Online Resources for Learning Beyond National Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month Banner via reachhispanic.com

Each year Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. National Hispanic Heritage Month is normally a time for festivals, parades, performances, and other celebrations of Hispanic and Latinx culture on college campuses and in communities. Now, more than 50 years since the first observance of National Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 and more than three decades since its expansion to a monthlong celebration in 1989, many National Hispanic Heritage Month traditions have been canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Thankfully, the internet has no shortage of virtual resources for observing this special time at home or in the online classroom. Featured below is just a small sampling of the many virtual options for learning about and honoring Hispanic and Latinx culture. Here are a few curated resources for celebrating and teaching students about Hispanic heritage beyond National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Curated PBS Learning Media from Georgia Public Broadcasting

PBS LearningMedia makes it easy for teachers to integrate Hispanic Heritage Month into their lessons with a trove of curriculum-aligned videos, activities, and lesson plans. These resources are designed to help students deepen their awareness of Hispanic American and Latino artists, educators, icons, and everyday people while also building a foundational understanding of the Spanish language. Explore the experiences, culture, and contributions of Hispanic Americans who have shaped Latino—and American—history. Hispanic Heritage Month Resources For Teachers, Parents, & Kids from GPB

Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)
The MOLAA is the only U.S. museum fully dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American and Latinx art. Physically located in Long Beach, California, the museum makes it easy to navigate its online materials via the MOLAA En Casa web page. Users can view online exhibits and pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, take video tours, and more. molaa.org

Hispanic Exploration Primary Source Set
The Library of Congress has created a primary source set containing images, audio, maps, and ideas for bolstering lessons on Hispanic heritage. The set includes freely downloadable primary sources that can be used to teach about the age of exploration—specifically the contributions and interactions of Hispanic peoples in North America. Also offered is a freely downloadable analysis tool, along with prompting questions for teachers to use as needed to guide students through the analysis process.

Borders and Identity: A Bilingual Educational Kit
Identidad y Fronteras: Borders and Identity is a bilingual educational resource kit based on research and documentation from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival program. The resources in the kit explore culture along the United States–Mexico border. Today these resources are more relevant than ever, especially in communities grappling with negative impressions of recent immigrant populations. The kit is also an ideal tool for school groups and communities wishing to investigate the borders that mark our place in the world, and our identity within and outside these borders.

Bilingual Spanish/English Distance Learning
Smithsonian Education has launched a bilingual Spanish/English Distance Learning page where teachers will find a rich array of multidisciplinary teaching resources, activities, and more, designed for preK–12 students. The Smithsonian Learning Activities Choice Boards each feature 20 bilingual activities that prompt conversations about science, social studies, culture, and the arts. Teachers will also find a guide to the bilingual resources across the Smithsonian, chosen by Smithsonian educators and organized by theme and grade level.

Google Arts & Culture: Latino Cultures in the U.S.
Launched in 2017 in partnership with museums and organizations across the U.S., the Google Arts & Culture online collection is organized into the categories of film, sports, dance, music, tradition, and style. artsandculture.google.com/project/uslatinocultures

Grupo de Artistas LatinoAmericanos (GALA) Hispanic Theatre
The GALA Hispanic Theatre in Washington, D.C., recently launched a new digital strategy, GALA En Familia, so that users can engage with Hispanic and Latinx performing arts from home. The site offers portions of performances, monologues, and readings paired with lectures and interviews from the actors, directors, and playwrights featured in each clip. All videos are in Spanish with options for subtitles in English and other languages. galatheatre.org

Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)
The MOLAA is the only U.S. museum fully dedicated to modern and contemporary Latin American and Latinx art. Physically located in Long Beach, California, the museum makes it easy to navigate its online materials via the MOLAA En Casa web page. Users can view online exhibits and pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, take video tours, and more. molaa.org