Put on your most purple outfit and order some pizza because April 16th is officially Selena Day!
It’s a day to celebrate and honor the life of Tejano music’s most cherished icon, Selena Quintanilla Perez. Back in 1995, while fans all over the US, Mexico, and throughout Latin America were still grieving the death of their beloved star, then-Governor George W. Bush declared that April 16th, Selena’s birthday, would be an official Texas holiday.
I still recall fondly watching Selena Y Los Dinos in concert when I was little and never imagined all these years later I’d be looking for ways to celebrate the life of this singer in my homeschool. Yet, here I am and I’m happy to report there are a few wonderful resources available to make this day a memorable homeschool event!
Books
First, if you can get your hands on this book called Queen of Tejano Music: Selena, do it! It’s Just. So. Lovely!!! Here’s a review with all the details.
Here are a couple of other children’s books about Selena you may want to buy OR consider asking your library to purchase them!
Lesson Plans and Activities
If you want to check off a few school subjects for the day, try using some of these lesson plans from Little Bee Books and Teachers Pay Teachers.
Selena Lesson Plans in English
Little Bee Books has this downloadable Teacher's Guide to go with the picture book, Queen of Tejano Music:Selena (4th grade).
Teaching with a Cup of Tea has this free download on TpT: Selena Quintanilla Perez: Contributions of Famous Hispanics for 1st through 6th grades.
Share My Lesson has this lesson for students in 9th - 12th about the podcast Anything for Selena.
Selena Lesson Plans in Spanish:
Spanish Profe has this Selena Quintanilla in Spanish packet for 1st - 3rd grades.
Profetips has these Actividades de escritura para libro "Selena, la reina de la música tejana" for PreK - 8th grades.
Spark Enthusiasm Spanish has this 64-page Selena Movie Packet in Spanish for students in 6th through 12th grades.
There are many more resources on TPT about Selena, but here’s a tip for searching, type out “Selena Quintanilla Perez.” Just “Selena” will take you to thousands of lesson plans about Selena Gomez.
Websites
Here are a couple of kid-friendly websites for your Selena research.
- Kiddle has Selena Facts for Kids
- Kids Konnect has Selena Quintanilla Facts & Worksheets (And this one that also has lesson plans!)
Movie and TV Series
Jennifer Lopez and Edward James Olmos make “Selena,” the movie a must watch! But as a parent, I do believe you have to discern what age would be appropriate. There are no bad words or smut. But there is the infamous and hilarious bustier scene, a scene where some rockers trash a hotel room, and Selena and Chris’ romance. There are themes dealing with racism and sexism. And of course, there is the end with Selena’s tragic, senseless, and violent death. I’d recommend that parents preview the movie first and IMHO, the best ages for this movie are middle school and up.
On Netflix, there is the new “Selena: The Series Part 1” with Part 2 to premiere next month. This series would not hold a youngster’s attention. I recommend middle school and up with the parent preview first. This series does an excellent job of depicting Selena’s and the entire Qunitanilla family’s struggle to make it in the music business. Their determination and creativity are inspiring.
YouTube
Probably the most important thing you and your family could do is to simply listen to Selena’s music. Music was her gift, her calling, the driving force in her short but brilliant life. No need to buy if funds are tight because YouTube has them all on the Selena Official channel.
You can listen to her albums, watch her music videos, and see concert clips. My family’s favorite to watch are clips from Selena’s performance at the Astrodome. Here she is singing her most famous song, “Como La Flor”:
Selena’s life has left a lasting mark on my family and we will definitely be celebrating this April 16th with Coke, pizza, and Doritos (you’ll get why this menu after you see the movie ;)) and some of these activities. We hope you and your family do, too! If there is any doubt about the significant impact of Selena’s legacy around the world, just watch this absolutely adorable video that just went viral 3 weeks ago with almost 4 million views!
Proof that Selena’s talent is timeless.
Other Posts You May Enjoy:
- Queen of Tejano Music: Selena
- Free Vicente Fernández Reading Passage
- Lesson Plans for In the Heights
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz - Lesson Plans, Videos, and Books for Kids
- 10 Latino Poets Your Children Should Know
- Frida Kahlo Lesson Plans, Activities, Coloring Sheets and More
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Written by:
Stacie Servantes Farias is an Army wife and mom of 6 with a “very healthy” obsession for Snoopy, Disney movies, Audrey Hepburn, Dr. Pepper, Whataburger, books, and homeschooling. Originally from Mission, Texas, Stacie and her high-school sweetheart hubby live with their kids and dog in a different home every few years, because that is the military life. She has big plans to write a book exploring her theory that La Llorona drowned her children because they would take their socks off all over the house and then would complain that they never had clean socks! Stacie also thinks she is really funny, but she is mostly
