1. El Dia de los MuertosWebquest
Introduction
You have just become friends with a Spanish speaking person on Facebook.
The Spanish holiday, “The Day of the Dead,” is coming up and your friend is
posting all kinds of pictures of the decorations and traditions that are carried
out on this special holiday. But, what exactly are they and why are they so
meaningful and important?
Task
Your task is to create an “ofrenda” using an online interactive website and to
create another “Day of the Dead” decoration of your choice. You will first
explore all of the various decorations and the importance of them on this
Spanish holiday. Also, you need to write a letter to your friend explaining
what your favorite decoration or tradition is and why. Remember to write
you letter in Spanish!

2. Process
1. First, you will go to the listed websites and explore the decorations
that are displayed on this special holiday.
a. Day of the Dead Traditions
b. Overview of Decorations/Tradtions
c. Day of the Dead Altar
d. Sugar Skulls
e. Pan de Muerto
f. PapelPicado
2. Next, you will organize all of your information in order to accomplish
the next step. You need to gather your information about “ofrendas.”
Using your information about what exactly they are and how to create
them, you will go to the following website and create your own
“ofrenda” in memory of a lost loved one. Write a short paragraph to
attach to your PRINTED out ofrenda explaining who it is representing
and what all of the items in the ofrenda mean. This paragraph is
allowed to be in English.
a. http://latino.si.edu/dayofthedead/
3. From here, you will create another one of the well-known decorations
of “The Day of the Dead.” Your choices are la calavera de azucar, la
calavera, papelpicado, pan de muerto, and many others. You can
create something using a computer, such as drawing on a blank
skull/mask and create it to represent your interests.
4. The last step is to choose your favorite decoration/tradition and write a
letter to your newly added friend on Facebook explaining what it is and
why.
Evaluation
Originality
0 points :Did not complete any of the assingments
5 points : has some new ideas or improvements, but some ideas are
predictable or conventional; may show a tentative attempt to step outside
rules and conventions, or find new uses for common materials or ideas;
completed one or two parts of the assignments
10 points : is new, unique, surprising; shows a personal touch; may
successfully break rules and conventions, or use common materials or ideas
in new, clever and surprising ways; completed all of the assignments
Value

3. 0 points : is not useful or valuable to the intended audience/user; would
not work in the real world; OR did not complete any of the assignments
5 points :is useful and valuable to some extent; it may not solve certain
aspects of the defined problem or exactly meet the identified need; unclear
if product would be practical or feasible; only completed some of the listed
assignments
10 points :is seen as useful and valuable; it solves the defined problem or
meets the identified need; is practical, feasible; completed all of the listed
assignments
Style
0 points :is safe, ordinary, made in a conventional style; has several
elements that do not fit together; it is a mish-mash; OR did not complete all
of the assignments
5 points : has some interesting touches, but lacks a distinct style; has
some elements that may be excessive or do not fit together well; OR did not
complete all of the listed assignments
10 points :is well-crafted, striking, designed with a distinct style but still
appropriate for the purpose; combines different elements into a coherent
whole; completed all of the listed assignments
Note: The term “product” is used in this rubric as an umbrella term for the
result of the process of innovation during a project. A product may be a
constructed object,proposal, presentation, solution to a problem, service,
system, work of art or piece of writing, an invention, event, an improvement
to an existing product, etc.
Conclusion
Upon completing this WebQuest, you will be able to discuss the traditions
and decorations of The Day of The Dead with your newly added Spanish
speaking friend on Facebook.
If you would like to learn more about this holiday, you could explore the
following websites:
http://archive.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCQnUuq-TEE
http://latino.si.edu/dayofthedead/

4. Teachers Comments
Fellow Teachers:
This particular WebQuest is about the Spanish holiday, The Day of the
Dead, and it specifically focuses on teaching student about the
common decorations and traditions that are involved with this
wonderful holiday!
Below is a link to the foreign language standards for the State of West
Virginia:
https://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2520.7.pdf