Latino
Teaching Activity PDFs
U.S. Mexico War: “We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God”
Teaching Activity PDF. Lesson by Bill Bigelow and student reading by Howard Zinn. 21 pages.
Interactive activity introduces students to the history and often untold story of the U.S. Mexico War.
Imperialism, Latino, Slavery, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Salt of the Earth: Grounds Students in Hope
Teaching Activity PDF. By S.J. Childs. 6 pages.
The author describes how she introduces students to the classic 1953 film Salt of the Earth about a miners’ strike in New Mexico.
Pump Up the Blowouts: Reflections on the 40th Anniversary of the Chicano/a School Blowouts
Teaching Activity PDF. By Gilda L. Ochoa. 5 pages.
Reflections on teaching students about the 1968 walkouts by Chicano students in California.
Civil Rights Movements, Education, Latino, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
Teaching Guides
Caribbean Connections: Moving North
Teaching Guide. Edited by Catherine Sunshine and Keith Warner. 2005. 240 pages.
Literature and essays about Caribbean life in the United States.
The Line Between Us: Teaching About the Border and Mexican Immigration
Teaching Guide. By Bill Bigelow. 2006. 160 pages.
Lessons for teaching about the history of US-Mexico relations and current border and immigration issues.
Audio
San Patricio
Audio. By The Chieftains featuring Ry Cooder. 2010.
Ballads about the San Patricio Battalion during the U.S. Mexico War.
Books: Fiction
¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A.
Book – Fiction. By Diana Cohn and illustrated by Francisco Delgado. 2008. 31 pages.
A children’s book based on the true story of the Justice for Janitors strike.
Sylvia & Aki
Book – Historical fiction. By Winifred Conkling. 2011. 160 pages.
Based on the true story of two girls who meet in 1940s California and a landmark lawsuit on education.
Asian American, Civil Rights Movements, Education, Latino, Laws & Citizen Rights, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
Books: Non-Fiction
500 Años del Pueblo Chicano – 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures
Book – Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Martinez. 1991 (2nd Edition). 238 pages.
Chicano history as told through hundreds of pictures.
500 Years of Chicana Women’s History
Book – Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Martinez. 2007. 320 pages, 899 illustrations.
Stories and photos of Chicana/Mexican-American women in politics, labor, art, health, and more.
Civil Rights Movements, Immigration, Latino, Women's History
Caribbean Connections: Overview of Regional History
Book – Non-fiction. Edited by Catherine Sunshine and Deborah Menkart. 1991. 180 pages.
Essential background reading to understand the history of the Caribbean.
Caribbean Connections: The Dominican Republic
Book – Non-fiction and Fiction. Edited by Gallin, Glasser, Santana. 2005. 250 pages.
Reader-friendly overview of the history, politics and culture of the fourth largest Latino community in the United States.
Art & Music, Immigration, Latino, Sports, US Foreign Policy, Women's History, World History/Global Studies
César Chávez: A Photographic Essay
Book – Non-fiction. By Ilan Stavans. 2010. 96 pages.
Photo essay about César E. Chávez of the United Farm Workers.
Dangerous Memories: Invasion and Resistance Since 1492
Book – Nonfiction. By Golden, McConnell, Poppen, and Mue. 1991. 272 pages.
Essential text on U.S. history; includes many primary sources on people’s movements.
A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America
Book – Non-fiction. By Ronald Takaki. 2008. 560 pages.
A multicultural history of America, in the voices of Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and others.
African American, Asian American, Immigration, Labor, Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander, Social Class
Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America
Book – Non-fiction. By Juan Gonzalez. 2011. 416 pages.
An updated and thorough account of the role the United States in the mass migration of Latinos to the U.S.
Immigration, Latino, Laws & Citizen Rights, World History/Global Studies
Jessie De La Cruz: A Profile of a United Farm Worker
Book – Non-fiction. Gary Soto. 2002. 116 pages.
An inspiring story of Jessie De La Cruz, one of the first women to organize for the United Farmer Workers.
Mendez v. Westminster: School Desegregation and Mexican-American Rights
Book – Non-fiction. By Philippa Strum. 2010. 186 pages.
Description of a pre-Brown v. Board desegregation court case involving Mexican-American families.
Murals: Walls That Sing
Book – Non-fiction. By George Ancona. 2003. 48 pages.
Beautiful photo-essay of murals from all over the United States, primarily in Latino communities.
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos
Book – Non-fiction. By Rodolfo Acuña. 2010 (7th Edition). 432 pages.
A leading textbook on Chicano history.
Side by Side/Lado a lado
Book – Non-fiction. By Monica Brown, translation by Carolina Valencia, illus. by Joe Cepeda. 2010. 32 pages.
The life stories and activism of the two founders of the United Farmworkers (UFW), written and illustrated for young children.
That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s struggle for justice/¡No Es Justo!: La lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la justicia
Book – Non-fiction. By Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Tenayuca, Celina Marroquin. 2008. 40 pages. Bilingual (Spanish and English).
Biography for upper elementary of labor activist Emma Tenayuca.
We Took the Streets: Fighting for Latino Rights with the Young Lords
Book – Non-fiction. By Miguel Melendez. 2003. 260 pages.
Legacy of the Young Lords in the Puerto Rican struggle for equality and independence.
Civil Rights Movements, Individuals in US History, Latino, Organizing
Films
¡Aumento Ya!/A Raise Now!
Film. Tom Chamberlin/PCUN. 1996. 50 minutes.
The dramatic story of the 1995 organizing campaign by an Oregon Latino farmworkers’ union, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN), to win higher wages for Latino immigrant workers harvesting strawberries.
Bread and Roses
Film. Ken Loach. 2001. 106 min.
A compelling, fictionalized account of an actual labor campaign in Los Angeles.
