Students learn how alebrijes and Día de los Muertos art tell stories about identity, feelings, family, and culture while building Spanish vocabulary they can use in meaningful ways. Through creating a 2D paper alebrije, writing a short Spanish booklet, and preparing a hallway gallery with artist statements or labels, they practice describing colors, body parts, traits, activities, and preferences for a real audience. The project helps students connect artmaking, cultural understanding, speaking, listening, reading, and revision as they share who their alebrije is and what it represents.

Students will describe and present an original 2D paper alebrije in Spanish using colors, body parts, animal features, emotions, activities, family words, and sentence frames with ser, tener, me gusta, le gusta, comer, and querer. Students will explain how alebrijes and Día de los Muertos art tell stories and reflect cultural traditions, then apply that understanding in a hallway display with an artist statement or museum label. Students will revise their booklet and oral reading using peer and teacher feedback, preparing work for exhibition and sharing one page aloud or through a recording. Students will collaborate during build, critique, and gallery routines while strengthening speaking, listening, reflection, and presentation skills.

Students will create a 2D paper alebrije using pre-cut shapes and labeled body parts, colors, and animal features in Spanish. Throughout the project, they will also make draft booklet pages, a shared class word bank, planning sketches, oral reading practice recordings, and a simple museum label or artist statement explaining their alebrije’s feelings, activities, favorite things, and family connections. By the end, each student will publish a short Spanish booklet about their alebrije using targeted vocabulary and sentence frames such as ser, tener, me gusta, le gusta, comer, querer, emociones, actividades, and familia. The final display will include the finished alebrije, the published booklet, and for older students an optional QR-linked audio recording of one page read aloud during the hallway gallery.

Begin with a fast-paced “Creemos Nuestros Alebrijes” challenge where students use pre-cut paper body parts, wings, tails, and colors to build a mystery creature in teams while naming choices in Spanish using simple frames like “Tiene…,” “Es…,” and “Me gusta…”. Then send students through a “Galería de Emociones y Colores” with images of alebrijes and Día de los Muertos art, where they match colors, emotions, and preferences and share quick oral responses with partners. Close by revealing the project goal: each student will design a 2D paper alebrije and create a short Spanish booklet that teaches others who their alebrije is, what it likes, how it feels, and what makes it special. End with a whole-class wonder wall where students add questions about alebrijes, culture, and Spanish words they want to use in their final gallery.

Host a hallway “Galería de Alebrijes y Lecturas” before Día de los Muertos, where students display their 2D paper alebrijes with museum-style labels and their Spanish booklets. Invite families, classmates, and a local Mexican or Latino cultural partner to walk the gallery, listen as each child reads one favorite page aloud in Spanish, and leave sticky-note compliments or questions. For grades 4–5, add QR codes linked to short audio recordings of students reading their pages; for grades 2–3, include live partner-supported sharing during the gallery walk. End with a brief class circle share so students reflect on how their artwork and writing show colors, body parts, feelings, activities, family, and cultural learning.