Día de Muertos/Papel Picado

Each year, we are given the opportunity to honor those who have died through the Mexican celebration of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. This two-day celebration is not meant to be dark and sad—it is a colorful and joyful remembrance that includes bright yellow marigolds, colorful skulls known as calaveras and skillfully cut tissue paper banners called “papel picado.”

To add creativity and context to the Day of the Death cultural unit that 7th graders are studying in Spanish classes, Profe. Mario Arango collaborated with Annette Lesak and Seth Bacon in the ILIS Department to design papel picado using Google Drawings software, allowing for small groups of students to collaborate and co-design. Students based their designs around feminine and masculine nouns and definite and indefinite articles they recently studied and used their newfound technical knowledge to represent those nouns visually.

After finishing their designs, Ms. Lesak and Library Assistant Shelby Rainford used library Cricut cutting machines to cut the designs from vellum paper. The resulting papeles picados were strung throughout Profe. Mario’s classroom for students to enjoy while learning about this cultural celebration.

Click here for photos.