Chávez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story
Film. By Jordan Mechner. 2004. 26 minutes.
A documentary about the politics and economics of land in the U.S., based on the story of a Mexican American village razed in the 1950s to build Dodger Stadium.
Even the Rain/También la lluvia
Film. Directed by Icíar Bollaín and written by Paul Laverty. 2010. 103 minutes.
As a crew shoots a film about Columbus’ genocide, local people in Cochabamba, Bolivia rise up against plans to privatize the water supply.
Economics, Imperialism, Latino, Organizing, US Foreign Policy, World History/Global Studies
The Fight in the Fields: César Chávez and the Farmworker Struggle
Film. Ray Telles and Rick Tejada-Flores. 1997. 116 min.
A documentary on the farmworker movement told by the organizers and farmworkers themselves.
Ismael Guadalupe Ortiz: “Testimony on Vieques, Puerto Rico”
Film clip. Ismael Guadalupe Ortiz “Testimony on Vieques, Puerto Rico” (1979) read by Mario Murillo.
From Voices of a People’s History of the United States.
The Lemon Grove Incident
Film. By Paul Espinosa. 1986.
An early story of desegregation in a 1931 school that barred Mexican-Americans.
Made in L.A.
Film. By Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar. 2007. 70 minutes.
Emmy award-winning feature documentary follows the story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles sweatshops on an odyssey to win basic labor protections from a clothing retailer.
Parent Power
Film. Produced by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown Univ. 2011. 35 minutes.
A documentary about parents in the Bronx who organized to bring high-quality education to their neighborhood.
African American, Education, Latino, Organizing, Social Class
Precious Knowledge
Film. Directed by Ari Luis Palos and produced by Eren Isabel McGinnis. 2011. 70 minutes.
High school seniors become community leaders in Tucson’s embattled Ethnic Studies classes while state lawmakers attempt to eliminate the program.
Education, Latino, Laws & Citizen Rights, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
Salt of the Earth
Film. By Herbert Biberman. 1954. 94 minutes.
This classic, powerful film about a miners strike in New Mexico can be used to teach about the intersection of class, race, national origin, and gender.
Viva La Causa
Film. Bill Brummel Productions. 2008. 39 minutes.
A documentary film and teaching guide on the grape strike and boycott led by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta in the 1960s.
Walkout
Film. Produced by Moctesuma Esparza. 2006. 111 minutes.
Walkout tells the true story of the Chicano students of East L.A., who in 1968 staged several dramatic walkouts in their high schools to protest academic prejudice and dire school conditions.
Civil Rights Movements, Education, Latino, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
Picture Books
Murals: Walls That Sing
Book – Non-fiction. By George Ancona. 2003. 48 pages.
Beautiful photo-essay of murals from all over the United States, primarily in Latino communities.
¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A.
Book – Fiction. By Diana Cohn and illustrated by Francisco Delgado. 2008. 31 pages.
A children’s book based on the true story of the Justice for Janitors strike.
Side by Side/Lado a lado
Book – Non-fiction. By Monica Brown, translation by Carolina Valencia, illus. by Joe Cepeda. 2010. 32 pages.
The life stories and activism of the two founders of the United Farmworkers (UFW), written and illustrated for young children.
That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s struggle for justice/¡No Es Justo!: La lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la justicia
Book – Non-fiction. By Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Tenayuca, Celina Marroquin. 2008. 40 pages. Bilingual (Spanish and English).
Biography for upper elementary of labor activist Emma Tenayuca.
Posters
Songs and Poems
Chavez Ravine: a record by Ry Cooder
Songs. By Ry Cooder. 2005.
The story of the Chicano community bulldozed to pave the way for the Dodger Stadium in Santa Monica, told through bilingual songs.
Spanish/Bilingual
500 Años del Pueblo Chicano – 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures
Book – Non-fiction. By Elizabeth Martinez. 1991 (2nd Edition). 238 pages.
Chicano history as told through hundreds of pictures.
Chavez Ravine: a record by Ry Cooder
Songs. By Ry Cooder. 2005.
The story of the Chicano community bulldozed to pave the way for the Dodger Stadium in Santa Monica, told through bilingual songs.
Conexiones Caribenas: La Republica Dominicana
Teaching Guide. By Anne Gallin, Ruth Glasser and Jocelyn Santana. 2005.
Selected readings in Spanish from Caribbean Connections: Dominican Republic.
¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can!: Janitor Strike in L.A.
Book – Fiction. By Diana Cohn and illustrated by Francisco Delgado. 2008. 31 pages.
A children’s book based on the true story of the Justice for Janitors strike.
Side by Side/Lado a lado
Book – Non-fiction. By Monica Brown, translation by Carolina Valencia, illus. by Joe Cepeda. 2010. 32 pages.
The life stories and activism of the two founders of the United Farmworkers (UFW), written and illustrated for young children.
That’s Not Fair! Emma Tenayuca’s struggle for justice/¡No Es Justo!: La lucha de Emma Tenayuca por la justicia
Book – Non-fiction. By Carmen Tafolla, Sharyll Tenayuca, Celina Marroquin. 2008. 40 pages. Bilingual (Spanish and English).
Biography for upper elementary of labor activist Emma Tenayuca.
Explore by Theme
- African American
- Art & Music
- Asian American
- Civil Rights Movements
- Criminal Justice
- Democracy & Citizenship
- Disability
- Economics
- Education
- Environment & Food
- Immigration
- Imperialism
- Individuals in US History
- Labor
- Language Arts
- Latino
- Laws & Citizen Rights
- LGBT
- Media
- Native American
- Organizing
- Pacific Islander
- Racism & Racial Identity
- Science
- Slavery
- Social Class
- Sports
- US Foreign Policy
- Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
- Women's History
- World History/Global Studies
