10 Writing Lessons to Celebrate Latinx Heritage Month

There’s a big chance that someone in your classroom is of Latinx heritage. As a Chicana, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for our classrooms to feature content that is about us and written by us. In order to help you celebrate Latinx Heritage Month in your classroom, I’ve pulled together Writing Lessons for grades 3-12 that range from writing about Tamales to exploring the lasting legacy of Guatemalan Indigenous activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum. 

If your classroom is bilingual, don’t forget to take advantage of our English and Spanish vocabulary lists. We recommend having your students do a warm-up activity in Spanish where you ask your students an open-ended question that sparks interest. For example, this set of Writing Lessons is about Biomimicry.  Show your students a picture of Spiderman and ask the kids to tell you all the things they know about spiderman. Ask them what animal power they would like to have… brainstorm! Then have the students review the bilingual vocabulary list before assigning the ThinkCERCA Writing Lesson. Have the students check off the words they already knew and then circle the words they didn’t know. At the end of the ThinkCERCA Writing Lesson, have students use words from the Spanish/English Glossary as they write the different steps. As an enrichment activity, students can pair up and quiz each other on words from the Glossary in English and in Spanish. Take a peek at a Vocabulary List here. 

To see a Writing Module’s Lessons Supports, simply click on "Library" and pick a Writing Module. On the top left corner, click on "Lesson Supports". 

Writing Lessons to Celebrate Latinx Heritage Month 2022: 

Grade 3 | 📑Writing Prompt: Why are family traditions important?

Grade 4 | 📑 Writing Prompt: Why do people celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

Grade 5 |  📑Writing Prompt: Based on the sources, how did Cesar Chavez help change how farm workers are treated? 

Grade 6 | 📑Writing Prompt:  How did the ancient Maya create a new environment through farming practices? 

Grade 7 | 📑Writing Prompt: What does Soto's story about this group of seventh-graders tell readers about how identities are formed?

Grade 8 | 📑 Writing Prompt: How was Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales an effective leader of the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement?

Grade 9 | 📑 Writing Prompt: How have companies influenced Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the US?

Grade 10 | 📑Writing Prompt: Based on her statements in these two speeches, why does Rigoberta Menchú Tum believe that unity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is important? 

Grade 11 | 📑Writing Prompt: Using sensory details and descriptive language, write a poem that reflects upon present and past versions of yourself.

Grade 12  | 📑 Writing Prompt: What does the writer suggest were the most salient aspects of Galindo’s life that allowed her to shape broader social and political structures based on her individual convictions?