Cuba
Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea, famous for the 1959 Socialist Revolution of Fidel Castro which ushered in a controversial era of communism.
Lesson Plans
Fuentes y recursos
Actividades para estudiantes de K-12, Espanol 1-3
Lecturas Lydia Cabrera. “El algodón ciega a los pájaros”. Cuentos negros de Cuba (1936); Nicolás Guillén. “Elegía a Emmett Till” (1956). Las grandes elegías y otros poemas (1984); Luis Palés Matos. “Majestad negra.” Tuntún de Pasa y Grifería (1937); Miguel Barnet y Esteban Montejo. “La esclavitud.” Biografía de un cimarrón (1966); Manuel Zapata Olivella. “Los Ancestros combatientes.” Changó el gran putas (1983).
Author(s): John Maddox
Grade Levels: K–4, 5–8, 9–12
Disciplines: Spanish 1-3
A set of songs, lyrics and an accompanying powerpoint. By Rob Nasatir.
This folder contains photographs by David LaFevor from his exhibit and lecture series "Cuba: History of the Present." These photographs are for classroom use only and should not be reproduced in any other content without author approval. They have been featured on NBC News and in the Huffington Post.
Images of Cuba: Bringing Cuba to Life in your Classroom with Photographs
Students will draw on what they know or imagine about Cuba in order to engage existing knowledge, perceptions, and questions they might have about it. They will then review photographs from these collections, describe what they see, and then read statements by the authors. They will engage in a rhetorical analysis of the photograph—what aspects of the photograph communicated to the student? What did those aspects communicate? Teachers using the text With Eyes and Soul: Images of Cuba can have students analyze photographs on their own, and then with the poems the authors have paired with each photograph (in Spanish and English).
Depending on the educational context, this unit ends with a creative exploration: a photographic project and gallery, a writing activity, or with a student-driven research project.
Objectives:
- Explore Cuba through photographs, engage student interest in Cuban society
- Develop a more nuanced understanding of human and cultural diversity in Cuba over time (1980s/2000s)
- Understand photos as arguments or texts—that photographs are not merely reflections of reality but mediated images that convey meanings
- Consider a photographer’s emphasis or point of view
- Understand the importance of the context in which a photo was taken, and the elements of a photograph that contribute to its mood
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This lesson plan pairs the documentary Maestra with a clip from the film American Experience: Fidel Castro. It highlights the importance of literacy in post-revolutionary Cuba and teaches the literacy movement as a lens through which to study turning points in Cuban history, as major shifts in policy and history affected volunteer literacy teachers. This curriculum also draws connections between literacy more broadly and political literacy/the importance of rhetoric to Fidel Castro's regime. By incorporating clips of Fidel Castro, and of volunteer teachers, this lesson plan urges students to consider literacy's role in history, politics, and culture in Cuba and beyond |
Essential Questions: What is literacy What are the differences between education in the United States and in Cuba? What were the roles of maestras in Cuba?
Objectives:
- Students will be able to determine the importance of literacy for an individual within a society.
- Students will be able to compare their cultures to Cuban culture.
- Students will be able to extract key points about Cuban history from film and literature.
Grade Levels: 9–12, College
Essential Questions: What is literacy What are the differences between education in the United States and in Cuba? What were the roles of maestras in Cuba?
Objectives:
- Students will be able to determine the importance of literacy for an individual within a society.
- Students will be able to compare their cultures to Cuban culture.
- Students will be able to extract key points about Cuban history from film and literature.
Author(s): Theresa Bertrand
Grade Levels: 5–8, 9–12, College
Article about the Cuban Literacy Campaign of 1961. Excellent background for the film Maestra. The high rate of literacy in Cuba is one of the proud and much touted accomplishments of the Cuban Revolution. Beginning half a century ago, in 1961, the literacy campaign mobilized more than 1 million Cubans as teachers or students. In that same year, 707,000 Cubans learned how to read or write. Maestra tells the story of that inspiring campaign through the memories of the women who served as literacy teachers—the maestras themselves.
Author(s): Sujatha Fernandes
Grade Levels: 9–12
Students will draw on what they know or imagine about Cuba in order to engage existing knowledge, perceptions, and questions they might have about it. They will then review photographs from these collections, describe what they see, and then read statements by the authors. They will engage in a rhetorical analysis of the photograph—what aspects of the photograph communicated to the student? What did those aspects communicate? Teachers using the text With Eyes and Soul: Images of Cuba can have students analyze photographs on their own, and then with the poems the authors have paired with each photograph (in Spanish and English).
