Lesson Plan: Rita Moreno (Hispanic Heritage Month)

We kicked off Hispanic Heritage month with a full unit study on Rita Moreno.  Here is what we did:

Reading:

Read the biography of Rita Moreno, and answer the following questions:

1. What is Rita Moreno's birth name? (Rosa Dolores Alverio)
2. When and where was she born? (12/11/1931, in Humacao, Puerto Rico) 
3. What role did Rita Moreno play in West Side Story? (Anita)
4. What was significant about her winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for West Side Story? (She was the 1st Hispanic female to win.)
5. Rita Moreno is one of only 11 people (and the only female) to do what? (win all 4 major entertainment honors- Emmy, Tony, Oscar and Grammy awards)

English and Writing:

Folktales are common in Hispanic cultures.  Learn more about this genre and write your own folktale. You can choose whether or not to publish it, but either way, feel free to share it here in a comment.

Spelling and Vocabulary:

Be able to spell, define, and use each of the following words in a sentence: folktale, genre, heritage, Hispanic,entertainer

Spanish: 

singer: el cantor (male)/la cantora( female); actress: la actriz; stage (noun, as in a theater): el escenario; to sing: cantar; woman: la mujer

Social Studies: 

Learn about and color the Puerto Rican flag.
Visit a couple of sites about Puerto Rico (www.seepuertorico.com and welcometopuertorico.org are two sites you  can use) and create a travel brochure or poster, encouraging people to come visit.  Include some interesting facts and places to visit.

Art:

Read about the Ponce Carnival and make a Vejigante mask

Music:

Watch Rita Moreno in the musical Westside Story.
Read the lyrics to the song America, from Westside Story.  Write out the positives and the negatives of Puerto Rico that they  sing about.

Health:

 Rita Moreno needs to work hard to keep her voice strong and healthy.  Read these tips and exercises about keeping your voice strong and healthy.  Choose 3 of them to work on for the next month.

Math:

I will be typing out a bunch of problems using numbers written in Spanish and expecting the answers written in Spanish.  For example: dos y cinco iguals ? (siete)  This will help them review some basic math facts, while working on their Spanish vocabulary.  Here are the numbers zero through 10, plus some helpful Spanish vocabulary:
0= cero
1= uno
2= dos
3= tres
4= cuatro
5= cinco
6= sies
7= siete
8= ocho
9= nueve
10= diez
plus= y
minus= menos
equals= iguals
divided by= dividido por
times= por

Domestic Arts:

Make Puerto Rican Pork Mofongo.

Physical Education:

Rita Moreno is an avid walker.  Take a walk outside several days this week.  Try to walk a little further every day.  Be sure to do this safely and with another person, preferably an adult.

Science:

Learn about the coquí, a small frog that is native to Puerto Rico. Share 5 facts that you have learned.