FRAME THE LESSON
TEKS Assessment and Practice
TEACHER:
CLASS: 7th Grade
DATE: September 7-8
M T W TH F
Student Expectations Bundled in Lesson
Noun=Underline
Verb=Italicize
1A :identify the major eras in Texas history, describe their defining characteristics, and explain why historians divide the past into eras, including Natural Texas and its People;
Age of Contact; Spanish Colonial; Mexican National; Revolution and Republic; Early Statehood; Texas in the Civil War and Reconstruction; Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads; Age
of Oil; Texas in the Great Depression and World War II; Civil Rights and Conservatism; and Contemporary Texas
1B: apply absolute and relative chronology through the sequencing of significant individuals, events, and time periods
1C: explain the significance of the following dates: 1519, mapping of the Texas coast and first mainland Spanish settlement; 1718, founding of San Antonio; 1821,
independence from Spain; 1836, Texas independence; 1845, annexation; 1861, Civil War begins; 1876, adoption of current state constitution; and 1901, discovery of oil at
Spindletop
2A: compare the cultures of American Indians in Texas prior to European colonization such as Gulf, Plains, Puebloan, and Southeastern
8A: create and interpret thematic maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases representing various aspects of Texas during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries
9A: locate the Mountains and Basins, Great Plains, North Central Plains, and Coastal Plains regions and places of importance in Texas during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries
such as major cities, rivers, natural and historic landmarks, political and cultural regions, and local points of interest
9B: compare places and regions of Texas in terms of physical and human characteristics
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
21B: 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
21C: organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals, including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps
21D: identify points of view from the historical context surrounding an event and the frame of reference that influenced the participants
21F: identify bias in written, oral, and visual material
21G: evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author;
22B: use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, and proper citation of sources
22C: transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate
Objective/Key Understanding:
~ In this topic, students learned about the geography of Texas and the state’s earliest people. During these lessons and activities, students will be able to show what they know
by writing essays, holding discussions, and/or making presentations to the class.

Students will answer questions about every TEKS on the Topic Review and Assessment pages 56-63.
Resources/Materials:
U.S. History Textbook
Colonization through
Reconstruction
pp. 56-63
FRAME THE LESSON
TEACHER:
CLASS: 7th Grade
DATE: September 9-11
M T W TH F
Spain Begins to Explore
Student Expectations Bundled in Lesson
Noun=Underline
Verb=Italicize
1A: identify the major eras in Texas history, describe their defining characteristics, and explain why historians divide the past into eras, including Natural
Texas and its People; Age of Contact; Spanish Colonial; Mexican National; Revolution and Republic; Early Statehood; Texas in the Civil War and
Reconstruction; Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads; Age of Oil; Texas in the Great Depression and World War II; Civil Rights and Conservatism; and
Contemporary Texas
1B: apply absolute and relative chronology through the sequencing of significant individuals, events, and time periods
1C: explain the significance of the following dates: 1519, mapping of the Texas coast and first mainland Spanish settlement; 1718, founding of San Antonio;
1821, independence from Spain; 1836, Texas independence; 1845, annexation; 1861, Civil War begins; 1876, adoption of current state constitution; and
1901, discovery of oil at Spindletop
2B: identify important individuals, events, and issues related to European exploration of Texas such as Alonso Álvarez de Pineda, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de
Vaca and his writings, the search for gold, and the conflicting territorial claims between France and Spain
Resources/Materials:
U.S. History Textbook
Colonization through
Reconstruction
pp. (68-74)
Online Editable
presentation (p. 68)
Start Up Activity: Make
Predictions (p. 68)
Reading and Note Taking
Study Guide (p. 68)
Interactive Map: Early
Explorers (p. 72).
Analyze Information
(p. 73)
8A: create and interpret thematic maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases representing various aspects of Texas during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries
21A: 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
Digital Activity: Support
Ideas with Evidence
(p. 74)
21B: 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
Digital Lesson Quiz: (p.
