Spanish Project
Día de los Muertos - Day of the Dead
Making an Ofrenda at Home
Dear 5th Graders & Parents,
This coming week we will be learning about Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a Latin
American holiday that takes place on Nov. 1 and 2. As part of the 5th grade Spanish
language and culture program, you will have the experience of creating an ofrenda to
enrich what you are learning about the history and traditions of Día de los Muertos.
Attached is an information sheet about Day of Dead.
What is an Ofrenda?
An ofrenda is a home altar, which can be found in many Latin American homes all year round
and is decorated in a very special way for the Día de los Muertos celebration. An ofrenda is a
place for family members to remember their deceased relatives or loved ones.
From October 23-Nov. 2, please feel free to come by Room 34 to see an example of an
ofrenda. This is a life-size ofrenda I have set up to memorialize my pets who have passed
away. This might give you a helpful visual for the project.
Please let me know if you have any questions about this special project. You may reach me
at khartnett@carmelunified.org.
Sincerely,
Señora Hartnett, Spanish Teacher
Option #1
Using a Google Voice account, create a virtual “ofrenda” with images and text to honor a
loved one or pet. If you choose this option, please return the bottom portion of this page
with the email account you will use at home to create. I will email you the instructions and
“invite” you to view and edit the template I’ve created for this project.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------My name is ____________________________ Classroom Teacher __________________
Home email account & parent signature ________________________________________
How to make an ofrenda
1. Think of a family member or beloved pet who has died. Reflect upon the favorite
things they liked doing. (For example, did your grandpa like playing cards? Did your
great uncle like dancing or playing the guitar? Did your dog like to run on the beach?)
2. Take a shoebox and create a backdrop scene of where this loved one liked to spend
his/her time. (Was it at home? In their kitchen? In a garden? At the beach? At work?)
3. Make a skeleton figure to symbolize this loved one, as they were when they were alive.
These skeleton figures should show the person doing their favorite activity.
4. Place a photo or drawing of your loved one in your ofrenda. Include their name.
5. Place artifacts or personal mementos familiar to the deceased, such as jewelry, photos,
toys, books, handkerchiefs, etc (drawings of these objects are fine, too!).
6. Add a few favorite foods that the deceased liked to eat (or draw a picture or the
foods).
7. Put water and salt (or drawings of them) on the ofrenda.
8. Surround the ofrenda with four candles to represent the four directions: Norte - North,
Sur – South, Oeste - West and Este – East (you may opt to draw candles on paper
and glue them on the ofrenda).
9. As extra embellishment, your child may put the finishing touch on their ofrenda with
papel picado, an art form in which colorful tissue paper is folded and cut into
patterns, or yellow and orange tissue paper flowers to represent the traditional wild
marigolds used on many ofrendas. They may attach these decorations to the bottom of
the shoebox.
10. Be creative and feel free to add any special touches to make your ofrenda unique!
Items Needed to Make the Ofrenda – do not feel pressure to purchase anything!
 Shoe box
 Photo or drawing of loved one
 Paper/markers/pencil/glue/scissors
 Salt
 Water
 4 candles (or drawings of four candles)
 Extras:
o food for the altar
o artifacts for the altar (jewelry, buttons, toys)
o tissue paper to make the papel picado or flowers