfect day in Salvador Brazil (based on an episode of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown). Lastly the students will complete another one page comprehension worksheet relating to the reading 

Note: The very last page of this file contains the prediction worksheet to be used before the lesson plan.

As a class, start by reading the excerpt on the first worksheet and create definitions of the key words. The student will then complete sentences with the words on their own (two different worksheets). Next the teacher will show a youtube video to help students complete a comic strip assignment. Lastly, the student will answer questions on the video they watched.

A lesson plan based on the famous Afro-Mexican hero Gaspar Yanga. Includes access to an article and short 25 minute film on Gaspar Yanga. Three pages of questions to fill out during the film and two pages of questions to fill out after the film.

First the student will complete a map assignment locating important states of Mexico. Students will then read, discuss and reflect on a pre-video paragraph. After writing down their thoughts on a worksheet the teacher will show the students the YouTube video called Así somos:Afro Identities in the Coast (25 mins). Students will take notes and answer two pages of questions while watching the video. After the film the class will have a discussion and answer some questions. Lastly they will complete a writing assignment on racism and discrimination that is discussed in the film.

Note: A Spanish version of this lesson plan is located here 

Students will read the article From Veracruz to East L.A.: The Evolution of Son Jarocho, while completing vocabulary and reading comprehension questions. Next the teacher will play a music interview called Son Jarocho, The Sound Of Veracruz (8 mins). Students will answer questions during the voice recorded interview. 

Students will watch a video (3:51) about a boy learning how to play various Afro-Caribbean drums and drum styles. They will then complete a graphic organizer that illustrates the multiple perspectives presented in the video segments. 

Duration: 40 minutes 

Over the course of 3 days students will learn about the lives of Haitian women and how these women challenged globalization. Day 1 the teacher will ask, share, and present to help students to learn more about Haiti and Globalization. Students will then watch and take notes on the Poto Mitan documentary or the excerpts from the film. Students will form groups and research and present on a new economic construct. As a second assignment, ask the students to look up measures of Haiti’s economic development: GDP, Gini coefficient, CPI, inflation, unemployment, etc. Day 2 After the groups have conducted their research they will present their findings and make notes of other groups presentations, using the Economic Glossary. Alternatively, for the second assignment the student will present and take notes using the Glossary of Measures of Economic Development. Day 3 Students will evaluate the tags on their own clothing by marking the different areas on a map. This will lead to further discussion on economics and factory production. Lastly the students will collectively fill out a chart (example provided in Appendix III), using the film and other gathered information. Or the teacher can assign students to write about their life and link it to globalization. 

Duration: 3 sessions, 50 minutes each

Note: Access to the Poto Mitan documentary is needed. A free steam can be found through Kanopy, which may be accessible through their school or local library. It can be purchased here. Alternatively there is a 10 minute excerpt for evaluation shown here.

On day 1, students begin with the free listing of words or phrases they associate with Cuba (teachers can first practice with a more known subject, like “summer”). These lists are shuffled and redistributed. Working in groups, students analyze the lists based on provided questions, followed by an open discussion. In the same groups students analyze one of nineteen photos (questions provided). They then read an article on the photographer (David LaFevor) – teachers may want to only include the photos in the article in order for students to receive information on their specific photo, not all images are explained. Students write a reflection or discuss questions based on what they learned, and complete a jigsaw activity. Days 2 and 3 are optional extensions: A) Images of Your Community (students plan, take, and share images of themselves, classmates, family members, or neighbors) and B) Researching Cuba from Multiple Perspectives (students use the photographs, poems/articles, and discussions from Part I to research an aspect about Cuban history, culture, and society through multiple academic and artistic perspectives/sources, choosing one art form and two non-fiction sources to explore their topic). 

Notes: Access to “The Eyes and Souls: Images of Cuba” Nancy Morejón’s poetry is no longer available. There is a poem dedicated to the Cuban five she recites on youtube video (first read in spanish then translated in english).

Supportive resources: Methods for Teaching with Photographs

A 60 page file that is an educator's guide to the film They Are We. It contains a film synopsis, notes about the director, and eight pages of information on the African-Latin American slave trade and Afro-Cuban culture and influence. There are four lesson plans to accompany the film, and 28 discussion questions. 

Note: They Are We is available for $4.99 if you have Apple TV or Amazon Prime. It is also available through the Docuseek database. 

A Presentation on Brazilian culture by Vanderbilt Professor Emanuelle Oliveira. Includes basic conversation in Portuguese and information on race, class, politics, and music in Brazil. 

Note: Presentation only no lesson plan or teaching materials provided. 

Art activity 85 pages 

Content available through third party platform for a fee

Art activity 85 pages 

Content available through third party platform for a fee

Art activity on the topic of race, ethnicity and identity (not strict to Afro-Latinx but can be incorporated with other lessons)

“‘They Want to Erase That Past’: Examining Race and Afro-Latin@ Identity with Bilingual Third Graders” is an academic article by Melissa Adams and Christopher Busey explaining their incorporation of Afro-Latinx content through a month of curriculum content in a third grade classroom, aligning with subject-specific learning standards in social studies, reading, math, and art. Topics covered and curriculum standard alignments are included. A short list of children’s books is also provided.