Latinx History Month

Resource Spotlight - Latinx History

Monthly Highlights – September 2022

Latinx (pronounced La-teen-ex) is a term that encompasses a gender-expansive population of communities that are from or descend from Latin American countries. Identity is personal and political, and many people choose to use the gendered "Latino," "Latina," the term "Hispanic," a combination of terms, or different identifiers altogether. In an effort to represent the multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and gendered experiences of the community, CHSSP is choosing to use the term "Latinx" throughout the month.

Latinx Heritage Month officially runs from September 15 - October 15, and we are highlighting lesson plans and features throughout the entire month of September. Here you will find resources that will support both an Ethnic Studies classroom and the History-Social Science classroom throughout the year. 

Latinx History Biographies

The Latinx History Biographies Set consists of a Google Doc and a Google Slide. Each profile comes with a brief biographical account, a picture book with the publishers’ annotations (for elementary students), and ideas on how teachers might connect the leader to a classroom project or activity.  Each biography could be used with elementary, middle, or high school students. The Google Doc also contains the full text from the slide to increase accessibility, along with additional resources like oral histories and websites for further learning.

Ready-to-Use Resources

The teaching resources featured below come from both our statewide office and our regional sites. Reach out to a site near you or browse their websites for more information on professional development opportunities, events, and more.

Community-centered Planning Template

Reclaiming Local Histories (Resources from the 2021 Workshop Series UCLAHGP in collaboration with the UC Berkeley History Project. For remote & in-person teaching)

My Community Past & Present Teaching young students about their local history while building historical literacy. For remote & in-person teaching

The Chicano Movement

  • HSS Standard 11.10 Students analyze the development of federal civil rights and voting rights.
  • The lesson presents students with context, primary sources, and guiding questions that allow students to understand the development of the Chicana/o Movement. The sources hit on various aspects of the diverse Chicana/o Movement by presenting the students with the goals and issues different groups took up and faced. The lesson ends with two final activities that students choose between that encourage them to navigate the internet and analyze primary sources they found on their own to build a coherent argument.

How do families remember their past?

  • HSS Standard 2.1 Students differentiate between things that happened long ago and things that happened yesterday.    1. Trace  the  history  of  a  family  through  the  use  of  primary  and  secondary  sources,  including  artifacts, photographs, interviews, and documents. 2. Compare and contrast their daily lives with those of their parents, grandparents, and/or guardians. 3. Place important events in their lives in the order in which they occurred (e.g., on a timeline or storyboard).
  • In response to the question, “How do families remember their past?” students study the history of a family and may construct a history of their own family, a relative’s or neighbor’s family, or a family depicted from books. By studying the stories of a diverse collection of families students can both locate themselves and their own families in history and learn about the lives and historical struggles of their peers.

Why do people move?

  • HSS Standard 2.2.3 Locate on a map where their ancestors live (d), telling when the family moved to the local community and how and why they made the trip.
  • The mild climate of California made farming a major business in the state’s economy, and farm workers are California’s backbone. Many people traveled to California to become part of the workforce. The photograph of farm workers in Source 6 can illustrate many reasons why people move to and within California. Students  will  examine  three  “Pull  Factor”  sources  and  three  “Push  Factor”  sources  from  different  periods  in  California history and be asked to identify the source and state the push/pull factor illustrated in the text or image using evidence in the source. This lesson could be paired with a picture book about Dolores Huerta or Cesar Chavez below, which can support pride in the rich history of the labor movement that was also a justice movement. 

Why People settled in California

  • HSS Standard  3.1 Students describe the physical and human geography and use maps, tables, graphs, photographs, and charts to organize information about people, places, and environments in a spatial context. 3.1.1 Identify  geographical  features  in  their  local  region  (e.g.,  deserts,  mountains,  valleys,  hills,  coastal  areas, oceans, lakes).3.1.2Trace  the  ways  in  which  people  have  used  the  resources  of  the  local  region  and  modified  the  physical environment (e.g., a dam constructed upstream changed a river or coastline).
  • California’s  diverse  geography,  mild  climate,  and  plentiful  natural  resources  have  attracted  settlers  for  many  thousands of years, and these same features have created opportunities for lucrative work and for innovation. This  inquiry  set  focuses  on  the  citrus  industry,  an  industry  reliant  upon  the  fertile  soil  and  sunny,  temperate  climate of Southern California. The primary sources found here are intended to show students the geographic and economic factors that encouraged settlement and development of the citrus region of Southern California.

