So, Día de los Muertos...There's an app for that!!!

I played with a LOT of Día de los Muertos apps (yes, I'm a geek), but the best BY FAR are these two!

Day of the Dead Me.  Free.  NOTE: this is an iPhone app which won't come up on your iPad unless you switch from "iPad only" to "iPhone only" in the app store search.

You can take pics and make them into Calaveras!

There are lots of effects and free options to add to your photo.  There are even more to purchase, but why?

There are two strange things about this app:
1. There is an age requirement of 21-even though I have see nothing to rate that.  I just told my kids to put in a date before 1992.  Problem solved.

2.  This is the age of the selfie, yet this app won't let you reverse the camera...So, either get someone to take it for students, or have them take a selfie before opening the app.  You can upload from the camera roll (great chance to APP SMASH!!).  I have also had some students take a selfie with the back-facing camera--you would be surprised at how good they are in spite of not being able to see their shot!

This is fun way for students to personally identify with what we are learning about el Día de los Muertos.  One photo takes about 15 minutes, give or take.  I have students share their work on Edmodo, that way it isn't fully public, but they do have the reinforcement of others seeing their work.

iMuertos.  $1.99, although if you have the opportunity to purchase apps in bulk, you can get them for half price!

I was so excited to see this app this year!  We regularly create an altar and calaveritas in class but this is a great complement!

Students can design their own papel picado, calaverita and frame a pic of a person they want to memorialize...they then create their own altar using their designs!  There are 'velas', 'pan de muerto', 'copal', 'mole', 'cempasuchitl', and flower petals.  There is also built-in information/history of the holiday and a recipe for "pan de muertos".

Maybe the only drawback is that it is mostly in English, with some words in Spanish.  But, then again, it is accessible for all my students...I would have liked the choice, however.  Maybe they'll come up with a future version in Spanish...*fingers crossed*

I loved my students' creations!  Some students went traditional while others went all black and white or modern!  They really enjoyed it!  I led them to each section and demonstrated how to complete, then turned them loose!  I had them upload their final altar showing their papel picado, calaverita and photo to our class in Edmodo.

Extension activities (depending on the level) could be to respond to a classmate's post, write a description of the altar, or say if you like a photo...