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Hispanic Heritage Month Activities for Spanish Class - Mexican Food

Writer: Laura Lee
Laura Lee
Aug 18
4 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Fun resources for teaching La Comida Mexicana in Spanish class!

Spanish Food Unit Bulletin Board - Mexican Foods

Looking for teaching ideas for Hispanic Heritage Month in Spanish class? Find activities you need to keep students engaged and learning about authentic Mexican foods. Here are some FUN Mexican food activities for Spanish class!


These resources are not just for Hispanic Heritage Month - use them at the end of the year, to extend a food unit, or for a class celebration.


Caution: reading this post WILL make you hungry.


Hispanic Heritage Month Activities for Spanish Class


Post vocabulary.

This is a bulletin board to drool over! Literally. Post a Mexican Food Word Wall for instant comprehensible input to expand students' vocabulary and give them new foods to discover! Includes images of 25 authentic Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes that will pique students' interest. Get them talking about likes, preferences, or ordering food in a restaurant. Add an intriguing title to your bulletin board, like ¿Qué te gusta más? or ¿Cuál es tu comida favorita? So many great conversations are about to happen!


Spanish vocabulary bulletin board for teaching Mexican foods
Mexican Food Word Wall in Spanish

Word walls are a fantastic way to support learners! Fill bulletin boards with meaningful vocabulary and images to make the language visible. Students will be drawn to it and curious about the new words. You'll love having vocabulary posted on your walls to refer to throughout the lesson. Students will develop a greater sense of independence and depend less on you for support!


Post in a prominent area of the classroom. Have students look at the words and make a list of cognates or words they already know (like tomates and guacamole) or make a list of new words. Choose several words (three to five a day) that students need to know. Students can illustrate the vocabulary and write simple sentences or stories.


Check out these Spanish word walls for more ideas to fill your classroom with meaningful vocabulary!


Define vocabulary.

Need an engaging warm-up to begin your Mexican food unit? Introduce 30 authentic Mexican foods with this low-stress activity. There are so many new foods to discover! Most kids know about tacos, burritos, and quesadillas...but do they know about ceviche, chilaquiles, and chapulines? Great way to get students talking about likes & dislikes!


Spanish food vocabulary word search with authentic Mexican foods
Spanish Food Activity - Mexican Food Word Search

"Thank you for making this fun and useful resource! My students love word searches."


Use this La Comida Mexicana Word Search as a quick warm-up at the beginning of class. Set a timer for ten minutes and have students define as many foods as they can, and then find them. Pronounce the words. Briefly describe or define each food over the next few days. Ask students which foods they have tried. Do they have a favorite? Write sentences using the new vocabulary. "Me gusta carne asada." Or "No me gustan jalapeños." Ask "¿Qué te gustan más - tamales o enchiladas? Save the puzzle for later to use as a fast finisher activity and as a reference page throughout the unit.


Bingo / Lotería

Build fluency and critical thinking skills with Lotería - a listening activity that uses sentences to describe 25 Mexican Foods! This is nacho average bingo game.


Read clues in Spanish (or English) phrases that describe or define each food. Students listen to the clue and search for the image being described. All the work has been done for you. It's a great tie-in of food vocabulary to Cinco de Mayo, Hispanic Heritage Month, or your Spanish food unit.


Spanish Food Unit - Loteria Bingo Game with authentic Mexican food
Spanish Loteria - Mexican Food Bingo

"Students had so much fun playing this bingo game that they forgot they were learning!

It was fun, interactive, and we played about 10 times, so fun."


Sample clues:

"Es una fruta verde. Tiene una semilla grande." (aguacate)

"Es un plato Tex-Mex. Tiene una tortilla de harina, carne y frijoles. (burrito)


Play "I Spy."

Yo Veo is a fun way to introduce or review vocabulary. Students use a checklist to search for 17 Mexican foods. Work individually, in pairs, or project onto the whiteboard for a group activity. Use the images to promote conversation about likes and dislikes.


Spanish I Spy Game - Find Mexican foods with list of Spanish vocabulary words
Spanish I Spy Activity with Mexican Food

"Such a fun game to play! Students LOVED it."


Role Play

Bring in a menu from a Mexican restaurant and have students practice ordering food. Set up a table in front of the classroom with place settings and menus. Have a student act the part of a server and two others as customers. Practice greetings, ordering drinks, entrees, dessert, and asking for the bill.


Hope this helps you find meaningful cultural activities that you and your students LOVE!

Happy teaching.

Laura with a heart




Mexican Food Bundle

Find all of the activities posted above in a money-saving Mexican Food Bundle.


End of Year Activities for Spanish class - Learn vocabulary words for the names of Mexican food in Spanish
Spanish Food Unit - Mexican Food Activities

"My students loved using this resource to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

They enjoyed playing the game and learned the pronunciation for many new words."


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