Day of the Dead Craft Paper Cubes | 6 Dia de los Muertos Cube Buddies with Swappable Faces | K-2 ESL Speaking and Writing

Ribbit — ESL/EFL Worksheet Resource

This 26-page Día de los Muertos craft has children cut, fold and hang up six paper cube models, then use them to practise "It has… / It doesn't have…" in speaking and writing. It is written for kindergarten to 2nd grade English learners. The six models are a calavera (sugar skull), La Catrina, an alebrije, a mariachi calaca, a xolo dog and a monarch butterfly. Pages 9 to 17 are the full-colour sheets and pages 18 to 26 are the same sheets as line art to colour. Three models have a second sheet: a 3D wide-brimmed hat for La Catrina, a cone hat with pompoms for the mariachi, and a page of mix-and-match alebrije parts (bird and dragon wings, a lizard tail, a fish tail, deer antlers, spikes and bunny ears). Every model uses the same cube net and the same size face pieces, so the mariachi's moustache fits the butterfly and the alebrije's eyes fit the dog. Children describe their model, swap face parts with a partner, then describe the new face. The language pages are a Day of the Dead Words bank (a skull, flowers, a big hat, feathers, wings, horns, a moustache, a bow tie, big ears, a tail and more, plus describing words), a Talk About It has/doesn't have grid with a partner frame, a Guess My Cube Buddy! question game ("Does it have a hat? Yes, it does."), and two writing pages: Describe Your Cube Buddy and Swap the Faces! An About the Cube Buddies page gives a short, true background for each model: sugar skulls on the ofrenda, José Guadalupe Posada drawing La Catrina around 1910, the xolo dog guiding the dead to Mictlan in Aztec belief, and monarch butterflies reaching Michoacán around 1 November. It is honest that alebrijes are 20th-century folk art, first made by Pedro Linares in Mexico City in the 1930s, and not a traditional part of the day, even though the film Coco made them famous. The teacher notes explain the day itself (1 and 2 November, a family celebration, not Halloween), give a 40 to 50 minute build time for 6 to 8 year olds plus extra for the hats, recommend 160 to 200 gsm card, and include a lesson sequence and the Talk About It answers. CCSS links: SL.K.1, SL.1.1, SL.1.4, L.1.1c and W.1.2. The face pieces are the same size as those in the Halloween Monster Cubes and the Japanese Yokai Cubes, so the packs can be mixed. This download is the A4 file, which makes a 5 cm cube. The A3 version (a 7 cm cube, with hats that are easier to build) is in the TpT listing. What's Included: • 26-page printable PDF (A4, 5 cm cubes) • 6 cube models in full colour, plus 3 extra-piece sheets • The same 9 sheets as line art to colour • Day of the Dead Words bank and Talk About It grid • Guess My Cube Buddy! speaking game • 2 writing pages, teacher notes and About the Cube Buddies Skills Practised: • Saying what something has and doesn't have • Yes/no questions with "Does it have…?" • Face and body words with a and plurals: a hat, wings, big ears • Describing words in short written sentences • Cutting, folding and following numbered steps Perfect for: • Día de los Muertos lessons in late October and early November • Hispanic Heritage or Mexican culture units • A hanging display above a class ofrenda