74)
21C: organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals, including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps
21D: identify points of view from the historical context surrounding an event and the frame of reference that influenced the participants
21E: support a point of view on a social studies issue or event
21F: identify bias in written, oral, and visual material
21G: evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources, and information about the author.
Objective/Key Understanding:



Explain why Spain sent explorers to the Americas during the Act of Contact.
Identify the goals of the conquistadors.
Describe the causes and effects of Cortes’s conquest of the Aztecs.
Rigor & Relevance: (Real World Connection)
Introduce Vocabulary Activity (p. 68)
Reconquista
indigenous
conquistadors
tribute
viceroyalty
viceroy
Informal Assessment Questions 1-5 (p. 74)





How did feuding among Spaniards slow Spain’s completion of the Reconquista?
What economic and political motives led Ferdinand and Isabella to fund Columbus’s first voyage?
How were patterns Spanish soldiers learned in the Reconquista used in the Americas?
How did the technology of Spanish warfare differ from that of the Aztecs?
How did European diseases affect Spanish conquest of the Americas?
Stop & Check for Understanding—High Level Questions
 What was the Reconquista?
 Identify the two principal goals of the conquistadores?
 Why did Moctezuma delay attacking Cortes and his soldiers when they arrived at Tenochtitlan?
Small Group Purposeful Talk Question Stems
The Age of Contact Begins (p. 69-70)
 How did the end of the Reconquista lead to the Age of Contact?
 Define the Age of Contact based on what you have learned about Columbus.
 Cite evidence of why Columbus sought a route to China and India.
 What factors motivated Spain to initiate the Age of Contact and continue traveling to the Americas even though Columbus did not find the route he had been
looking for?
The Conquistadors (p. 70-71)
 Why were the conquistadors so interested in sailing to the Americas?
 How did the conquistadors help characterize in the Age of Contact?
 Cite evidence from Alvarado supporting the claim that conquistadors wanted to convert Indians and gain wealth and glory.
 What sort of contact do you think the conquistadors would make with the people they encounter in the Americas?
 Review the picture on page 70. Identify elements of the image that illustrate power.
Cortes Conquers the Aztecs (p. 72-74)
 Compare and contrast the perspectives of the Aztecs and the conquistadors who characterized the Age of Contact.
 Give three examples that show why Cortes was able to defeat the Aztecs.
 Describe how and why Spain created a viceroyalty in present-day Mexico.
Online Resources, Analyzing Maps and Charts & Digital Activity
Online Editable Presentation (p. 68)
 Use the Editable Presentation found on the Digital Course to present the main ideas for this lesson.
Start Up Activity: Make Predictions (p. 68)
Project the Start Up Activity: Make Predictions (p. 68). Ask students to read the quote and answer the questions.
 How did Columbus plan to interact with the peoples he would encounter and what might his “proper method” have entailed?
 Why might Columbus and his sponsors have wanted to find “a westerly route” to India?
 What effect might the Spanish explorers and newfound access to the Americas have had on people they encountered?
Reading and Note Taking Study Guide (p. 68)
Students can preview Key Terms and Academic Vocabulary using the Interactive Reading Notebook on the Digital Course or preview of the lesson in the Reading
and Note taking Study Guide.
Interactive Map: Early Explorers (p. 72).
Project the Interactive Map: Early Explorers (p. 72) and click through the squares. Have students sequence the key events shown in the map.
 Compare the perspectives of the Aztecs and the conquistadors who characterized the Age of Contact.
Analyze Information (p. 73)
Review the infographic, The Age of Contact, on page 73.
 What advantages did the Spanish have over the Aztecs?
 What advantages did the Aztec have over the Spanish
Digital Activity: Support Ideas with Evidence (p. 74)
Project the Digital Activity: Support Ideas with Evidence (p. 74). Have students review the predictions they made at the beginning of the lesson and write one to two
paragraphs explaining why their ideas have or have not changed since learning more about the Age of Contact.
 How did the Age of Contact impact both Spain and the Americas?
