Cabeza de Vaca Meets the Coahuiltecans

Seventh graders discuss why hunter-gatherers might have favored certain areas in which to live. In pairs, they research specific regions to examine in depth. Students present their eco-region vegetation findings (in this case Central...

Explore the inventions of the past with a project on ancient tools. After reading an article about hunting during the Archaic period, the Late Prehistoric period, and the Historic period, kids fill in a cause-and-effect chart about the...

What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...

Gain insight into the life and adventures of Spanish explorer, Cabeza de Vaca, whose expeditions led him to Texas and Mexico.

Seventh graders explain Spanish motives for establishing Mission San Sab?? and the reasons for the mission's failure. This lesson should be used when students already have an understanding of the Spanish mission-presidio system in Texas.

Seventh graders research the Indian groups that lived 1,000 years ago on the Llano River. They analyze paintings and photographs of tools and artifacts, develop inferences and conclusions about how the Indians lived, and present the...

Students examine the difference between primary and secondary sources by examining the journal of Cabeza de Vaca and creating a poster about the Coahuitecan Indian groups. They portray a scene of the groups in 16th Century south Texas.

Seventh graders examine how the Plains Indians vied with white commercial buffalo hunters for the millions of Great Plains buffalo. They create an illustrated broadside supporting the interests of either the Indians or the commercial...

Seventh graders study the Indian groups who lived 1,000 years ago on the Llano River. They use paintings and photographs of tools and other artifacts to make inferences and conclusions about how the Indians lived.

Young scholars practice analyzing skeletal remains for clues by using the Internet.  In this scientific investigation lesson, students research the La Belle shipwreck using the Internet and written materials, later completing a...