INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Poptential™, a family of award-winning social studies course packages that infuse lessons with digital storytelling using pop culture references, offers an array of engaging content to help World History instructors address National Hispanic Heritage Month and Latin American Independence. Click to Tweet.

National Hispanic Heritage Month, observed yearly in the United States from September 15-October 15, marks the anniversary of Latin America’s independence from Spanish rule and recognizes the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history and culture of the United States.

“Latin Americans who struggled for independence from the Spanish and Portuguese looked to revolutionary ideals that grew out of the American and French revolutions,” said Julie Smitherman, a former social studies teacher and director of content at Certell, Inc., the nonprofit behind Poptential. “Poptential shows the links between these movements, drawing on modern sitcoms and movies to illustrate key ideas.”

The Poptential World History curriculum and digital media examples bring to life the ideas and revolutionaries that influenced Latin American independence, including:

American and French Revolutions spark a passion for freedom – Module 21 of Poptential American History volume 2 shows how American and French Revolution ideas influenced Latin American freedom fighters, and features an animated comedy short from the Mr. Peabody & Sherman movie when they visit Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution in 1789.

Enlightenment ideas spread to Latin America - The Enlightenment period led individuals across Europe and the Americas to question authoritarianism. A video clip from the popular television show The Good Place in Module 21.1 features a professor teaching students the three philosophies studied during the Enlightenment.

Latin America’s Liberators – Module 23.1 focuses on the history of Latin America’s war for Independence. By 1825, 17 countries had achieved independence from Spain. A video clip from the movie The Liberator highlights the fight for freedom led by Simón Bolívar, one of the most influential figures in Latin American history.

Poptential uses a variety of pop culture media to illustrate concepts, including those taken from sitcoms, movies, animations, cartoons, late-night shows, and other sources.

Poptential course packages are standards-based and developed by teachers. They include everything instructors need to teach a subject, including lessons, e-books, bell ringers, quizzes, and tests. All content is available via a digital platform that allows students to access lessons even in poor bandwidth environments.

Poptential course packages in American History, World History, U.S. Government/Civics, and Economics are available free at www.poptential.org.

About Certell, Inc.
Certell is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to foster a generation of independent thinkers. More than 30,000 teachers from throughout the United States have signed up to use Certell’s Poptential™ family of free social studies courses, and thousands more students are reached through Certell’s college-level courses in law and economics, and SensibleSchool™ instruction for home-schoolers, employees, and inmates. Certell course packages have won a number of awards, including EdTech Digest Awards for Curriculum and Instruction Solution, Tech&Learning Best Tool for Back to School, Tech Edvocate Awards, Bronze Award of Excellence from the National Association of Economics Educators, and Civvys Awards. More information is available at certell.org or on Twitter @CertellOrg.

For information contact:

Mara Conklin, 847-340-6823
mconklin@teamclarus.com

Kathy Zoeller, (312) 485-2422
kathy@mattsonpr.com