Carnaval: Origins
Objective
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Explain the historical roots of the Carnaval celebration.
- Analyze Carnaval celebrations of any one city to identify evidence of the historical roots in current activities.
- Compare and contrast modern Carnaval celebrations with those of ancient times.
Material
Activities
- Distribute the student handout entitled Carnaval KWL Chart.
- As a class, instruct students to complete the first two columns of the KWL chart. (K stands for what they already know. W is what they would like to learn.)
- Distribute the student handouts entitled Carnaval Origins and Carnaval: Comprehension Questions.
- Direct students to read the “Carnaval Origins” article, independently or with a partner.
- Independently, direct half the class to answers Questions 1-4 while the other half answers Questions 5-8.
- In pairs, ask students to share the answers and discuss the article, including any facts that surprised or particularly interested them.
- As a class, direct students to list what they have learned in the L column of the KWL chart, using the questions they answered.
- Review the “W” on the KWL charts to see if all questions were answered. If not, allow volunteers to do further research that can be shared with students at a later time.
- Ask students to share any facts that particularly caught their attention.
- Extension Activity 1
- Using available Internet or library reference materials, assign teams of students to research Saturnalia, Lupercalia, Samhain, the winter solstice, or other pre-Christian celebrations and to explain how these celebrations are reflected in modern holidays or festivities.
- Direct teams to present the information learned to classmates in a 5 minute speech.
- If the classroom possesses the capability, students should be encouraged to include a PowerPoint presentation to accompany their speech.
- Extension Activity 2
- Assign each student team a city from the following list that also celebrates Carnaval:
- Using the websites, direct students to take notes about the activities that occur during the Carnaval celebration in their selected city.
- Instruct students to write an essay explaining how the origins discussed previously can be seen in modern Carnaval celebrations of their city. (Numerous specific examples should be included in their text.
- Ask teams to share the information learned in a brief presentation to the class as a whole. (PowerPoint presentation optional)
