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Brittny Ward, Kristen Parks, Katie McDonaldCourse Title: Day of the DeadGrade Level: 3rdUnit: CemeteryAbstract: This unit focuses the cultural mourning differences between Hispanics and the American culture in Indiana. Students will compare and contrast the two mourning beliefs and rituals, while interacting with Hispanic traditions in order to learn more about their heritage. This unit also delves into burial sites and different items found in cemeteries so students can be introduced to death in an educational way instead of a sorrowful demeanor. The students will end this unit with knowledge on the Day of the Dead and how different cultures celebrate and honor death. Focus Questions: What are some differences found in the mourning rituals between Hispanics and American culture?How is the Day of the Dead celebrated?What are some duties of a cemetery groundskeeper?BenchmarksAssessment TasksKey Concepts3.1.6: Chronological Thinking, Historical Comprehension, Analysis and Interpretation, Research: Use a variety of community resources to gather information about the regional communities.3.1.8: Chronological Thinking, Historical Comprehension, Analysis and Interpretation, Research: Write and illustrate descriptions of local communities and regions in Indiana past and present.3.3.9: Human Systems: Identify factors that make the region unique, including cultural diversity, industry, the arts and architecture.Students will compare and contrast mourning beliefs and rituals of Hispanic culture and American culture by looking at cemeteries, genealogical documents, and websites to research and observe them. (3.1.6 and 3.3.9)Students will create masks, model cemeteries, and chose a side as to which group of people honor death best to engage in learning about the Day of the Dead. (3.1.6 and 3.1.8)Students will discover their own family heritage and compare it to Hispanic heritage. (3.3.9 and 3.1.8)Mourning RitualsDeathImmigrationGeneologyLesson 1: History of Day of Dead?????????????? Begin pointing to Mexico on a map. Explain that the Aztecs were the inhabitants here many years ago when the Spanish Conquistadors first discovered this land. The Aztecs had many rituals and traditions that were different from the new European invaders. Write the word tradition on the board and a definition to go along with it. Then have the students come up with traditions that their own family does or that they have heard of others doing in America. Have the class share these ideas as you write some on the board. Then explain that one of the traditions that the Aztecs practiced was honoring the dead in a celebration called Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The Spaniards didn't like how they did this, so they tried to change some of the aspects of this tradition by moving the original date from August to November 1 and 2 to coincide with All Saints Day that they celebrated in Europe. During this celebration the Aztecs would dance, eat, and pray for those who were gone in hopes that they would hear their prayers and return to visit them. The Aztecs believed that after death is when you truly lived. Show students a video about Day of the Dead on . Once the class has discussed this tradition, make 4 or 5 groups and have them think of all the differences and similarities in American mourning customs as opposed to Latinos. Then list the comparisons on the board so the class as a whole can see how these two cultures are different. Lesson 2: Sugar Skull ????????????? Read the book A Gift for Abuelita to the class. Then explain that Latinos have a very different way of honoring someone they have lost. Tell the class that, usually, we honor our loved ones with kind words found in a eulogy. Read a few eulogies to the class so they have an example. Some famous eulogies can be found on . Next, have students think of someone that they could honor, it could be someone famous, a relative, or a friend. Then have them think of what they would do to celebrate their life. Would they leave toys on their grave if it was a child? Would they cook them their favorite food? Explain that one activity that Latinos participate in to honor their deceased it by making a sugar skull and writing the person's name on the forehead. Have each student make their own sugar skull for the person they have selected. Directions can be found on . Have each student tell how they decorated their skull and who it is in memory of. This way the students can actually experience some of the festivities that go along with this celebration that is so unlike our traditional funeral.Lesson 3: Gravestone Gurus ????????????? Have students work in pairs to pick a famous Latino, either a writer, musician, or actor who has passed away. They must research their person and report who they were, what they did, and how they died to the class. Then they will explain all the items they would bring to their grave, what food they would make for them, what flowers, and any other items that symbolize this person's existence. Lastly, the pair will need to make the grave headstone for the person using paper Mache. The headstone needs to list the name, birth and death date, and a symbol that reminds them of this person found on . This way the students will get to reenact a Day of the Dead celebration and learn about all the contributions that Latinos brought to our culture. They will also get to see all the different symbols found on headstones and what they can mean.? Lesson 4: GravesiteUsing topographical materials, the students will make a miniature cemetery. They may use clay, sticks, rocks, and whatever other materials they need to