Ways to Incorporate Indigenous Culture in the Classroom
My passion is the integration of social justice themes in the foreign language classroom. What exactly is social justice? In the classroom, it can accomplish the following:
My subarea of intense focus has been Afro-Latino themes. In all honesty, that is actually why I was inspired to start my TpT store!
In recent years, however, I’ve expanded my interests to the Indigenous Peoples of Latin America, who face similar struggles and discrimination to those of Afro-Latinos. In September, we have Native American Day. In October, we have Indigenous Peoples Day and Indigenous Peoples Month is in November. I thought it might be nice to brainstorm some topics that might be interesting to go over in the classroom during this Fall season.
Also, don’t forget that I have a “Getting to Know Famous Indigenous Peoples” FREEBIE download for students to explore the lives of several prominent figures in the Americas. Get resources here or below.
Here are some topics that you might be interested in discussing in class:
- Artwork by Diego Rivera surrounding indigenous culture, such as the Flower series which features descendants of indigenous peoples
- Music, such as Andean & Cumbia
- A discussion of colonialism
- A look at diverse groups/regions: Mayans, Taínos, Incans, Garífunas, etc.
- Infographs are a great way to quickly deliver information! Some examples: here, here, and here!
- Muxes
- Famous Indigenous Peoples
- Indigenous Peoples Pre-Colombian
- Videos/Tours
How can you add these topics in?
- Warm-ups
- Build a lesson around them
- Brain breaks
- Critical Thinking
- Social Justice Standards
Would you like to do all of this but you don’t have the time to research/put it together?
No worries! Check out my 37-slide Pear Deck resource that covers many of these topics in an interactive and fun way! Link here!
