Lesson on Panama Invasion in Philadelphia during Teach Central America Week

Frankford High School Spanish Language teacher Kaley Lankford used the Why the U.S. invaded Panamá in 1989 lesson by Elizabeth Hertzler-McCain with her high school students. 

To start the class, Lankford asked students to find Panamá on the maps that they keep in their notebooks and what they knew about Panamá. Many students said they knew nothing about the country.  

They then read the "Fast Facts" about Panamá together, which piqued their interest. Students were randomly assigned one of six of the documents in the jigsaw activity. Students completed the expert questions on their own, then did the jigsaw discussion together as a class. Lankford shared:

It was great! This activity was a welcome change from the basic conversation/grammar activities my students had been doing. Students were very engaged and shocked to learn about this part of U.S. history. I am grateful for this easy-to-use resource! [2024]