IIR Teaching Resources: Latin America and the Caribbean

Books

Americas Award for 2005 Titles Announced

Winner: Cinnamon Girl: letters found inside a cereal box, by Juan FelipeHerrera (New York: HarperCollins;Joanna Cotler Books, 2005), 164 pgs.ISBN 0-06-057984-6.

Honorable Mentions: A Season for Mangoes, by Regina Hanson, illustrationsby Eric Velasquez (New York:Clarion, 2005), 32 pgs. ISBN 0-618-15972-X.

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales (New York: Random House, 2005), 199 pgs. ISBN 0-38574674-1.

Commended Titles:
Julio’s Magic, by Arthur Dorros, illustrated by AnnGrifalconi (New York: HarperCollins,
2005), 32 pgs. ISBN 0-06-029004-8. (For grades K-3).

Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask, by Xavier Garza, illustrations byXavier Garza (El Paso: Cinco Puntos,2005), 40 pgs. ISBN 0-938317-92-X.(For grades 2-6).

Curriculum Units

Art and Identity in Mexico, from the Olmec to Modern Times
Yale-New Havens Teachers Institute, 1999, Volume II.
This curriculum unit consists of seven volumes that range from Maya and Aztec art and culture to new understandings of the works of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. For various grades.

Couriers in the Inca Empire: Getting Your Message Across EDSITEment
This lesson will show how the Inca communicated across the vast stretches of their mountain realm, the largest empire of the pre-industrial world. Couriers could pass a message from Quito to Cuzco in 10 days, about the same time as it takes today. For grades 3-5.

Bananas Unpeeled! The Hidden Costs of Banana Production and Trade
The Global Education Network
The theme of banana production and trade is perfectly suited to a curriculum unit intended to help students gain a more global perspective of important world issues. Growing bananas may have devastating effects on the land and workers. For grade 12.

Web Resources

Representing and Misrepresenting Brazil: Violence in Movies
by Antonio Luciano Tosta, Assistant Professor of Brazilian Literature & Culture, Department of Spanish, Italian & Portuguese
Excerpt: "On December 1st, 2006 John Stockwell’s thriller Turistas, the story of a group of US teenage “tourists” who go to Brazil on vacation, was released nationally. Although Rio de Janeiro is known as the “Wonderful City,” the travelers in Stockwell’s drama are in for dreadful surprises. After a deceiving “sex, drugs, and Samba” welcome, the youngsters wind up stranded in a village, where they realize that their documents and money have been stolen. They later face torture and are persecuted by organ brokers who want to sell their body parts in the black market. The movie trailer highlights that Brazil “looks like Paradise” and is “a country where anything goes.” This stereotypical portrayal, which includes the movie’s appeal to violence, has caused a commotion among Brazilians everywhere."

Latin America: Our Neighbors at Home and to the South
Especially designed to assist fifth-grade instructors in teaching about Latin America, this 10-week topical unit includes lesson plans and activities. In Population Data Activity, students analyze numerical data about countries; and in Guatemalan Market Place, Three Regions of Latin America, and Newspaper Lessons, the goal is to promotemulticultural awareness and an appreciationfor diversity.

Complete Curriculum Units
The Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona developed a variety of information, activities, lessons and ideas that can be used directly or adapted to teach about Latin America in many learning environments. Topics include Global Market from and to the Americas, Mariachi Mania, and Day of the Dead.

BBC
BBC News has useful resources such as country profiles and a timeline that includes a chronology of key events in Latin America. You can listen to national anthems and read the latest news on the region. Also, BBC’s World Service features Latin American Words, a special series with exclusive interviews with authors, academics and critics from across Latin America.

Videos

Looking for Victoria: An Argentine Story
By Ton Vriens. 58 min.
Victoria, a young Argentine woman, set out to find the truth about her parents who disappeared in 1978 during the military dictatorship. With Argentina on the brink of social chaos today, Victoria finds herself facing the same difficult choices her parents had to make: to emigrate, or stay and fight for change.

The Gas Is Not For Sale (El Gas, No Se Vende)
By Tercer Mundo Labor VideoGroup of Bolivia. 26 min.
On October 2003 a national rebellion took place against the government of Sanchez de Lozada. His plan to privatize the gas was met with mass resistance. He used the U.S. supplied army against the people, and over 80 died and hundreds were wounded. This video shows the rebellion from the ground floor.

Spirits of the Rainforest
By Discovery Communications. 90 min.
Journey 3000 miles from the mouth of the Amazon to the world’s largest rainforest preserve, the Manu Biosphere Reserve in Peru. Encounter six-foot river otters, boat uncharted rivers, and experience the myths and magic of the Machiguenga Indians.

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