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New Museum Exhibit
UTSA's
Institute for Texas Cultures invites you ...
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 6:00 pm - 8:00pm
Join us for this 2-hr ITC Educator Workshop! Learn about ITC's new exhibit -
Why We Came: The Immigration Experience (Opening March 30),
our new Immigration Tour,
and bringing the content back into your classroom.
Immigration is a major topic today in politics, the news, and the TEKS. This workshop for educators will explore the subject of immigration and provide teachers with a wealth of lessons, resources and strategies to help their students grasp these difficult concepts, and ultimately better prepare them for the STAAR tests. Participants will get a first look at the Institute’s new Immigration Tour and a behind the scenes look at the interactive exhibit on immigration entitled Why We Came: The Immigration Experience, opening March 30, 2013.
| Contact Info.: ITC Education and Interpretation Pricing: $10.00 for Museum Members Where: Institute of Texan Cultures801 E. Cesar Chavez Blvd. San Antonio, TX 78205 |
The Why We Came: The Immigration Experience exhibit, the Immigration Tour, and the accompanying education materials feature activities and lessons on push-pull factors, geography and map reading skills, immigration and migration vocabulary, the process of immigrating to the U.S. and naturalization, the impact immigration has on the economy and society, and analyzing primary and secondary sources as well as graphs, charts and statistical data.
All educators and school leaders are welcome, but social studies teachers (all grade levels) and team leads are especially encouraged to attend.
Participants will earn two CPE credits. If you cannot make it to the museum, join us via video conferencing from your school or regional service center. For more information, call 210-458-2281.
Instructional Resources for Texas History
Recommended:
Welcome to the premier site for locating resources to teach Texas Studies - TeachingTexas.org.
The types of resources located on this site vary but are broken into nine categories including: online primary and secondary sources; lesson plans; audio-visual materials; staff development; speakers 
or presenters, books, guides or other printmaterial, museum exhibits or programs, student programs; and special events. You are encouraged to use this site and its features to find quality resources, share them with others, and become more deeply involved in teaching the fascinating story of the Lone Star State.
This site is a collaborative project of the Texas State Historical Association, the Portal to Texas History, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and numerous partners. This service is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Texas Heritage Online
Texas Heritage Online provides unified online access to Texas' historical 
The Texas Association of Counties and the V.G. Young Institute of County Government (a part of Texas AgriLife Extension and The Texas A&M University System) have collaborated to create a curriculum for use by teachers in explaining Texas county government. It can be found online by clicking here.
This curriculum is designed for middle and high school students and is prepared in compliance with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills social studies requirements. The five lessons teach participants about the functions of elected county officials in Texas, the primary services offered by county government, the justice process at the county level, elections and voting, and the financing of county government.documents and images for use by teachers, students, historians, genealogists, and other researchers.
Teaching About the Texas Republic
- Download - this recommendation list provides Resources for teaching about the Texas Republic, Manifest Destiny, and the Civil War.
Texas Revolution and it's causes
- Students learn about key figures of the Texas Revolution as they create historical markers for each individual. [Texas State Historical Association - TSHA Online]
- As students examine why and how people become famous they will learn about figures in the Texas Revolution and create a presentation for their peers. [Stephen F. Austin University - TIDES for Teachers Online]
Integrate Native American History Into Texas History through PBS
Visit the PBS "We Shall Remain" website for programming information and information on integrating Native American History into your curriculum.
My Texas History Notebook: The Branches of State Government
This lesson uses trading cards that emphasize the roles and responsibilities for each branch of the Texas State Government.
Bringing Government Terms to Life
The University of North Texas Libraries' Portal to Texas History, received one of two 2009 Humanities Texas finalist awards for its acclaimed digital gateway to collections held in repositories throughout the state. Selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities website EDSITEment as one of the best online resources for education, the Portal to Texas History serves more than a hundred thousand unique visitors worldwide each month. Its resources now include thirty-four collections and more than 354,023 digital files. This innovative project exemplifies the significant investment that UNT has made in Texas history.
This lesson involves problem solving groupwork that will engage students and teach them the basic principles reflected in the Texas Constitution while communicating in written, oral, and visual forms.
[Source: The Portal to Texas History Resources4Educators]
Celebrity Ball for Famous Texans
This lesson requires students to work with a partner to research, role play and create a resume on a famous Texan. They will choose their roles, research their topic, make props, write a resume and role play their famous Texan.
Federalism and the State's Response to Disaster
This lesson requires students to demonstrate an understanding of federalism by focusing on real-world issues and current events. Students analyze pressing issues to determine which federal entity is responsible.