 Discuss how the contact that resulted from Columbus’s voyage differed from, yet also fulfilled, his reason for travel.
Digital Lesson Quiz: (p. 74)
Assign the Digital Lesson Quiz (p. 74). Pose these questions to the class: In Spain Begins to Explore, you learned about the end of the Reconquista and Columbus’s
plans for his voyage. Instead of finding a shortcut to Asia, Columbus encountered the Americas. Soon the Age of Contact began, as Spanish conquistadors came to
the Americas in the name of gold, glory, and God. In the end, the Aztecs fell to the Spanish and a new vice-royalty was set up in what is not Mexico.
 Why was the Age of Contact characterized by conquest/
 How do you think other European powers would react to Spain’s activities in the Americas during the Age of Contact?
Engage
~Have students preview the lesson objectives and the list of key terms (p.68). Use the Editable Presentation found on the digital course to present the main ideas of the
lesson (p. 68).
Complete the Start Up Activity on p 68. Ask students to read the quote and answer the questions.
 How did Columbus plan to interact with the peoples he would encounter and what might his “proper method” have entailed?
 Why might Columbus and his sponsors have wanted to find “a westerly route” to India?
 What effect might the Spanish explorers and newfound access to the Americas have had on people they encountered?
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
Tell students that in this lesson they will be learning about the Age of Contact, when Spain began exploring the Americas. In this era, like others in Texas history,
students will learn to describe the certain defining characteristics.
~Divide the class into groups. Each group is to read a section and be prepared to discuss and share findings with the class.
The Age of Contact Begins (p. 69-70)
The Conquistadors (p. 70-71)
Cortes Conquers the Aztecs (p. 72-74)
Students are to read assigned sections and use the Note Taking Study Guide to help them take notes and understand the text as they read.
Tell students that in this lesson they will be learning about the Age of Contact, when Spain began exploring the Americas. In this era, like others in Texas history,
students will learn to describe the certain defining characteristics.
The Age of Contact Begins (p. 69-70)
 A people from North Africa known as the Moors began conquering southern Spain in the early 700s. over time the Moors came to control most of the region.
They brought great wealth and new ideas to the region. The Moors also introduced Islam, their religion, to the people of southern Spain. Under their influence
many cities in southern Spain grew into thriving centers of business and learning. A rich culture flourished.
The Conquistadors (p. 70-71)
 Years of fighting left deep marks on the Spanish people. These marks went beyond battle scars suffered by the victims of war. They affected all the people of
Spain.
Cortes Conquers the Aztecs (p. 72-74)
 One of the early explorers who followed Columbus was the conquistador Hernan Cortes. In 1519 he landed on the coast of present-day Mexico. He had heard
reports about a wealthy empire in the region-the Aztec civilization. Cortes was a bad and ruthless man. He marched inland to search for the Aztec kingdom. He
had several hundred soldiers with him and many horses-animals unknown to the Aztecs. These trained horses helped the Spanish to ride down and kill their
enemies.
~Guided Reading and Discussion Questions
 See Small Group Purposeful Talk Question Stems from the previous page for this portion of the lesson.
~Analyzing Maps and Charts & Digital Activity
 See Online Resources from the previous page for this portion of the lesson.
~Assign the Digital Lesson Quiz for this lesson (p. 74). Teachers can also opt to have students demonstrate mastery by responding to the following questions on paper:
 How did feuding among Spaniards slow Spain’s completion of the Reconquista?
 What economic and political motives led Ferdinand and Isabella to fund Columbus’s first voyage?
 How were patterns Spanish soldiers learned in the Reconquista used in the Americas?
 How did the technology of Spanish warfare differ from that of the Aztecs?
 How did European diseases affect Spanish conquest of the Americas?
