Life in the Sanctuary Region
Children and Families Share Their Stories


Visiting a Cemetery on the Day of the Dead

Comparing and Contrasting Language and Culture
Use some or all of these reading activities as you read this bilingual story about life in the Monarch Sanctuary Region.

1) Pull up just the story and share it as a class.

2) Look closely at the first picture.

  • What do you think is happening?
  • What do you recognize?
  • What sentence or caption would you write about the picture?
  • What questions do you have?

3) After looking at all the pictures in the story, write one or more paragraphs that you think describe the Day of the Dead holiday. Use descriptive words.

4) Finally, compare and contrast your life and holidays with those of people in the monarch sanctuary region. Use the graphic organizer to the right (or make a Venn diagram) to show how their lives life compare with yours. You could compare these types of things:
  • ways of remembering those who have died
  • ways of viewing death
  • holiday foods
  • holiday traditions
  • neighborhoods
  • the natural environment

5) Write or tell a partner about ways in which your family remembers those who have died.

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National Geography Standards

Places and Regions
The physical and human characteristics of places.

Human Systems
The characteristics, distributions, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.