A common question with an elusive answer, “Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” But on March 5, 2019, Carmen Sandiego had a big presence in Austin, Texas, for SXSW EDU 2019.
Moderated by Amy Dunkin, HMH’s Chief Marketing Officer, the Carmen Sandiego Returns for a New Generation panel at SXSW EDU included: Duane Capizzi, Showrunner, Carmen Sandiego on Netflix; Caroline Fraser, Head of HMH Productions; and Larry Perez, MEd, fifth grade bilingual teacher at Barbara Jordan Early College Prep in Texas. They took a behind-the-scenes look at the revival—from the animated Netflix series (and season two!) to new books and graphic novels, a Google Earth partnership, classroom programs, and more.
A highlight of their panel was Larry’s perspective on his daily needs in the classroom and how he has found incorporating Carmen Sandiego helpful. His students, who are predominately young latinas, are able to better develop their sense of identity through identifying with the character, especially Gina Rodriguez’s Carmen Sandiego. Plus, Larry is able to get them excited about geography while simultaneously incorporating a variety of other lessons, such as social-emotional learning.
After the panel, Amy grabbed some time with Duane and Caroline to celebrate Carmen’s return to the classroom and discuss why now was the right time to bring Carmen back!
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Use Carmen Sandiego to help inspire your students to love history, culture, and geography with all of our free classroom resources!
