Lesson Plan: Hispanic Biographies in References

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Educator's Name:	Charles Plaisance
School:	Hawkins Middle School
School District:	Forest Municipal School District
Student Grade Levels:	5-6
Subject:	Library Research and Cultural Studies
Title of Lesson Plan:	Hispanic Biographies in References
Unit/Theme:	Research

Competency Number:

Objectives:

Locate and combine information from references.

Instructional Format:

Discussion
Question/answer period
Use of library references

Prior Preparation:

Go through MAGNOLIA databases and formulate research questions based on information from those databases.

Materials Needed:

List of famous Hispanic leaders, actors, artists, etc.
References to include computer card catalog, databases
Current Biography, Hispanic American Almanac
Hispanic Almanac
Hispanic American Biography
Hispanic Writers
Encyclopedia of World Biography
Overhead projector and screen
Poster boards
Internet access
Computers for each student
MAGNOLIA access
Copies of "Basic Reference Questions" for every student

Duration of Activity:

varies -- 1-4 class periods with assessment on 5th meeting

Activity:

Go to MAGNOLIA. Students may then click on to "full text" and "profiles." Students may type in "Hispanic leaders, actors, artists, comedians, scientists, writers, etc." Have students gather further research by clicking on to "periodicals, weblinks, and related articles." Students may chose from a selection of numerous Hispanic biographies. Students must also use the Reference materials listed above. Listed below are some names that students can choose:

Hispanic Artists: Francisco Goya (Spanish painter)
Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabaleta
Anthony Quinn
Frida Kahlo
Ciro Alegría
José María Arguedas
Rafael Jimeno y Planes (decorated dome of Mexico City Cathedral)
José María Velasco (Mexican painter)
Cándido Portínari (Brazilian painter)
Pablo Picasso (Spanish painter)
Roberto Matta Echaureen (Chilean painter)
Rufino Tamayo (Mexican painter)
Fernando Botero (Columbian painter)
Juan O' Gorman (Mexican architect)
Félix Candela (Mexican architect)
Luís de Morales (Spain's great Mannerist painter)
Miguel Covarrubias (Mexican painter)
Joaquin Sorollay Bastida (Spanish Impressionist painter)
David Alfaro Siqueiros (Mexican painter)
Hispanic Musicians: Oscar Hijuelos (Cuban song writer of "Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love")
Celia Cruz (Salsa musician)
Tito Puente (Rumba musician)
Theodore Solís (Rumba musician)
Johnny Ventura (Dominican Republic merengue musician)
Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazilian composer)
Astor Piazzolla (Argentinian tango composer)
Machito (Bandleader, percussionist, and singer - helped develop Cuban salsa)
Tomás Luis de Victoria (wrote 1605 Spanish "Requiem Mass")
Joaquín Rodrigo (Spanish guitar concerto writer)
Ritchie Valens (first Mexican American rock and roller)
Hispanic Writers: Jorge Amado (Brazilian novelist)
Miguel Angel Asturias (Guatelamalan writer and diplomat)
Jorge Borges (Argentine poet)
Pedro Calderón de la Barca (noted Spanish playwright)
Miguel de Cervantes (Spanish writer of Don Quixote)
Ruben Darío (Nicaraguan poet)
Federico García Lorca (Spanish poet and dramatist)
Gabriel García Márquez (Columbian writer)
Gabriella Mistral (Chilean writer)
Pablo Newda (Chilean writer)
Eduardo Barrios (Chilean novelist)
Isabel Allende (Chilean writer)
Oscar Hijuelos (Cuban American novelist)
Rudolfo Anaya (New Mexican-based fiction writer)
Sandra Cisneros (Mexican American writer)
Hispanic Leaders: Porfirio Díaz (Mexican President)
Benito Pablo Juárez (Mexican President and wartime leader)
Eva Perón "Evita" (wife of Argentine President)
Antonio López de Santa Anna (Mexican General and revolutionary)
Simón Bolívar (South American soldier and statesman)
Fidel Castro (Cuban dictator)
Salvador Allende Gossens (Marxist Chilean President)
General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (Chilean leader)
Ferninand II (Aragon, Spain leader)
Isabella I (Castille, Spain leader)
Francisco Franco (Spanish ruler)
Juan Carlos I (Spanish monarch)
Bill Richardson (Mexican-born U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations)
Henry Cisneros (Hispanic American Secretary of Housing and Urban Development)
Luis Muñoz Marín (Puerto Rican governor)
Hispanic Explorers: Vasco Núñez de Balboa (Spanish explorer of the Americas)
Pedro Álvares Cabral (Portuguese navigator)
Hernando De Soto (Spanish conquistador and the Americas explorer)
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (Spanish conquistador)
Hernán Cortés (Spanish conquistador)
Vasco da Gama (Portuguese navigator)
Juan Ponce de León (Spanish explorer, conquistador, and colonizer of the New World)
Hispanic Sports Players: Sammy Sosa (baseball player)
Pelé (Brazilian soccerist)
Juan Belmonte (Spanish bullfighter)
El Cordobés (Spanish bullfighter)
Manolete (Spanish bullfighter)
Miguel Indurain (Spanish bicyclist)
Roberto Drurán (Panamanian boxer)
Angel Cordero (Puerto Rican jockey)
Hispanic Scientists: Santiago Ramón y Cajal (Spanish neuroantomist and neurohistologist)
Hispanic Actors/Actresses: Salma Hayek (Mexican-born actress)

Librarian may assign a biography for each student. Each student must find scholarly resources with information and must write a one-page paper on how their person made a significant contribution to the world. Each student must provide a background history and must properly cite their sources.

Students must then take their written report and make an outline and oral presentation and must create a poster board with specific references of their person.

Explore Activity:

Have students compare and contrast using a Venn Diagram. Have pairs of students work together to compare their Hispanic biographies as to personal characteristics, likes and dislikes, hobbies or sports, native countries, and so on. They can brainstorm these characteristics individually and then plot them on the Venn with their partner, placing similarities in the overlapping center and the differences on each side. In lieu of a Venn Diagram, a Comparing 2 Things Flow Chart can be used. At the top, in the first two frames, the two people being analyzed are put in place. In the two large boxes underneath, all their attributes are listed. Then all their similarities are brainstormed in the large frame underneath the Similarities heading. Finally, the ways in which the concepts differ are placed in the appropriate frames. Students may use the numbers so that the items in each box that differ correspond to one another. Students can compare forms of art, continents, scientific procedures, politicians, historical events, or any two pieces of content in their subject area. Listed below is a template of a Comparing 2 Things Flow Chart:

Comparing 2 Things

Similarities

Differences

Formal Assessment:

Oral presentation, notes taken, poster boards, outlines, and a bibliography totaling 100 points.