Activities for The Moon Was at a Fiesta

By Matthew Gollub
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A. Dramatic Teacher Reading:

Have students hold themselves like the moon and sun when those two characters appear in the story. Have them repeat each Spanish word (see the book's author's note for help with pronunciation.) Have students dance to lively music (salsa, merengue, drumming, etc.) or play home made shakers during party scenes. (To play recorded music keep a boom box by your side.

B. Art Projects:

This book lends itself especially well to drawings and murals that tell the story visually. Some teachers have gone so far as to make monigotes, the giant stilt-legged festival dolls, painting patterns on old clothes then stuffing them with newspaper, using broom handles for legs and dressing papier-machÈ heads with hats and scarfs. For simpler projects that students can take home try these maracas or shakers: Maracas: Partially fill a balloon with air. Cover balloon with papier-mache to serve as the maraca bulb. Then form handle out of papier-machÈ. When dry, punch a small hole in top of bulb, fill with a handful of rice, beans gravel, then seal with papier-mache. Smooth maracas with sandpaper when dry then have students paint on designs. Shakers: Have students bring paper towel or toilet paper tubes from home. Cover one end with papier-machÈ, let dry. Fill with handful of rice, beans, gravel, etc. Seal other end with papier-machÈ and let dry. Paint tubes, then glue on decorative streamers of thin paper.

C. Creative writing and Spanish language exercise:

On the blackboard, write the Spanish words for three major themes in the story. Example: la luna (the moon), el sol (the sun) and el monigote (the giant festival doll). Have students create sentences using all these Spanish words. (Example: El monigote planned his fiesta at dawn so that both el sol and la luna could come.) Note: ESL students can reverse the languages, using the English words while writing in their first language.

D. Subject links:

Read this story to complement class studies of the moon, the solar system, agriculture and holidays.