“Cinco de Mayo means the Fifth of May,” said Kaya. “Mexicans celebrate Cinco de Mayo because it represents their victory in Mexico,” said Pritka. “It’s a holiday,” said Treska, “to remember the war in Puebla between the French and the Mexicans.” “It happened in 1862,” said Pritka. "It was a great battle and victory for Mexico,” said Juan. “It’s a very important day for the Mexicans because they celebrate being Mexican.” “It’s probably like a birthday,” said Anya. “I think it is a miracle though that the Mexican Army beat the French Army,” said Sarit shaking her head. “I know!” said Philippe. “The Mexican Army had less soldiers than the French Army.” “The Mexican Army was so brave at the battle of Puebla,” said Juan. “They believed they could win the battle. Just because the French had more men and more weapons didn’t mean that they were braver than the Mexicans,” he added. “The Cinco de Mayo story is sort of like a Hanukah story,” said Anya. “The Maccabees had a small army, too . . . and less weapons. And the Syrians had a big army, but the Maccabees still defeated them.” “It’s the same basic story of the Indian and the British battle, too,” said Pritka. “We were fighting for independence and we had less weapons and less army men, too, but we still won because we were brave enough to survive the battle.” “Yeah, but the bad thing about that is that we lost our good culture of India,” said Sarit. “The thing I like most about Cinco de Mayo is the display of Mexican culture,” said Anya. “In Mexico they got to keep their nice culture and all their beautiful dresses,” said Sarit. “The dresses that the people wear are really pretty,” said Becky. “I like how they represent and prize their culture and how they show that different parts of Mexico come together on one day,” said Pritka. “And they have parades and festivities,” said Juan. “For Mexico, the Fifth of May is a big event,” said Kaya. “I think it’s a holiday that anyone can enjoy.” Becky giggled. “GO MEXICO!” she said. TEACHER TALK WORD SEARCH - WHERE IN THE PUZZLE IS??? Language Arts/Social Studies Piñata, burrito, fiesta and mariachi will be words rolling off the tongues of your Kiddles after they read Cinco de Mayo. So throw in Puebla, maraca, and tacos for added fun and you’ve got a great introduction to the words of another land! MEXICO! Your Kiddles can test their skills as they search for these words in a Word Search Puzzle. Choose about 5 to 10 words from the Cinco de Mayo book depending on how difficult you wish the puzzle to be. I chose the following list. Puebla, pinata, maraca, burrito, cinco , mayo, Mexico, holiday, festival, parade, tacos, mariachi, fiesta Use a 1’’ square graph-grid. I used 7 squares across and 10 down. Then choose about ten words and fill in the grid. Place one letter in each square. For younger Kiddles only use horizontal and vertical grids. (For more of a challenge you can add diagonal squares.) Here is a sample. These words are used in the horizontal position. (Cinco, piñata, Mexico, maraca, fiesta) These words are used in the vertical position. (Puebla, parade, tacos, Mayo, mariachi) C-I-N-C-O-X-M R-P-I-N-A-T-A I-U-L-T-G-M-R M-E-X-I-C-O-I F-B-P-S-T-A-A P-L-A-F-A-M-C M-AR-A-C-A-H B-C-A-Y-O-Y-I L-O-D-T-B-O-M F-I-E-S-T-A-Z Site to download graph paper grids. http://www.incompetech.com/beta/linedGraphPaper/plain.html CONCENTRATE! CONCENTRACIÓN! Number/Numeral; Month/Mes; Numeral/Mes Language Arts/Spanish Your Kiddles can expand their minds and learn a little Spanish, too. All they have to do is C-O-N-C-E-N-T-R-A-T-E! 1. Make a set of twenty-four 2” x 4” cards. 2. On each card write a number name in English and write a number name in Spanish. Ex.: five -- cinco; two -- dos (See word lists below.) 3. Mix cards up and place them in four rows of six cards. 4. Each player takes a turn turning over two cards trying to find a match. Ex.: six + seis; twelve + doce 5. If a match is made then the player takes the cards and plays again. If a match is not made the cards are turned over and the next player takes a turn. 6. The player with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner. NUMBER WORD LISTS: English number list: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Spanish number list: uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce. Now expand some more. Use the word lists below to learn more new words. MONTH WORD LISTS: English month list: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December Spanish month list: enero, febrero, marzo, abril, mayo, junio, julio, agosto, septiembre, octubre, noviembre, diciembre Come on . . . stretch a little farther: Mix the English month cards with the Spanish numeral cards to order the months. May + Cinco Mix the English numeral cards with the Spanish month cards to order the months. Five + mayo SUGGESTED WEBSITES: (Although I examined these websites and found them to be very helpful, please use them at your own discretion.) How To Say Mexican Words: http://www.apples4theteacher.com/elibrary/mexico-the-country.html Kids Culture Center– Mexico–Culture: http://www.kidsculturecenter.com/mexico/mex_holiday.htm About Cinco de Mayo http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/cinco-de-mayo/index.html#aboutcincodemayo SUGGESTED BOOKS: Saturday Market by Patricia Grossman, illustrated by Enrique O. Sánchez Cinco de Mayo by Janet Riehecky, illustrated by Krystyna Stasiak Cinco de Mayo Celebrating Hispanic Pride by Carol Gnojewski, |
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