I use Inside the Volcano as an introduction to Nicaragua for my students doing service and immersion to Managua.

Many of my students have families from Central America, and Teaching Central America is one of the only places where I found resources to develop my lessons. We

My students loved the role play Introduction to Central America.

Inside the Volcano truly felt like a volcano as students witnessed the rising pressures and tensions in Nicaragua that have led to its volatile government.

Teaching through art using Leaving Home: Socratic dialogue with Art enabled the students to dive deep inside and make connections they had not realized were there previously.

In my 6th grade class in the Atlanta, Georgia metro area, I emphasized Native American and Indigenous stories during my language arts unit about narrative writing and story elements in the fall of 2024.

Maximo Alfaro approached teaching about Central America by integrating various cultural, historical, and geographical elements into a cohesive unit in his middle school classroom at District of Columbia International Public Charter School.

By Jody Peltason
Teaching Central America materials have been fantastic resources for my AP English Language and Composition course at Coolidge HS, which focuses on analyzing and writing about expository and persuasive texts.

By Michelle Cohen
In my ESL/Bilingual class at Albert Einstein HS, I taught a unit on Central America over the course of one week.

By Bryan Cockrell
I teach 9th grade students in Montgomery County, Maryland who are developing their English language proficiency.

In a country that is deeply divided, the staff at Bruce Monroe @ Park View Elementary School show how to bridge that gap with a schoolwide exploration of students’ history and culture — and a commitment to activism for justice.

The Central American Student Alliance (CASA) at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas hosted Teaching Central America program specialist Jonathan Peraza Campos to lead a workshop about Central American history and Central American studies education.

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.

Elisabeth Oppelt used Inside the Volcano: A Curriculum on Nicaragua, edited by William Bigelow and Jeff Edmundson, in her sophomore World History class.

Christopher Wang teaches high school world history at Ed W. Clark High School, a Title I school where many students have roots in Central America.

Heber Diaz, a middle school ELA teacher, taught a lesson about the Civil War in El Salvador.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of interns Olvin Abrego Ayala and Eli Hertzler-McCain, along with advisors Marcy Campos and Miriam Elizabeth Villanueva — we added more than 150 new resources to the Teaching Central America site this summer.

These include lessons on Panama and the Darién Gap; themed collection on immigration, LGBTQ+ identify, and climate justice; and country collections on Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama.

By Kimberly Ellis
Have you ever considered what you communicate through your clothing and apparel? Ana Maria Restrepo, a Language teacher at Belmont Day School located in Belmont, Massachusetts, explored this question in the context of Guatemala with her 7th grade students during Teach Central America Week.

By Anna Lapera
I have taught Central America: An Introductory Lesson in both my ESL level 1 + 2 class, as well as my Spanish as a Heritage Language class at Julius West MS (MCPS).

We were invited back to the tight-knit community at Bruce-Monroe at Parkview in Washington, D.C. for their annual teach-in style celebration of Central American history and culture.