The Bracero Program

Lesson Plan

Lesson 1: The Bracero Program

Teacher instructions and Lesson plan: The Bracero Program and UbD will help you get started on context, objectives, and EQs.

Focus: Established in 1942, the Bracero program allowed millions of Mexican men to work in the U.S. Legally. Under short contracts, these men were hired to fix the agricultural labor shortage in the U.S. and promised to receive fair wages/protection from discrimination. However, their story is far from the picture painted by their employers, and their legacy has long been forgotten.

Student Activities

What is the Bracero Program? 

 

Related Lessons/Activities

Lesson 1: The Bracero Program

  • The Bracero Program: PowerPoint created by the University of Northern Colorado with an overview history of the program itself. 
  • Braceros in History and Song: In this activity, students write original corridos (a type of Mexican Folk song) based on oral histories of braceros. Before writing their own corridos, students learn about the formulas and themes of corridos and analyze a World War II-era corrido. This lesson works best if students have basic background information on the bracero program. 
  • Introduction and Background Information for Teachers 

Extra Resources

Relevant Scholarship

  • Mize, Ronald L., and Alicia C. S. Swords. Consuming Mexican Labor: From the Bracero Program to NAFTA. University of Toronto Press, 2011. JSTOR. Accessed 4 Oct. 2022. Snodgrass, Michael. Beyond la Frontera: the History of Mexico-U.S. Migration: The Bracero Program, 1942–1964. Edited by Mark Overmyer-Velazquez. Oxford University Press, 2011.
    Alexander Street.

Oral Histories and Photographs

  • Bracero Archive (oral histories): Includes images, photographs of braceros, pay stubs, and firsthand accounts from children of braceros recounting their fathers' experiences.

Film

The Music (Corridos)

Museums 

Art 

Websites