A School Guide to Día de los Muertos is an educator’s resource designed to help schools move beyond surface-level holiday activities and celebrate one of Mexico and Latin America’s most meaningful cultural traditions with depth, accuracy, and respect.
The guide introduces educators to the three levels of culture — surface, shallow, and deep — and provides practical frameworks for designing lessons and schoolwide events that honor identity, family, and collective memory. Grounded in culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy (Hammond, 2015; Gay, 2018), it equips teachers, administrators, and specialists with:
Cross-curricular activity ideas for ELA, art, music, PE, technology, and counseling.
Common Core-aligned lessons connecting culture to academic rigor.
Family engagement strategies that reflect the Latino values of familismo, respeto, and resiliencia.
A two-week planning guide with logistics, bilingual communication tips, and culminating celebration templates.
The book also includes professional learning tools such as the Deep Culture Comparison Chart, reflective staff activities, and step-by-step implementation checklists. It encourages schools to treat Día de los Muertos not as a festival, but as a transformative learning experience that builds belonging and cultural literacy year-round.
🌼 Core Message:
Cultural celebrations are not single-day events—they are opportunities to build belonging, affirm identity, and connect communities through memory, respect, and shared humanity.
A School Guide to Día de los Muertos is an educator’s resource designed to help schools move beyond surface-level holiday activities and celebrate one of Mexico and Latin America’s most meaningful cultural traditions with depth, accuracy, and respect.
The guide introduces educators to the three levels of culture — surface, shallow, and deep — and provides practical frameworks for designing lessons and schoolwide events that honor identity, family, and collective memory. Grounded in culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy (Hammond, 2015; Gay, 2018), it equips teachers, administrators, and specialists with:
Cross-curricular activity ideas for ELA, art, music, PE, technology, and counseling.
Common Core-aligned lessons connecting culture to academic rigor.
Family engagement strategies that reflect the Latino values of familismo, respeto, and resiliencia.
A two-week planning guide with logistics, bilingual communication tips, and culminating celebration templates.
The book also includes professional learning tools such as the Deep Culture Comparison Chart, reflective staff activities, and step-by-step implementation checklists. It encourages schools to treat Día de los Muertos not as a festival, but as a transformative learning experience that builds belonging and cultural literacy year-round.
🌼 Core Message:
Cultural celebrations are not single-day events—they are opportunities to build belonging, affirm identity, and connect communities through memory, respect, and shared humanity.