create a cemetery. Then the students will receive news articles about the difficulties of maintaining a good cemetery found on the websites listed above. Some are about the grass not being cut, stones being cracked, or security not being enforced at different sites. Students will read these and discuss why these would be issues and how to solve the problems. Once these are all completed, we will visit the Crown Hill Cemetery. Once there, the groundskeeper will take us through and show the students a Hispanic gravesite . He will explain how the person died and then go into detail about what his entire job entails. Once the students have learned about keeping up a cemetery, then we will return to school. There the students will play a board game based on the information they got from the tour. They may draw cards such as, your headstone has cracked, what do you need to do to fix it? The student must then answer the question then roll the dice to see how far along the board they move. Other questions may include, how deep does the grave have to be dug? How do you excavate a grave? Or how does the casket get lowered in a grave? This way students will know what to listen for on their tour and they will be able to tell all the hard work that goes into maintaining a cemetery. Once the student reaches the end of the board that is a Day of the Dead celebration, then they have won. Not only will the students see a Latino’s gravesite, but they will also learn about American mourning traditions on the tour so that they can compare rituals and see the differences. Lesson 5: Epitaphs After visiting the cemetery, the students will have seen how many gravesites belong to Hispanics. They will then look at the ethnicity through census of all the other countries and the population of Hispanics found on for each one. Once they have analyzed this we will compare the population of Hispanics in Indiana to all the other countries as a class. They students will have also observed many different epitaphs. They will be creating their own epitaph of how they would want to be remembered, since the Latinos celebrate the Day of the Dead to show the souls that have gone that they are still with them and haven’t forgotten. They can rhyme or not, but the student must create one and explain why they chose the certain wording they did. The epitaphs will then be printed in cursive on cardstock so that they may hang on the student’s desk. Take epitaph rubbing, while at cemetery and compare these to the ones the students have created in class. Instructional Resources: Indiana Memory: (Aztec Warrior Skeleton Sculpture) (Day of the Dead Wedding Diorama) (Brief History of Crown Hill Church) (Crown Hill Cemetery) other interest in this topic or activities you may find reliable help from this bibliography: , Kristen, KatieCourse Title: Cemetery Grade Level: 3rdUnit: Day of the DeadAbstract: With this assessment, students will research their family history and gather as much information about their origin and coming to America. They will create a family tree after observing a Hispanic family origin and reading an article of how this group of people tracks their history. After their family tree is complete they will write a description of their background, while comparing it to other Hispanic people. This assessment reinforces the ideas that even though the Hispanic people celebrate, mourn, and live differently than us there may still be some similarities of how we all came to the United States and Indiana. Emphasizing on culture and geography, this assessment should instill in children the urge to learn about their own family history and that of others.Prompt: Give students an article about the Hispanics immigration to the United States and how to trace their history found on , if school cannot access this website then have students go to their local library. Also make available to the students, “Finding Indiana Ancestors: A guide to Historical Research” by the Indian Historical Society, which will assist them in taking steps to finding their genealogical history. Then proceed to give the students different pictures of tombs and gravestones. Some with whole families buried in them and others with individuals in each grave spot. Ask students why they think some people choose to be buried with others and some not.Directions: “We all have very different backgrounds and histories just as the Hispanics that we are studying do. Since we have been learning about Hispanics and their traditions and backgrounds, we are now going to find out about our own. We will make a family tree and find out as much as we can about our ancestral history by doing the following:Interview parents/grandparents/any other relatives and get as much information as you can about your family history. (Mother’s maiden name, where they have lived before, how certain members died)Go to and get as much research information as you can to begin your tree and background explanation.Make a family tree going back as far as you can using the information you have gathered.Write a description of your family’s background and origin. Include how yours may differ from the Hispanic ethnicity we have been studying. “Procedure: Have students first list all the mourning customs the Hispanics perform and the rituals that most Anglos perform. Once the two lists are created, isolate each one and have students debate whether they think it is disrespectful or respectful for the person they are mourning. Students will do some work at home and on computers to interview their parents and grandparents about their history. If student does not have original parents (i.e. is adopted or lives with grandparents) then