Internet Field Trip: Celebrate Mexico

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"Cinco de Mayo" — it translates literally as the "Fifth of May" — is a very important day for Mexico and Mexicans. The significance of Cinco de Mayo lies in the mid-19th century, when the French occupied Mexico - which had been a republic since 1823 - and hoped to turn it into an empire under Napoleon III. Though poorer and ill-supplied, Mexico's army defeated the French on May 5, 1862. Cinco de Mayo became a holiday to celebrate Mexico's unity and its desire to be free of foreign conquerors. The holiday offers an opportunity to learn about Mexico using the excellent resources of the Web.

Start an exploration of Mexico's cultural geography at the Mexican Ministry of Tourism, where you can get an overview of the country from the pre-Columbian era through the country's Spanish heritage to today's cities. Mexico's diversity has roots in the indigenous peoples who settled there before European colonization, such as the Aztecs and the Toltec. Inhabiting what is now southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras, the Maya were the first group of people in the New World to keep historical records. Your students can see the remains of pyramids and temples of the Mayans through an online visit to an archeological site such as Chichen Itza.

Mexico's rich culture can be understood through its painting, literature, dance, and other areas of everyday life. This culture has become part of the mosaic of the United States.

Cafe Literario
Reading is the stepping-stone to success for three Spanish-language authors who helped launch Caf�������© Literario at Scholastic headquarters in New York on November 19. Caf�������© Literario is just one of many features on the largest Spanish-language online bookstore, www.LibreriaLectorum.com.

Idol Gives Back
On August 29, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana, at 2:00 a.m., the power went out in nine-year-old Kyla's house. She and her twin sister, her mother, grandmother, an older sister, a baby sister, plus an uncle and his son, woke in the dark. Hurricane Katrina was raging outside.

LESSON PLAN

Our Friendship Chain Links Us Together Features a lesson about community and friendship, where students make a friendship paper chain and listen to friendship-themed poetry and music.