TEACHER:
CLASS: 7th Grade
DATE: September 1-3
M T W TH F
FRAME THE LESSON
The Americans Indians of Texas
Student Expectations Bundled in Lesson
Noun=Underline
Verb=Italicize
Resources/Materials:
19A: locate the Mountains and Basins, Great Plains, North Central Plains, and Coastal Plains regions and places of
importance in Texas during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries such as major cities, rivers, natural and historic landmarks,
political and cultural regions, and local points of interest
9B: compare places and regions of Texas in terms of physical and human characteristics
21C: organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals, including graphs, charts, timelines,
and maps
U.S. History Textbook
Colonization through
Reconstruction
pp. (32-55)
Online Editable presentation
(p. 32)
Start Up Activity: Analyze
Maps (p. 32)
Reading and Note Taking
Study Guide (p. 32)
Analyze Maps and Timelines
(p. 33, 37, 38, 42, 47, 49)
Interactive Chart: Texas
Indian Cultures (p. 53)
Objective/Key Understanding:
 Describe what life was like for the early peoples in Texas.
 Explain how different American Indian groups lived indifferent regions of Texas.
 Compare the cultures of the Gulf, Plains, Puebloan, and Southeastern American Indians in Texas prior to European
colonization.
 Analyze the role of American Indians in Texas today.
Introduce Vocabulary Activity (p. 32)
Tipi
atlatl
ice age
Pueblos
missionaries
migrate
Beringer
hunter-gatherers
artifacts
indigenous people
pictographs
archaeologists
Digital Activity: Synthesize
(p. 55)
Digital Lesson Quiz: (p. 55)
petroglyphs
mammoths
Informal Assessment Questions 1-5 (p. 55)
 Which types of artifacts did archaeologists likely discover to explain why early American Indians migrated to Texas?
 How did the year A.D. 900 mark a turning point for American Indians in Texas?
 Why is Cabeza de Vaca useful for learning about early Texas Indians?
 The Coahuiltecans ate many things. They ate snakes, lizards, armadillos, worms, snails, spiders, and insects. When times were especially difficult, they even
resorted to eating rotten wood.” What does this quotation tell us about the Coahuiltecan people?
 How were alliances helpful to the Texas Indians?
Stop & Check for Understanding—High Level Questions
 What affects did the Ice Age have on American Indians’ way of life?
 What responsibilities did a Caddo woman have?
Critical Writing Prompt:
 What factors were key to Puebloan culture?
 Why did many Karankawas die after contact with the Spanish?
 In what ways did the Comanche depend on the buffalo?
 How is American Indian culture represented in Texas today?
Small Group Purposeful Talk Question Stems
Indigenous Peoples of Texas (p. 33-37)
 Review the time periods: ice age, Archaic Era, and Late Prehistoric Period. In which of these periods did American Indians see the most change?
 How did American Indians survive during the ice age?
 How did American Indians adapt to the changes that occurred when the ice age ended?
 What was significant about the year 900 in the development of American Indian culture in Texas?
Southeastern Peoples (p. 37-42)
 How did the environment shape the cultures of the Western Gulf peoples differently than the cultures of the Southeastern and Puebloan peoples?
 Compare the cultures of American Indian groups among the Southeastern peoples of Texas. How were the cultures of the Caddo, the Wichita, and the
Atakapan alike and different?
Puebloan People (p. 42-46)
 What American Indian groups make up the Puebloan people of Texas?
Western Gulf Peoples (p. 46-49)
Plains People (p. 49-54)
 Which groups made up the Plains peoples of Texas?
 On what significant resources did many of the Plains peoples depend?
 With which other cultures of American Indians in Texas did the Plains peoples most closely compare?
Texas American Indians Today (p. 55)
 How might the population of Texas be different today had the Spanish not colonized the region?
 Why does it matter which American Indian groups lived in Texas prior to European colonization?
 What do you gain from knowing this history?
Online Resources, Analyzing Maps and Charts & Digital Activity
Online Editable presentation (p. 32)
 Use the Online Editable presentation (p. 32) found on the digital course to present the main ideas for this lesson.
