Introduction

Cinco de Mayo is the 5th of May. This is a day for Latino people to celebrate their culture. Our class has been chosen to host a Cinco de Mayo celebration for a famous Latino person who will not be able to go home to Mexico for the celebration. Your job is to plan an afternoon celebration complete with a fiesta, pinatas, music, games, and a parade for the whole school to enjoy. 

The Task

To prepare for our guest and Cinco de Mayo celebration, you will work in groups of two to create a poster of authentic Mexican art. 

Next, you will divide into groups of 4 or 5 to complete one of the following activities: 
*Plan a fiesta, complete with authentic food from Mexico 
*Organize a Cinco de Mayo parade, costumes included 
*Plan games and activities related to the celebration of Cinco de Mayo 
*Create personal invitations and announcements for the celebration. You will also work 
 with the other groups to help provide authentic music. 

Finally, each of you will create a book covering what you have learned about the celebration. 

We will use each of these activities to host the best Cinco de Mayo celebration ever. 

The Process

The first thing we will work on is our poster. Before you begin, please visit the following websites to view some artwork that would represent Cinco de Mayo. Please keep in mind that your artwork needs to cover the entire poster board. You may use pencils, map colors, crayons, markers, or paint to help you with your design.  http://www.mexicotravel.co.uk/gallery/index.php3 http://www.crayola.com/cardcreator/index.cfm?action=holidays&id=48 We will all visit the following websites together to construct a class piñata.  http://www.bry-backmanor.org/holidayfun/pinata.html http://www.tpt.org/donnasday/creative/activ14.html Now each of you will chose a group in which you prefer to work to complete the following activities.
Group 1 Fiesta Fun Your job is to provide the food for the celebration. Search the websites below to find four  authentic Mexican recipes that all will enjoy. You will locate the recipes and decide what ingredients we will need to purchase to make them. You will also decide the best way for us to prepare the food.  http://kidsdomain.com/holiday/cinco http://www.mikids.com/CincodeMayo.html http://gomexico.about.com/cs/mexicancuisine/a/mexico033003.htm http://www.asfsa.org/childnutrition/education/cincodemayofood.asp
Group 2 Party Parade Your group will organize a school wide parade. Your job is to research the types of costumes worn for the Cinco de Mayo celebration. You need to determine what costumes can be made by the class to wear for the parade.You will also want to focus on music and instruments that might be used during the parade. Group 4 will help you with the music and instruments. The following websites might be helpful to you in researching.  http://www.web-holidays.com/demayo/index.htm http://www.mikids.com/CincodeMayo.html http://schools.bcsd.com/fremont/h5mayo.htm http://studentweb.fontbonne.edu/~kfias565/webbit/ http://www.soyunica.gov/mybody/movement/traddance.aspx http://www.janbrett.com/piggybacks/hatdance.htm http://www.cstone.net/~bry-back/holidayfun/cincodemayocraft.html
Group 3 Games Galore  Your group will provide the entertainment for the celebration. Visit the following sites to find 5 appropriate activities related to Cinco de Mayo. You will be responsible for collecting or creating the items needed to play the games. Remember enough materials must be gathered for everyone to participate.  http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/cinco/ http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Holidays/Cinco/ http://www.mikids.com/CincodeMayo.html
Group 4 Getting the Word Out  Your job is to invite special guests and post notices about the parade so other grades can join in if they would like. You are to make 10 invitations, either electronic from the website below or from Publisher, to send to special guests for the celebration. You will also use Publisher to create signs that we can hang in the hallways to announce the parade. You must include the name of the event, the date, time and location on both the invitations and signs. You will also help group 2 work on music for the celebration. Please refer to their websites to determine appropriate music.  http://www.crayola.com/cardcreator/index.cfm?action=holidays&id=48 http://www.mikids.com/CincodeMayo.html

Individually, you will visit 2 sites below to gather information about the history of the Cindo de Mayo celebration. You are to construct a book using pictures and words to illustrate your understanding of Cinco de Mayo. This book can be made of construction paper, manilla paper, or any other medium you choose that has been approved by me. Your book must be at least 7 pages long and include a title page with your name. 

http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Haskell_EL/calendar%20past%20events/may/cinco_de_%20mayo.htm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/fieldtrp/socstu/celebmex.htm
http://www.vivacincodemayo.org/history.htm
http://www.web-holidays.com/demayo/index.htm
http://www.mexonline.com/cinco.htm
http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/cinco/
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Holidays/Cinco/

Conclusion

As time draws near and our celebration takes place, you will be able to understand and explain the importance of the Cinco de Mayo celebration to the people of Mexican heritage. You could share this important Mexican holiday with your family and even your neighbors around you. Ask your parents if you could host a Cinco de Mayo celebration of your own for your neighborhood block. 

Credits & References

Clip Art References 
http://www.clipart-darktreasures.com/Clip_Art/ClipArtHolidays_Cinco_de_mayo.htm
http://www.web-holidays.com/clipart/index.asp
http://www.apte.com/clipart/holidays/cinco_de_mayo.cfm
http://www.countryclipart.com/welcome.htm

I have done my best to give credit to all sources I have used for the clipart in this WebQuest. If I have inadvertently overlooked one, please contact me so I may correct the problem immediately.