Lesson Plans

1890 schoolhouse in San José

This story of two Tejano ranches introduces students to two families who arrived from the south, built their homes, and raised their families in Texas. Most textbooks on Texas history have chapters devoted to ranching, the cattle industry, and farming or agricultural development. The textbook content focuses on the Anglo settlers who came to Texas from the north or east to start a new life on the frontier in the 1800s. Yet most of the settlers in the southeast triangle of Texas came from the south and brought with them a culture different from that brought to the area by the Anglo settlers. Through the material about Rancho San José and El Fresnillo, it is hoped that the omission of content about early Tejanos who came to start ranches in Texas will be incorporated into the instruction.

• A Research Opportunity: Historical Essay
• As the World Changes: Then and Now
• I’ve Got a Problem
• You Be the Judge
• This Land Is My Land
• A Fine Line of Color
• Convince Me
• Shaking the Family Tree
  

A Research Opportunity: Historical Essay

Background: Each year students are typically assigned to write an essay in either their English or their social studies class. Often it is expected that the essay will include primary source information. Students moan and groan as they try to figure out, "What am I going to write about?" These manuscripts provide a wealth of information not previously available for students to undertake primary research.

TEKS: The student is expected to: use primary sources to analyze, organize,
and interpret information to acquire information about Texas.

Time: One week

Materials: Internet access, laptop computer or notecards

1. Have the students, in pairs or small groups, skim manuscripts focusing particularly on the Table of Contents.

2. Brainstorm as a class possible research topics for essays that could be written from these documents. Example topics include:

3. Establish criteria for grading students' research skills and the written essay and give to students prior to them writing the essay.

As the World Changes: Then and Now

Background: All people have culture, but the word culture continues to be a word that is difficult for students to understand. By comparing the various categories of daily life that make up culture, students will better understand the numerous dimensions of life that make up culture.

Time: Two periods

Objective: The student will create a matrix comparing the cultural lifestyles of his/her family in the 1990s with that of a Tejano ranching family of the 1880s-1900s.

TEKS: The student is expected to: explain how the diversity of Texas is reflected in a variety of cultural activities, celebrations, and performances; describe how people from selected racial, ethnic, and religious groups attempt to maintain their cultural heritage while adapting to the larger Texas culture.

Material: Internet access, notebooks, white legal-size paper

1. Have the students draw the matrix below on a sheet of legal-size paper.

Aspects of Culture

Then             Now

2. Write the following words on an index card, fold, and place in a paper bag:

3. Assign the students to groups of 2-3 to a computer. Have each group draw out an index card and research the documents at this site for information related to the topic on their index card. (If the students get frustrated because they can’t find the information, refer them to theTable of Contents.)

4. After 10 minutes, have the students take a break. Go around the class filling in the cultural categories each group is researching. Then fill in the matrix with their cultural lifestyle in the NOW column for the category of culture they are researching.

5. After about another 10 minutes of work on the matrix, have the students return to their research study of the manuscripts for additional information related to their cultural category.

6. Have the students work in their groups for a short time the next day to complete their matrix.

7. Have them share the information they found with the rest of the class.

8. Have the students put a summary title on their matrix.

I’ve Got a Problem!

Background: All immigrants or settlers moving to a new place experience problems and difficulties, but in the 1880s it was often very hard to solve the problems.

Objective: The student will assess the solutions reached by frontier settlers for various problems to obtain a better understanding of the problem-solving process.

TEKS: The student is expected to: use a problem-solving process to consider advantages and disadvantages of solutions and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution chosen.

Time: One class period

Materials: Internet access, notebook paper

You Be the Judge

Background: The world of the Internet keeps expanding. Every day more information is put on the information highway, but are the sites any good? What makes a good Web site for learning?

Objective: The student will evaluate a Web site to enhance his/her computer literacy.

TEKS: The student applies critical-thinking skills to use information from a variety of sources including electronic technology.