Human Statues of the Progressive Era
This lesson enables students to identify the leaders and movements of the progressive era and its impact on Texas.
Immigration to Texas
This lesson requires students to demonstrate an understanding of immigrant groups, demographics, and settlement patterns to create a PowerPoint presentation.
Texas Senate Kids
This site allows students to explore the Capitol and experience what it is like to be a Senator.
VISIT the Handbook of Texas Online
Looking for activities related to government and politics and Texas' role in 20th century events? Visit the Handbook of Texas Online for great ideas.
Visit the Angelo State University Website
The library's website at ASU contains a wealth of lesson plans and activities for all activites related to Texas History.
Cool Current Events Site!
Spark lively discussions about current events using The Week in Rap. Click here to view past clips and to register for your update.
Don't Miss Out on Celebrate Texas!
Celebate Texas student contests promote awarness of Texas Independence Day, and the history of our state and its people. Middle school students can compete in the essay competition. The subject for this year's essay is "Pick a Small Unknown Town near you and write about its History." Essays must be no longer than two pages in length. For more information regarding this contest, please see the contests page of our website.
Bring Texas History Alive!
Download primary sources to produce engaging lessons for your students from the Texas Portal at the University of North Texas. This site serves as a gateway to the diverse collections housed in Texas museums, libraries, archives, historical societies, and private collections.
The content on the site covers all geographic areas of Texas, as well as prehistory through the 20th century. Digital reproductions of maps, documents, letters and artifacts can be found on the site, and portal curriculum Primary Source Adventures comply with the TEKS.
Texas History Political Cartoons
Tired of the same old warm-ups? Download the political cartoons created by Roger T. Moore and Dr. Mary Black to engage and introduce your students to a variety of Texas History topics.
Distance Learning Programs offered by Texas State History Museum
Experience the Story of Texas right in your classroom!
Distance learning allows teachers and students across the State of Texas to explore history in exciting new ways through live, interactive, two-way video conferencing. Led by Dr. Source, Primary Investigator, distance learning programs transform students into history detectives who conduct historical investigations using the richness of Texas history and the exhibits of the Museum. These immersive, educational experiences are designed with pre- and post- viewing activities for students, a variety of teacher resources, and clear connections to the social studies TEKS.
DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS
SCHEDULES AND REGISTRATION
Texas Calendars
Now Available
These cool Texas History calendars run from March 2, 2008, to March 1, 2009 and make a great learning tool.
A discount rate of $3.00 instead of the $8.95 retail price is being given to teachers who order these calendars.
Interested in more information you may download this brochure (contact information for Roger Moore from Celebrate Texas) or, to order calendars online, go here.
Coming Soon!
Encounters!
Grades 4-7
How did early native peoples encounter their environment, other native groups, and the Spanish Conquistadors in the vast landscape that would become Texas? Dr. Source, Primary Investigator, will lead students as they search for evidence from artifacts and explore stories that reveal the many meanings of Encounters on the Land.
The French Shipwreck La Belle
Grades 4-7
La Salle's last expedition included the small frigate La Belle. She sank in 1684 and was recovered from Matagorda Bay, Texas in 1996. Through the skillful observations of Dr. Source, Primary Investigator, students will explore recovered artifacts, discovered skeletal remains, and learn about 17th Century French exploration in Texas.
Come and Take it!
Grades 4-7
Have you ever dared someone to try to take something from you? With helpful assistance from Dr. Source, Primary Investigator, students will examine artifacts and documents to compare and contrast two sides of a story to learn about this 1835 "dare" by Texians taking a stand.
Tools through Time
Grades 4-7
What do 1770s vaqueros and today's King Ranch cowboys have in common? Do you still need a horse if you have a truck or helicopter to round-up cattle? Through an engaging examination of artifacts led by Dr. Source, Primary Investigator, students will learn about fences, branding irons, boots and hats - ranching tools through time.
Check out these cool offerings for 7th Grade
[Courtesy of ESC Region XIII]
Era Charts for 7th Grade Texas History
These
can be used in various ways, including student Interactive Notebooks, posters for class bulletin boards, and review pieces for assessments.
