This collection uses primary sources to explore the Spanish-American War. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

Francisco de Goya, Third of May, 1808, 1814, oil on canvas, 266 x 345.1 cm (Museo del Prado. Madrid). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Proposal for an activity on Spanish personalities of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Antoni Gaudí, Church of the Sagrada Família or Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família Basilica, 1882- (consecrated 2010, but still under construction), Barcelona, Spain. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

This kit provides the materials and background information needed to engage students in a dynamic and constructive process of learning how global media perspectives differ based on country of production, media source, target audience, and political and social context. There are five lessons representing important issues and media documents from: Africa (news and documentary film clips about the food crisis), Latin America (editorial cartoons about immigration), Europe (news and documentary film clips about Islam and cultural identity), India (magazine covers about India's rise in the global economy), and Southeast Asia (websites concerning Islamic majorities and minorities).

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Saturn Devouring One Of His Sons, 1821-1823, 143.5 x 81.4 cm (Prado, Madrid) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. One of the"Black Paintings" that Goya painted on the walls of his house outside Madrid, this image was originally located on the lower floor of the house known as "la Quinta del Sordo." Goya painted on the walls using several materials including oil paint. The "Black Paintings" had suffered significant damage and loss in their original location and when they were removed from the walls and transferred to canvas by Baron Émile d'Erlanger shortly after he aquired the house in 1873. Please note that Saturn is also known as Cronus or Kronus.

Francisco Goya, The Family of Charles IV, c. 1800, Prado Museum, 280 cm x 336 cm (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

This role play begins with the premise that a monstrous crime was committed in the years after 1492, when perhaps as many as three million or more Taínos on the island of Hispaniola lost their lives. (Most scholars estimate the number of people on Hispaniola in 1492 at between one and three million; some estimates are lower and some much higher. By 1550, very few Taínos remained alive.)

Who — and/or what — was responsible for this slaughter? This is the question students confront here.

The purpose of these PBL units is to provide advanced students of Spanish (generally 3rd and 4th year college students) a series of compelling problems from Spanish culture and society. Each unit introduces a problem that students must solve collaboratively in small teams (4-6) over the course of approximately four weeks, assuming 2-3 class meetings per week. The instructor coaches the teams as they seek to fill gaps in understanding, revise hypotheses to incorporate new knowledge, and craft solutions that recognize various perspectives on the problem. Each unit is based on particular objectives, but the skills and processes students will exercise are the same across all units: collaborative problem solving, self-directed research and synthesis of information, argumentation based on sound evidence, and communication in Spanish. 

The purpose of these PBL units is to provide advanced students of Spanish (generally 3rd and 4th year college students) a series of compelling problems from Spanish culture and society. Each unit introduces a problem that students must solve collaboratively in small teams (4-6) over the course of approximately four weeks, assuming 2-3 class meetings per week. The instructor coaches the teams as they seek to fill gaps in understanding, revise hypotheses to incorporate new knowledge, and craft solutions that recognize various perspectives on the problem. Each unit is based on particular objectives, but the skills and processes students will exercise are the same across all units: collaborative problem solving, self-directed research and synthesis of information, argumentation based on sound evidence, and communication in Spanish. 

In the years after Columbus's first voyage, Spanish adventurers known as conquistadores began to colonize the surrounding areas of the Caribbean and the Americas. In this video, Kim explores the social changes that Spanish colonization created in the New World.