Day of the Dead Spanish Reading Activity

Use this Day of the Dead Spanish reading activity with elementary students to practice language skills and raise awareness of the traditional celebration. The printable pages have 10 Day of the Dead related pictures and a two-sentence description card for each picture.

Download the free Day of the Dead elementary Spanish reading activity at the end of the post.

This post is part of the Multicultural Kid Blogs Día de los Muertos series. You find links to great Day of the Dead resources below.

Significance of Day of the Dead

Of course, it’s important to talk about the significance of the celebration as well as doing the reading activity. I wrote basic information for kids about Día de los muertos here: Day of the Dead Facts in English and Spanish. There are printable fact sheets in color and black and white, in both languages.

In addition, this Día de Muertos video and  Day of the Dead video listening activities are an excellent introduction to the tradition. The video is a short conversation about making an altar and emphasizes the significance of the celebration.

You can use these Day of the Dead pictures and descriptions in different ways. The ideas below work with any pictures and descriptions, so try them with other pictures and descriptions that fit your content.  For example, this elementary Spanish reading activity picture match uses high-frequency vocabulary related to clothes and food.

Check out these easy Day of the Dead crafts for Spanish class and these activities for fall themes and celebrations.

Ways to Use the Day of the Dead Spanish Reading Activity

• Do the activity following the instructions. First, students cut out the cards and descriptions. Then, they read and match each description to the picture. This is a good activity for fast finishers or for elementary Spanish reading centers.
• Give students several description cards from the Day of the Dead Spanish reading activity.  Read a description aloud and have students identify which description they heard. Then, match the description card to the picture.
• Have students glue the picture onto a larger sheet of paper with the description below. Then, have them label the picture with key words in the text. This is a good activity for elementary Spanish reading interactive notebooks.
• Cut apart the cards and descriptions in the Day of the Dead Spanish reading activity, and place them all face down. Then, play Memory to find matching pairs.
• Give either a picture card or a description card to each student. Students look at the picture or read the description but do not show it to anyone else. Next, they talk to their classmates to match the descriptions to the pictures. Students with pictures describe the picture in their own words, and the ones with descriptions ask questions based on the text.
• Have students write a two-sentence description of several pictures in the Day of the Dead Spanish reading activity. Depending on their level, they can do this before or after having done other activities with the cards. Then, students match their classmates’ descriptions to the pictures.
• Remove one or two key words from the description. Then, have students complete the sentence based on the picture.
• Give students a set of pictures cards. Next, read the descriptions aloud and have students identify the pictures. Then, read several descriptions and have students place the cards in order.

Vocabulary in the Reading Activity

The sentences in the descriptions use these high-frequency words and Day of the Dead related vocabulary.

Get The Day of the Dead Spanish Reading Activity

Day of the Dead Matching Activity – Match text descriptions to Día de los muertos picture cards

Pictures with descriptions are a versatile tool in the classroom. They are useful for elementary Spanish reading practice, and you can also use them for speaking and listening activities. Can you think of other way to use the Day of the Dead Spanish reading activity? If so, please share in comments!