Two new Offerings From State Universities Delight Texas Historians
TEXAS CONSTITUTIONS 1824-1876
Justices of Texas 1836-1986
Hosted by the Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas School of Law, this website is part of Tarlton’s Texas Legal History Digital Library. Justices of Texas 1836-1986 provides biographical and bibliographic information for each justice of the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals. Justices of Texas allows users to search the database by entering a justice's name, hometown, title, court, or year of service. The justices' entries include biographies, photographs, research sources, and links to further information. The website also provides links to important opinions authored by the justices and to constitutional provisions that those opinions interpret. In addition to the searchable database, a detailed timeline of the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals depicts milestones in the history of these organizations, from the establishment of the Texas Supreme Court in 1836 to the renaming and restructuring of the Courts of Civil Appeals into the modern Courts of Appeals in 1980.
Hosted by the Tarlton Law Library at the University of Texas School of Law, this website is part of Tarlton’s Texas Legal History Digital Library. Texas Constitutions 1824-1876 contains, in an easily searchable format, both full page images and plain text versions of the various Constitutions of the State of Texas in effect between 1824 and 1876. For each Constitution, there are page images of the English version, full page images of the Spanish language version of the document (if one exists), and full text, searchable html files.
These founding documents legally established the entity of Texas, set forth the rights and responsibilities of its people, and defined the scope and powers of its government.
The website also contains documents related to the proceedings of the related Constitutional conventions. The proceedings of these Constitutional conventions consisted, for the most part, of journals, the official record of the resolutions passed by the convention and actions approved by the delegates, and debates, the actual transcripts or summaries of the discussions among the delegates to the constitutional conventions.
TEXAS TIDES
Texas Tides, at Stephen F. Austin State University, has numerous electronic resources for teaches and students. A TIDES scavenger hunt on the Teacher's Lesson Plans section helps teachers and students explore the site.
The TIDES Yahoo! Group will act as the public listserv for Texas Tides. If a teacher has a question, wants something explained or needs a favor, send it through the listserv. To join, follow the link below and click the blue box that says "Join This Group" on the right side of the page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tides-sfasu/
Contact Christine Hennessey, hennessece@sfasu.edu with any questions that you might have about TIDES ~ Digital Projects; Ralph W. Steen Library, Stephen F. Austin State University , http://tides.sfaus.edu
Essential Web Resources
1. TSHA Online allows you to experience the rich and complex history of the state through innovative online features and content.
As part of the Digital Gateway, the TSHA website now offers Lone Star History Links, an exhaustive online bibliography copiled by Roger A. Griffin of links to original primary sources. Dr. Griffin began this collection of links as a teaching aid for his students, with relatively few entries. Since his retirement he has developed the site into a major collection of links to several thousand Texas history primary source documents.
2. texasbeyondhistory.net - This virtual museum of Texas’ cultural heritage was recognized recently in April, 2008 with the 2008 Award for Excellence in Public Education by the Society for American Archaeology (SAA). The society, an international professional organization of more than 7,000 members, is dedicated to the research, interpretation, and protection of the archaeological heritage of the Americas. Our congratulations to the site's editors Steve Black and Susan Dial.
3. Lone Star Junction: A Texas history resource with Texas e-texts, a Texian database, genealogical information, and huge archive of documents.
4. As the local history collection of the Austin Public Library, the Austin History Center provides the public with information about the history, current events, and activities of Austin and Travis County.
5.Austin Past & Present site - From its geologic formation to its current urban skyline, Austin Past and Present explores Austin’s past and present in more than 300 multimedia stories and over 2 hours of motion picture documentary.
6. Texans in World War II photos provided by the Austin History Center.
7.The Rubin Hancock Curriculum was presented to teachers at our August 20th DWSD by Dr. Mary Black. This site features lesson plans and unit plans for teachers as well as a starting place for students to embark on their own research on Texas.
8. University of North Texas' Portal to Texas History
THE FIRST FULL-COLOR ATLAS OF TEXAS FOR STUDENTS
Texas State University Geography Department and W.S. Benson & Company present the first full-color School Atlas of Texas. This sole source item is a must for every 4th and 7th grade classroom and library in Texas. 
Nationally renowned cartographers from the Texas State University Geography Department developed the content which includes maps, charts, photographs, text and depictions of: Location and Physical Setting, Physical, Environmental, Demographic, Historical, Cultural, and Economic factors of Texas.
48 pages, 8.5 x 11 in., photographs, full color illustrations, grade 4-7 up Atlas of Texas (single copy)...129-8..$ 8.95
Classroom set (22 copies) with teachers guide 129-9...$175.00
Grade 4 teacher's guide (blackline masters) single copy...130-1..$ 24.00
Grade 7 teacher's guide (blackline masters) single copy ...131-X..$ 24.00
To See Sample maps or download free Texas outline maps click here.
To order the Atlas, click here.
© AISD, 2012 /