Contemporary American Issues” 

  • HSS Standard 11.11 Students analyze the major social problems and domestic policy issues in contemporary American society.
  • Continuing to amplify the stories and contributions of Latinx immigrants and children of immigrants, we want to highlight Source 6, a photograph of student activists rallying in front of the US Supreme Court in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. In 2012, President Obama issued this rule that has become known as “DACA,” or Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. It applied to a specific group of people in the U.S. who the president wanted to protect from deportation.  Students can read this document in conversation with Proposition 187, a statewide law that sought to deny government services to undocumented individuals which was passed twenty years earlier (Source 4), along with other key documents that represent turning points in immigration history from your class.  

Struggles for Justice: Mexican Immigration in the 20th Century

  • HSS Standard 11.5 Students analyze the major political, social, economic, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s. 11.6 Students analyze the different explanations for the Great Depression and how the New Deal fundamentally changed the role of the federal government. 11.9 Students analyze U.S. foreign policy since World War II
  • This two-day investigation asks, “How have opportunities for Mexican immigrants to the US changed during the 20th century?” The lesson includes a detailed timeline of immigration policies from 1924 to 1986, primary source images with context, student exercises, and teaching guides.

Picture Books

Dear Primo:  A Letter to My Cousin, by Duncan Tonatiuh.

  • In this book, two cousins, one in Mexico and one in America, share letters about their lives.  Meet Charlie and Carlitos. Charlie lives in America. Carlitos, his primo, lives in Mexico. Charlie takes the subway to school, plays basketball with his friends, and loves pizza. Carlitos rides his bicicleta to school and enjoys playing fútbol at recess, and his favorite meal is quesadillas. Their lives appear different, but do Charlie and Carlitos have more in common than it seems? Through his artwork and story, award-winning author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh introduces young readers to a very timely idea—that community is larger than just neighborhoods and schools. Annotation adapted from publisher
  • How you might use it:  The story and amazing artwork provide a great way to have students realize that their similarities are greater than their differences and could serve as an excellent "pen pal" activity, especially during distance learning. The back of the book includes a glossary of Spanish words.

Jada's Dance for Chicano Park, words by Vera Sanchez; pictures by Beto Soto

  • On Chicano Park Day, Jada is excited for her debut performance. But today, it's her mommy who opens Jada's eyes about the history of the park as Jada imagines herself helping the people in the neighborhood- from the painting of the rainbow to the seeds planted in the dirt. But who waits for Jada at the end of her journey is someone she least expects and who promises to be there for Jada's debut performance. Annotation adapted from publisher
  • How you might use it: This kid-friendly telling of the story of Chicano Park in San Diego can help students take pride in their community and encourage civic engagement projects.

Mango Moon:  When Deportation Divides a Family, words by Diane de Anda; pictures by Sue Cornelison

  • When a father is taken away from his family and faces deportation, the family is left to grieve and wonder what comes next. Maricela, Manuel, and their mother face the many challenges of having their lives completely changed by the absence of their father and husband. Having to move, missed soccer games and birthday parties, and emptiness are just part of the now day-to-day norm. Annotation adapted from publisher
  • How you might use it: Mango Moon shows what life is like from a child's perspective when a parent is deported, and the heartbreaking realities the family has to face. This tough subject is tackled in an age appropriate manner, and can help children feel seen and supported if they have experienced this. Likewise, this story helps students with different experiences foster empathy. 

If Dominican Were a Color, words by Sili Recio; pictures by Brianna McCarthy 

  • The colors of Hispaniola burst into life in this striking, evocative debut picture book that celebrates the joy of being Dominican. “If Dominican were a color, it would be the sunset in the sky, blazing red and burning bright. If Dominican were a color, it'd be the roar of the ocean in the deep of the night, With the moon beaming down rays of sheer delight.” The palette of the Dominican Republic is exuberant and unlimited. Maiz comes up amarillo, the blue-black of dreams washes over sandy shores, and people's skin can be the shade of cinnamon in cocoa or of mahogany. This exuberantly colorful, softly rhyming picture book is a gentle reminder that a nation's hues are as wide as nature itself. Annotation from publisher.
  • How you might use it: This book is a celebration of diversity. In the classroom, this book can foster self-esteem and self-love and the importance of accepting others. Students will love the bold colors and can see themselves in the vibrant, vivid world and cultures of the Dominican Republic.

For a list of more favorite Latinx titles, click here.