El Dia de los Muertos

A WebQuest for 7th Grade
Art and Social Studies

John721235@aol.com

Introduction

Day of the Dead is a cultural celebration of the northern Hispanic populations of the New World. The Day of the Dead is a happy celebration of the relationship of the living to their dead relatives. The circle of life is an important aspect of the Day of the Dead and is the origin of the celebrations alien nature to English speaking people.

Task

Groups will complete one of the following assigned tasks.

Research, Design, And Create a Day of the Dead Altar

Create a Cookbook

Create a Video Summary

Process

You will be assigned to one of three groups. Each group will produce an assigned end product.

Group 1: Alter Assignment

Resource:

How to make your own altar (click on the link below)

Altar:

1) Day of the dead (How to make your own altar) http://www.mexweb.com/muertos.htm

2) Altar http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/altar/

3) Memorial Altar http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/R/Clemencia.Rodriguez-1/altar/default.html

4) A Guide to Celebrating the Feast of All Souls http://www.alsirat.com/taphophile/dayofthedead.html

Ceremony:

1) Dia de Los Muertos http://www.olvera-street.com/dia_de_los_muertos.html
Mexicantown marks holy day http://www.detnews.com/2001/detroit/0111/03/s12-330689.htm

Roles:

Group Leader	Guides and Directs Group
Researchers	Summary of Day of the Dead History
Designers	Design/Construct Alter (Assign Items to Bring in to Complete the Alter)

Group 2: Cookbook Assignment

Resource:

How to make your own food (click on the link below)

Food:

1) Day of the Dead Food and Drink http://go-southwest.com/culture/dod5.shtml

2) Mexican Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls http://yumfood.net/recipes/calaveras.html

3) Bread for All Soul's Day http://www.sat.lib.tx.us/html/DeadDay/receta.htm

4) Traditional Mexican Recipes http://www.inside-mexico.com/calabaza.htm

5) Mexican Chocolate http://yumfood.net/recipes/chocolate.html

6) Los Mestizos Chicano Folk Art http://www.losmestizos.com/catalog3607.html

Roles:

Group Leader	Guides and Directs Group
Researchers	Find Day of the Dead Recipes
Designers	Design and Construct a Cookbook from the Day of the Dead Recipes

Group 3: Video Summary

Roles:

Group Leader	Guides and Directs Group
Question Constructors	Write Interview Questions
Camera Techs	Record Interviews
Reporter	Conducts Interview

Resources:

Bibliography and Gateways:

1) Dia De Los Muertos http://www.olvera-street.com/dia_de_los_muertos.html

2) Ethnographic Current Event Listing http://ethnographic.com/event/event.html

General:

1) Yahooligans! Dia De Los Muertos http://www.yahooligans.com/Around_the_World/Holidays/Dia_de_los_Muertos__Day_of_the_Dead_/

2) Dia De Los Muertos http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/

3) El Dia De Los Muertos http://www.usc.edu/isd/locations/ssh/boeckmann/Dead/

Stores:

1) Yahooligans! Dia De Los Muertos http://www.yahooligans.com/Around_the_World/Holidays/Dia_de_los_Muertos__Day_of_the_Dead_/

2) Clay Skeleton Figurines http://www.casacorazon.com/clay_skeleton_figurines2.html

3) Day of the Dead Folk Art http://www.mexicanfolkart.com/dayof.html

Social Studies TEKS Objectives Observed:

(19) Culture. The student understands the concept of diversity within unity in Texas. The student is expected to:

(A) Explain how the diversity of Texas is reflected in a variety of cultural activities, celebrations, and performances;

(B) Describe how people from selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups attempt to maintain their cultural heritage while adapting to the larger Texas culture; and

(21) Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of sources including electronic technology. The student is expected to:

(A) Differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources such as computer software, databases, media and news services, biographies, interviews, and artifacts to acquire information about Texas;

(D) Identify points of view from the historical context surrounding an event and the frame of reference that influenced the participants;

(E) Support a point of view on a social studies issue or event;

(22) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:

(A) Use social studies terminology correctly;

(B) Use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation;

(C) Transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate; and

(D) Create written, oral, and visual presentations of social studies information.

Evaluation

The learner’s performance will be evaluated, as a group, using the rubric below:

Criteria	Exemplary 4	Accomplished 3	Developing 2	Beginning 1	Score x5
Introduction Summary	All expectations were met.	Most expectations were met.	Some expectations were met.	Expectations were not met.
Task	All areas of the task were addressed and handled with a high degree of sophistication. The plan followed by the team demonstrated a great deal of thought.	At least one area of the task was not addressed. The plan followed by the team demonstrated a great deal of thought.	At least two areas of the task were not addressed. The plan followed by the team demonstrated a moderate level of thought.	The task is incomplete and/or it is apparent that little effort went into the development of the task.
Process: Teamwork	It is evident that a mutual effort and cohesive unit created the final product.	The team worked well together, but could have utilized each other's skills to a better degree.	The team had problems working together. Little collaboration occurred.	The final product is not the result of a collaborative effort. The group showed no evidence of collaboration.
Process: Creativity	The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a high degree of originality.	The ideas expressed by the body of work are mostly original. The group may have improved upon a previous idea.	The ideas expressed by the body of work demonstrate a low degree of originality.	There were no original ideas expressed in this project.
Grammar, Format, and Spelling	The student uses correct grammar, spelling, and formatting.	The student had minimal errors in grammar, spelling, and formatting.	The student had numerous errors in grammar, spelling, and formatting.	The student had significant errors in grammar, spelling, and formatting.
				Total---->

Teacher Comments:

Conclusion

Congratulations! If you have reached this point, you now understand some aspects of Mexican culture. Some aspects of Mexican culture are becoming endangered as new generations lose these traditions. There are a variety of reasons why Mexican culture should be maintained due to its beauty and diversity. Hopefully, you will value this event and the aspects of culture it represents. Having completed the activities in this WebQuest, you were able to review all sides of some important aspects, and to become more knowledgeable on the topic of Day of the Dead. Remember, we should now realize that that our actions and decisions affect our culture.

Credits & References

All clipart. Microsoft office online.

Altar Photograph. Photo taken by John Fitzmorris

"We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL."

Last updated on 10-29-02. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

El Dia de los Muertos

Introduction

Task

Process

Evaluation

Criteria

Introduction

Summary

Conclusion

Credits & References