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Student-Friendly Primary Sources for Hispanic Heritage Month
Many historical sources are text-heavy. For teachers, this means they are too difficult for students and will require a lot of preparation ahead of time to make them digestible. It is so time-consuming to find great historical sources that many educators opt not to, something I myself have done.
To save you some time and spark a great lesson for Hispanic Heritage Month, you will find 5 primary and secondary sources that are perfect to use during Hispanic Heritage Month.
5 Primary and Secondary Sources for Hispanic Heritage Month
In order to take one thing off your busy schedule, here is a compiled list of student-friendly primary sources. Each source includes discussion questions to turn them into a class discussion. (Read until the end for a special offer to kickstart Hispanic Heritage Month).
1. Nicolaes Visscher’s Atlas Minor, Map of America
Nicolaes Visscher’s Atlas Minor is described as “one of the most spectacular atlases in existence.” There are only two-known editions of this atlas in the world, which have over 225 maps with full hand coloring and extensive gold illumination. This atlas was most likely published in the late 1680s. This time period is remembered for the power struggles of European countries as they conquered and colonized the world. Read more about the map here. I recommend exploring images #381 and #379, which is a full map of North and South America.
Discussion Questions
- What are your initial impressions?
- What places do you see on the map?
- Does the map have a compass rose, legend, and scale?
- What else do you see on the map? What do the images show?
- When do you think the map was drawn?
- Why do you think this map was made?
- How does it compare to a current map of the same place?
2. The Americas Unite for Peace and Human Progress, World War II Foreign Posters, 1942 – 1945
The Office of War Information, along with the Inter-American Affairs Office, carried out many propaganda activities during World War II. They created posters, in an effort to appeal to Hispanic Americans and the people of Latin America in order to foster a united front against the Axis powers. Words and art were a more subtle form of warfare that battled for the support of the American citizens and allies. The Government recruited intellectuals, artists, and filmmakers with ties to Mexico to illustrate the posters.
Find the poster in the National Archives.
Find more posters and lesson support here.
Discussion Questions
- What does the caption tell you?
- Notice the people in the poster. What are they doing?
- What are the borders of the poster? What is its significance?
- What objects do you see?
- Look for symbols. What do they stand for in the poster?
- What is the main idea of the poster?
- What is the goal of this poster?
3. Pan-American Unity by Diego Rivera
In 1940, renowned artist Diego Rivera painted The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on This Continent, commonly known as Pan-American Unity. It was his last mural in the United States. The mural depicts in colorful detail a past, present, and future that the artist believed were shared across North America, calling for cultural solidarity and exchange during a time of global conflict. Rivera said of his painting, “My mural will picture the fusion between the great past of the Latin American lands, as it is deeply rooted in the soil, and the high mechanical developments of the United States.” The mural was completed with support from local artists and celebrates the creative spirit of artists, artisans, architects, and inventors who use art and technology as tools to shape society.
Learn more about the mural from San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art.
Discussion Questions
- What are your initial impressions?
- What do you see in the mural?
- What story does the mural tell?
- How does the title help us understand the mural?
- What are the people doing?
- What activities are taking place in the painting?
- What’s the purpose of this painting?
- What time period does the painting show, and how do you know?
- What is the mood or tone of the painting?
4. Florentine Codex, Book X, 1577
Commonly referred to as the Florentine Codex, its official title is Historia general de las cosas de nueva España or the General history of the things of New Spain. This codex was created by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún (1499–1590) who was a Franciscan missionary who arrived in Mexico in 1529, eight years after the completion of the Spanish conquest by Hernan Cortés. The encyclopedia shows the people and culture of central Mexico. It consists of 12 books devoted to different topics. Above you can see an image from Book X, which is about Aztec society and covers such subjects as the virtues and vices of the people, food and drink, the parts of the human body, and illnesses and remedies.
See another fantastic resource from the Aztecs here.
Discussion Questions
- What time period does the image show, and how do you know? Do you think the image was painted in that time period or in a later time period?
- Notice the person in the image. What are they doing?
- What activities are taking place in the painting?
- What do you think the purpose of this painting was?
- What can you observe about Aztec culture from this image?
- What questions does this image leave you with?
5. Mendez vs. Westminster, 1946
Mendez v. Westminster was a landmark ruling in 1946 that prohibited segregation in California’s public schools. In Orange County, California, the Mendez family joined with others to sue four school districts. The Mendez children were turned away from registering at the school in their neighborhood because they were Mexican-Americans. The Judge ruled that forced segregation of Mexican American students into separate “Mexican schools” was unconstitutional. The case underscored that the struggle for civil rights in America crossed regional, racial, and ethnic lines.
*Please note that the use of the word ‘retarded’ at this time meant ‘slowed.’
Find more Mendez vs. Westminster primary sources here.
Discussion Questions
- Who published this article?
- What is the date of the article?
- Is it handwritten, typed, or both? What does this tell you?
- What is the heading? What does it mean?
- What does this document tell you about the Mendez vs. Westminster case in 1946?
- What does this document tell you about Judge McCormick?
- What was the result of the case?
- What is the impact of this case today?
Need a FREE Hispanic Heritage Month Activity?
In this activity, students will make their best guesses of the meaning of ‘Hispanic’ and ‘heritage.’ Then, you will create a definition as a class. Lastly, students will use the definitions to explain what Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates.
This lesson includes a worksheet and an answer key.
Enter your email below to grab your free worksheet.
Hispanic Heritage Resources
Primary sources are a fantastic way to pique curiosity and foster discussion. For a more robust lesson on the history and meaning of Hispanic Heritage Month, explore the resources below. Resources are all-inclusive with readings, activities, projects, and more to make Hispanic Heritage Month an exciting month.