Depending on the educational context, this unit ends with a creative exploration: a photographic project and gallery, a writing activity, or with a student-driven research project.
Objectives:
- Explore Cuba through photographs, engage student interest in Cuban society
- Develop a more nuanced understanding of human and cultural diversity in Cuba over time (1980s/2000s)
- Understand photos as arguments or texts—that photographs are not merely reflections of reality but mediated images that convey meanings
- Consider a photographer’s emphasis or point of view
- Understand the importance of the context in which a photo was taken, and the elements of a photograph that contribute to its mood
Author(s): Jamie Lee Marks
Grade Levels: 5–8, 9–12, College
Discussion guide for the film Maestra which documents the role of women in the 1961 Cuban Literacy Campaign.
Cuba, 1961: 250,000 volunteers taught 700,000 people to read and write in one year. 100,000 of the teachers were under 18 years old. Over half were women.
MAESTRA is a 33-minute documentary that explores the experience of nine women who, as young girls, taught on the Cuban Literacy Campaign of 1961. Through current day interviews from in their homes in Havana, archival film footage and still photos, we look at this moment and how it changed their lives as women.
Author(s): Vanderbilt CLACX
Grade Levels: 9–12, College
This lesson plan for the film Motorcycle Diaries combines a wide range of activities. All related resources are listed as resources under the Motorcycle Diaries page, with the exception of the music video.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Label countries and important cities/landmarks in South America by following the route of the characters in the movie.
- complete a cloze passage by listening to song lyrics in Spanish.
- Reflect on the differences of various social/cultural groups.
- Identify Che Guevara and his role as a revolutionary.
- Complete a story map about the movie.
- Answer guided questions before and after viewing the movie.
- Draw conclusions about how to bring change to the world.
- Develop a plan of action for change in their school/community.
Packet includes lesson plan and the follow resources:
- Guided Questions (before/after)
- Preguntas para Diarios de motocicleta
- Story Map Worksheet
- Project Guidelines
- Ensayo/Take-home Essay
- Ernesto (Che) Guevara Fact Sheet
- Al Otro Lado Lyrics (Spanish / English)
- Cloze Passages – Al Otro Lado Levels 1-2
- Cloze Passage – Al Otro Lado Levels 3+
- Online and Print Resources for teachers
Author(s): Andrea Beebe-López, Dani Avery, Amy Lyon
Grade Levels: 9–12
They Are We: Educator Guide
Grade Levels: 9–12, College
Subject Area(s): Spanish, Social Studies, Dance, Music
This thorough guide to the documentary film They Are We discusses the African Slave Trade in Latin America and the Afro-Cuban culture and influence. Four classroom applications about Afro-Cuban Culture, cultural identity of Afro-Latinos, Afro-Cuban music and influences, and contemporary Afro-descendants in Latin America. This guide includes a list of discussion questions to accompany the film, as well as an extensive glossary and appendix of activities.
- Director's Note
- African Slave Trade in Latin America - overview
- Afro-Cuban Culture and Influence - overview
- Classroom Applications
- In this lesson students will explore Afro-Cuban Culture and the connections between the Gangá-Longobá community in Cuba and their ancestral homeland in modern-day Sierra Leone.
- In this lesson, students will engage with the cultural identity of an Afro-Cuban community through the documentary They Are We. Students will research and analyze an additional Afro-Latino community to compare and contrast it to the community featured in the film.
- In this lesson, students will explore Afro-Cuban music styles and groups to understand the influences that culture can have on music.
- In this lesson, students will research and present on contemporary life of Afro-descendants in Latin America or on a famous Afro-Latino person.
- Film Discussion Questions (General, Language, Culture, Music & Dance)
- Standards Addressed
- Glossary
- Works Cited and Resources
- Appedix A- Q
Author(s): Krishauna Hines-Gaither, Holly Knox, Kristi Neuroth, Kristina Deal
ACTIVIDADES PARA ESTUDIANTES DE K-12, ESPAÑOL 1-3
Lengua, Cultura y actividad cultural
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgISQjAMT-U
Author(s): John Maddox
Grade Levels: 5–8, 9–12
Disciplines: Spanish 1-3