Time: One-two class periods

Materials: Internet access, legal-size paper

Good Web sites have …
Bad Web sites have …

5. When most of the students have finished, discuss their findings as a total class. Add to the matrix any new criteria that emerged from the critiques. Have the students create a title for their matrices. (Example: Evaluating Web Sites for Learning)

6. If desired, have the students write a summary paragraph of their findings and email to: smassey@utsa.edu. Such feedback is valuable to us as we continue to develop educational Web sites.

This Land Is My Land

Background: Geography is an important factor in the settlement of any region. The description of the flora and fauna in these documents as well as other geographic information make the documents a valuable source of information.

Objective: The student will write a one-page description of the geography of the two Tejano ranches.

TEKS: The student is expected to: analyze the effects of physical factors such as climate, weather, landforms, irrigation, transportation, and communication.

Time: Two class periods

Materials: Internet access, notebook

Procedure:

2. Have the students write a one-page description of the physical features of the land, the weather, and the flora and fauna of the two ranches. Review as necessary criteria for writing descriptive paragraphs.

A Fine Line of Color

Background: These documents vividly describe aspects of daily life in early Duval County including the flora and fauna, the mule-drawn wagons meandering to town, families gathering for a hog slaughtering, etc. Rarely are students encouraged in social studies classes to express content in some artistic manner.

Objective: The student will create a visual image based on his/her reading of the Tejano ranching documents.

TEKS: The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms and is expected to transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual.

Time: Two-three class periods

Materials: Watercolor sets with trays, brushes, colored pencils, scratch paper, watercolor paper

Procedure:

1. Have the students, in pairs or groups, read any 10 pages at random from either ranch document.

2. Have each student quickly write down a list of at least 7-9 "images" he/she sees in his/her mind while reading. (Each person’s list within a group reading the same pages will be different.)

3. Have the students share images from their list. Extending questions would be:

When you look out the front door, what do you see?
What’s growing in the garden?
What is your mother cooking outdoors?
The kids are outside playing. What are they playing?

4. As a total class, brainstorm various ways of expressing art. (Examples would be:

paintings: watercolors, oils, acrylics
woodcuts
photography
textiles
drawings: pencil, pen, colored pencils, paints
silkscreening

5. Have the students sketch on scratch paper some image that is vividly in their mind or that captures what they’ve been reading. This should be a rough outline of their "painting."

6. Provide a choice of materials (paper and paints) for converting their sketches to images: pen, ink, colored pencils, watercolors. (The art teachers in schools will often loan materials for a single project .) OR

7. Provide a choice of materials (glue, scissors, cardboard, posterboard) for creating a diorama of the ranch with jacales, portales, fruit trees, etc.

Background: The editor, Mr. Tijerina, in his introduction states, "The following stories may sound like informal family legends, but they are deeply rooted in United States history. Without these ranch families, the history of Texas could not be complete." Do you agree or disagree?

Objective: The student will give a brief oral presentation in which he/she takes a position on a social studies issue and supports his/her position with a minimum of five facts.

TEKS: The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of sources including electronic technology. The student will support a point of view on a social studies issue.

Time: Two-three class periods

Materials: Internet access, notebooks

Procedure:

1. After the students have read the history of either the San José or El Fresnillo ranchos, ask them to skim their textbooks to see if they can find any information about Tejano ranches in Texas. What can we conclude about the omission of this topic from our Texas history textbooks? (It’s probably not very important.)

2. Editor Tijerina, in his introduction, states, "The following stories may sound like informal family legends, but they are deeply rooted in United States history. Without these ranch families, the history of Texas could not be complete." Mr. Tijerina must think this topic is important for our understanding of Texas history. Do you agree OR disagree: The history of Texas would be incomplete without the information presented about the early rancheros. Mr. Tijerina agrees with this statement, but yet our textbook authors barely mention Tejano ranching. What is your position? WHY?

3. Decide your position and then think through your reason why and support it with a minimum of five facts. When the students have finished, have them stand by their desks and present their positions and evidence in the form of a 3-minute speech.

Background: Don Andrés Sáenz wanted to know where his ancestors came from, why they came, how they came, how they obtained their land, how they made a living from the land, and how they went about passing it on to their heirs. A quick search of the Internet shows that more and more young people and adults have the same questions, and the resources available to anyone entering the world of family genealogy are abundant. This short unit is designed for anyone wanting to begin learning about his or her family's past.

