ES
If you've seen the movie Coco, you may remember the scene in which Abuela Elena breaks Miguel's guitar.
Miguel's family is ready to celebrate the Day of the Dead at home, where they've built a beautiful ofrenda.
Then Miguel's grandma breaks his guitar, and Miguel runs away.
He ends up going to the cemetery to steal -or borrow- the guitar from the deceased famous singer Ernesto de la Cruz.
The cemetery is packed with people celebrating el Día de Muertos.
Does that mean that some families celebrate the Day of the Dead at home, while others gather at the cemetery?
Do they go to the cemetery first, and then home? Or the other way round?
We answer this kind of questions in La celebración del Día de Muertos, a very engaging lesson that clarifies how Mexicans really celebrate the Day of the Dead.
1 Warm-up, reading and speaking
Your students will learn several key words about the celebration of the Day of the Dead while having fun with this lesson.
Words such as calavera, cementerio, difunto, reunirse, panteón or tumba.
The goal is not to learn some random words.
It's to learn the vocabulary they'll need to tell a story about el Día de Muertos.
And to understand the authentic interviews of the video included in the lesson.
Real interviews with several Mexicans who tell us how they really celebrate the Day of the Dead.
2 Authentic interviews in a comprehensible short video
We wanted to know how Mexicans really celebrate the Day of the Dead.
So we went ahead and ask them.
Their answers are part of the 4:55 video of this lesson.
The vocabulary of the previous activities, and the Mexican presenter of the video, will help your students understand those authentic interviews.
They'll get a clear idea of what Mexicans do on el Día de Muertos.
If you'd like your students to find out more about this tradition, and to build their own ofrenda, make sure you check our other lessons about the Day of the Dead.