Access the Resource Center

TEKS:

Grade 4

• 113.15.b.21.B Analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions

Grade 7

• 113.19.b.21.B Analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions

Questions for students to consider:

What things (objects) do you have that represent your personal history?

What does it mean for objects to be organized chronologically?

How could a stirrup be used as a weapon?

What can we learn by looking at an original map of a city or place?

TEKS:

Grade 4

• 113.15.b.1.B identify American Indian groups in Texas and North America before European exploration such as the Lipan Apache, Karankawa, Caddo, and Jumano
• 113.15.b.1.C describe the regions in which American Indians lived and identify American Indian groups remaining in Texas such as the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, Alabama-Coushatta, and Kickapoo
• 113.15.b.1.D compare the ways of life of American Indian groups in Texas and North America before European exploration
• 113.15.b.2.A summarize motivations for European exploration and settlement of Texas, including economic opportunity, competition, and the desire for expansion
• 113.15.b.2.B  identify the accomplishments and explain the impact of significant explorers, including Cabeza de Vaca; Francisco Coronado; and René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, on the settlement of Texas
• 113.15.b.2.C explain when, where, and why the Spanish established settlements and Catholic missions in Texas as well as important individuals such as José de Escandón

Grade 7

• 113.19.b.2.A compare the cultures of American Indians in Texas prior to European colonization such as Gulf, Plains, Puebloan, and Southeastern
• 113.19.b.2.B identify important individuals, events, and issues related to European exploration of Texas such as Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, the search for gold, and the conflicting territorial claims between France and Spain

Questions for students to consider:

Would a society that used a matate to grind grain more likely have been hunter-gatherers or agrarian?  Why?  Would it have existed before or after the Neolithic revolution?

What might you infer about a society that used a Clovis point?  What IS a Clovis point?

Why were the French not successful in attempts to colonize Texas?

How are the sword and the fan records of European colonization of the Americas?

What documents would you consider important enough to put in a box made of Mother of Pearl and silver locks?  Why would the land grant have been considered so important?

TEKS:

Grade 4

• 113.15.b.2.D identify Texas’ role in the Mexican War of Independence and the war’s impact on the development of Texas
• 113.15.b.2.E identify the accomplishments and explain the economic motivations and impact of significant empresarios, including Stephen F. Austin and Martín de León, on the settlement of Texas
• 113.15.b.3.A analyze the causes, major events, and effects of the Texas Revolution, including the Battle of the Alamo, the Texas Declaration of Independence, the Runaway Scrape, and the Battle of San Jacinto

Grade 7

• 113.19.b.2.E identify the contributions of significant individuals, including Moses Austin, Stephen F. Austin, Erasmo Seguín, Martín De León, and Green DeWitt, during the Mexican settlement of Texas
• 113.19.b.3.B explain the roles played by significant individuals during the Texas Revolution, including George Childress, Lorenzo de Zavala, James Fannin, Sam Houston, Antonio López de Santa Anna, Juan N. Seguín, and William B. Travis
• 113.19.b.3.C explain the issues surrounding significant events of the Texas Revolution, including the Battle of Gonzales; the siege of the Alamo, William B. Travis’s letter “To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World,” and the heroism of the diverse defenders who gave their lives there; the Constitutional Convention of 1836; Fannin’s surrender at Goliad; and the Battle of San Jacinto

Questions for students to consider:

Why did Mexico encourage colonists from the United States to settle in Texas after Mexico won its independence from Spain?  What problems might this cause?

Why did Texas and other Mexican states revolt?

How can dioramas help us understand history?

Why do you think Joel Robinson’s family saved the sword used to capture Santa Anna?

How did the Colt Walker enable Texas Rangers to compete with Comanche warriors?

TEKS:

Grade 4

• 113.15.b.3.C identify leaders important to the founding of Texas as a republic and state, including José Antonio Navarro, Sam Houston, Mirabeau Lamar, and Anson Jones
• 113.15.b.3.D describe the successes, problems, and organizations of the Republic of Texas such as the establishment of a constitution, economic struggles, relations with American Indians, and the Texas Rangers
• 113.15.b.3.E explain the events that led to the annexation of Texas to the United States, including the impact of the U.S.-Mexican War
• 113.15.b.4.B explain the growth, development, and impact of the cattle industry, including contributions made by Charles Goodnight, Richard King, and Lizzie Johnson

Grade 7

• 113.19.b.4.C identify individuals, events, and issues during early Texas statehood, including the U.S.-Mexican War, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, slavery, and the Compromise of 1850
• 113.19.b.6.B identify significant individuals, events, and issues, including the development of the cattle industry from its Spanish beginnings and the cowboy way of life

Questions for students to consider:

Why would cotton be considered “king?”  Why was it so important?  How did cotton contribute to Galveston’s importance?

What are some of the things that made Galveston important?

There were different types of saddles for different types of activities (work, parades).  What is the modern day equivalent to different types of saddles?

From where did the term “riding shotgun” come?  What does it mean today?

TEKS:

Grade 4

• 113.15.b.21.A differentiate between, locate, and use valid primary and secondary sources such as computer software; interviews; biographies; oral, print, and visual material; documents; and artifacts to acquire information about the United States and Texas
• 113.15.b.21.B analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions

Grade 7

• 113.19.b.21.A Differentiate between, locate, and use valid primary and secondary sources such as computer software, databases, media and news services, biographies, interviews, and artifacts to acquire information about Texas
• 113.19.b.21.B Analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions

Questions for students to consider:

Are the paintings shown here primary or secondary sources?  Why?

The Spanish brought both guns and horses to Texas; how did these two elements affect later conflicts between Anglo settlers and members of the Comanche nation?

How is the Winchester Rifle discussed in this section similar to the Colt Walker in Segment 3, the Texas Frontier?

How are the spurs in this segment decorated?  Why do you think they were decorated?