Objective: To do basic historical research utilizing technology on a topic of primary interest to themselves.

Time: One to ten weeks! This can go on forever, depending on interest, but, as a project introducing students to basic research techniques, it is best completed within two weeks, culminating in a genealogical report by each student in the class. Two-three class periods

Materials: There are numerous software packages available for recording your family facts and stories which can then be printed in various formats. A suggested software resource for doing geneology is the Family Tree Maker software. It is an inexpensive package that is very user-friendly and is learned quickly and simply by trial and error. http://www.familytreemaker.com

Procedure:

1. To introduce the concept of family history or genealogy, study the Genealogy Charts that illustrate the family lineage of Don Andrés Sáenz either in the book or at this Web site. The charts show both his maternal and paternal great-great-grandparents. In the preface Don Andrés explains why and how he began the process of doing family genealogy. This is basically a four-step process:

a. Gathering information
b. Entering the information into a software program or putting the information into some understandable form to organize all the facts
c. Learning more about doing genealogical research, and
d. Hunting for more family information.

When doing genealogical research, you will find yourself going back and forth among the steps above. While waiting to get your family tree software, you can begin gathering information about your close family. While waiting to get information through the mail about other family members, you can search the Internet to learn more about doing genealogical research. There is always more to be done, so you won't be waiting to get started!

2. Obtain software for recording and organizing your family information and stories. When software is received, follow directions for installation on your computer. The software is very user-friendly and can be learned as you enter your own family data.

3. While waiting for software, begin doing your family history research:

Start with facts about your own family. For each family member, get the following:
     1) Complete name and any nicknames; include maiden names and          married names for females
     2) Birth date and place of birth if known
     3) Marriage date and where married
     4) Spouse's complete name and nickname
     5) Spouse's birth date and place of birth and parents
     6) The same information for all children born to each person
     7) Date of death, cause of death, and where buried if known.

4. In the book Early Tejano Ranching, the author began by listening to his mother tell family stories while sitting on the front porch in the evenings. He recorded the stories as she told them. To start collecting family history, begin by

a. asking available family members
b. looking through family papers
c. looking through photograph albums for snapshots of family members
d. looking for family members in your parents' address books!

5. To get more family information:

a. Make a list of the information that you want OR create a form to be filled in and mail it to distant family members.
b. Using the form or list you create, call family members who live close by or go see them to get additional information.

6. After installing your software, begin entering information that you have acquired about:

a. yourself
b. your brothers and sisters
c. your parents
d. your grandparents
e. your parents' brothers and sisters
f. your grandparents' parents.

7. After entering the basic information, add any interesting family stories that you have heard. Scan any photographs obtained and place in the scrapbook.

8. Add information about more distant relatives that you get from other family members.

9. If you are waiting to get more information, begin searching the Internet to learn more about doing genealogy. The following addresses are just a couple of the many available:

http://www.genealogy.com

http://www.rootsweb.com

Additional things to learn:

a. Vocabulary
b. How to find the various kinds of historical records, such as census, church, military, and cemetery records, located on the Internet, in libraries, in courthouses, in churches, etc., to get specific information about members of your family
c. How to use more parts of the software package, such as how the various reports incorporated in the software are the same or different and what gives you what kind of information.

10. At this point it becomes necessary to make a decision: How far back do I want to go? What do I want out of this project? What is my purpose in doing this project? What have I learned and do I want to learn more?

11. As a classroom project, this mini-unit is best completed within five to ten days after you start with the family tree software and should culminate in a genealogical report.

12. Conclude this project by having the students stand by their desks and "Shake the Family Tree" by sharing either:

a. one family story they learned while doing this project, or
b. one new fact they learned about their family that they did not know before, or
c. one thing they learned about doing basic historical research.

NOTE: Often, as students begin collecting information for their family trees, family stories will begin to emerge, and the students might want to begin collecting family memories as oral history. To learn more about oral histories, go to

http://www.texancultures.utsa.edu/memories