they may chose to do the history of their original family or the one they have at that time. Once the student has gathered enough information they may begin to fill in the family tree and write the story of their family. There will need to be stories of how people met, moved, and where they originated. After they have discussed their history, they will need to relate it to the Hispanics and compare and contrast them. Students will also explain whether or not they feel that they prefer their own customs to the Hispanic customs of mourning and why one or the other would be better. When students have finished their backgrounds and family trees, they will be sent to Ft. Wayne Allen County Library so they can put in their documents.Rubric:StandardScore: 1233.1.8: Chronological Thinking, Historical Comprehension, Analysis and Interpretation, Research: Write and illustrate descriptions of local communities and regions in Indiana past and presentStudents filled in family tree to parents and did not compare their history to that of the Hispanics in their writing.Students filled in family tree at least to grandparents but only gave brief stories of family accounts. Students filled in family tree at least to grandparents and included detailed stories, transitions, and comparison to Hispanic families in writing.Course Title: CemeteryGrade Level: 3rdUnit: Day of the DeadAbstract: For this assessment, the students will be looking at different grave markers and giving a presentation to the class so that everyone gets information on the different kinds. They will then create a plan on how they should preserve their specific marker in order to learn about the upkeep of a cemetery. Once this is completed there will be a discussion on the cost and financial issues that go along with cemeteries and markers. Students will debate about providing funds for a broken marker and the ethical fairness of this money choice. This way students can observe all the hard work and issues that pertain to cemeteries and groundskeepers.Prompt: Allow students to handle three different types of gravestone pieces provided by Ball State University’s Geology Department or the DNR. One can be wood, another stone, and one could be cracked or chipped. Let them examine these and describe what they see in their groups of three or four.Directions: “As we have seen through this unit, many people mourn in different ways. Some leave a certain type of flowers and others may bring toys to gravesites such as the Latinos. However, throughout time these gravesites have changed and so have the headstones. Today we will be looking at how these headstones have changed over time and why. Along with this you will need to follow these guidelines in order to complete your own analysis of which stone is the best and why:Get in groups if three or four and research your headstone with this website . Create a power point giving the origin of your marker, date, cost, how the Hispanics used it, how we use it today, and why you feel it is the best.Explain a three step action plan on how to preserve your specific marker using this site . Present this to the class with illustrations of multiple ways to use it.Take notes during other presentations so you will be able to explain why your marker is the best.Debate the cost issues when dealing with cemeteries and upkeep.Procedure: Allow students to get in groups and draw different markers from a bowl for headstones (slate, sandstone, granite). Each group will then research their marker using the website and any other resources. The students will then present their Powerpoint describing what it is, the dates it was used, how different cultures used it, and how much it cost. They must then explain their position of why they think it is the best marker as well as what actions can or could have been taken to preserve this marker. Then the class as a whole will debate, which marker is the best and why they are fighting for their marker. Then explain to students how some people may be angered by the fact that some graves get cleaned and taken care of when others are left there desolate. Explain that the Board of Trustees deals with the financial issues in a cemetery. Propose to students that they are the board of trustees and there is a gravestone that is cracked and worn down. Have them chose a side and debate whether or not they feel they should fund it to be cleaned up and fixed or if they feel this would anger the community because some people paid more in the first place for a more stable marker to avoid this problem. Once these presentations are complete the students will send their preservation plans to the DNR . Rubric:StandardsScore: 1233.1.4: Give examples of people, events and developments that brought important changes to the regions of Indiana.Children did not explain why their marker was used due to the developments of that specific era and did not list reasons why it changed.Children researched their marker and explained why it was used during that time period but did not list reasons why it changed.Children research their marker and explain why it was used during that time period list reasons as to how this changed.3.4.9: Gather data from a variety of information resources about a change that will have an economic impact on the community.Students do not explain the economic issues or give reasons for their marker changing. Students will explain but do not fully comprehend the economic issues that triggered their marker to be used and to be altered.Students explain how what economic issues and what changes were occurring during the time of their marker. ................
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