Start Up Activity: Analyze Maps (p. 32)
 Teachers may also project the Start Up Activity from the course
Reading and Note Taking Study Guide (p. 32)
 Teachers may also project the Start Up Activity from the course
Analyze Maps and Timelines (p. 33, 37, 38, 42, 47, 49)
 (p. 33) About how much distance did the early peoples of the Americas cover in crossing the Bering Land Bridge?
 (p. 37) Which event represented the most important turning point in the history shown on the timeline? What reasons support your evaluation?
 (p. 38) What determined the borders of the territories occupied by the Atakapan, Caddo, and Wichita peoples?
 (p. 42) Describe the location of the Tigua Territory in relation to the Jumano Territory.
 (p. 47)Which group do you think depended more on fish for food?
 (p.49) Based on their location, which Plains culture do you think had the most contact with Atakapans?
Interactive Chart: Texas Indian Cultures (p. 53)
Project the Interactive Chart: Texas Indian Cultures (p. 53) and review the instructions. Have students taking turns matching the answers from the answer bank to the
appropriate American Indian cultures in Texas.
 How did the cultures of these four groups of American Indians in Texas differ as a result of their environments?
 How did Europeans change the cultural make up of American Indians in Texas?
Digital Activity: Synthesize (p. 55)
Project the Digital Activity: Synthesize (p. 55). Allow three to five minutes to write their paragraphs. Share and discuss with groups when done.
 Describe how the geography of Texas led different American Indian groups to develop different cultures and life ways.
 What were the key features of the regional geography?
 What were the key features of the People’s culture?
 How did the geographical features give rise to the characteristics of the culture?
Digital Lesson Quiz: (p. 55)
Assign the Digital Lesson Quiz (p. 55). Pose these questions to the class: In American Indians of Texas, you learned about the four main regional groups of American
Indians who lived in Texas prior to European colonization. You studied how they relied on natural resources to survive, and how they adapted their cultures to their
environments.
 Why did Europeans, especially the Spanish, have such a dramatic impact on the American Indians of Texas?
 How did human-environment integration shape the cultures of American Indians in Texas prior to European colonization?
Engage
~Have students preview the lesson objectives and the list of key terms (p.32). Use the Editable Presentation found on the digital course to present the main ideas of the lesson (p. 32).
Complete the Start Up Activity on p 32. Project the Start Up Activity: Ask students to think what it might be like to live during a time when there were not grocery stores, highways, or
computers. Have them think about how their interactions with the environment would be different and how they would meet basic needs.
Discuss how people today get the things they need as well as how they communicate and share information.
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
Tell students that in this lesson they will compare the cultures of American Indians in Texas prior to European colonization.
~Divide the class into groups. Each group is to read a section and be prepared to discuss and share findings with the class.
Indigenous Peoples of Texas (p. 33-37)
Southeastern Peoples (p. 37-42)
Puebloan People (p. 42-46)
Western Gulf Peoples (p. 46-49)
Plains People (p. 49-54)
Texas American Indians Today (p. 55)
Students are to read assigned sections and use the Note Taking Study Guide to help them take notes and understand the text as they read.
~ Tell students that in this lesson they will compare the cultures of American Indians in Texas prior to European colonization.
Indigenous Peoples of Texas (p. 33-37)

No one knows exactly when the first humans arrived in North America. Some scientists believe that they came from Asia at least 14,000 years ago. Other scientists believe that it
was as long ago as 30,000 years or more. When these first Americans arrived, the Earth was nearing the end of its last ice age.
Southeastern Peoples (p. 37-42)

In the texts in this lesson, you will read about several American Indian culture groups who lived in Texas prior to European colonization. As you read, take notes to compare
different aspects of each groups’ culture. For example, you can compare how they adapted to their environment, whether they lived nomadically or farmed, and what foods they
ate. By making these c comparisons, you can begin to see the rich variety of cultures that existed in Texas during this time period.
Puebloan People (p. 42-46)

On the western and southwestern edges of Texas lived a group of tribes who, like the Caddoes and Atakapans, shared many cultural traits and were farmers. These peoples were
often distant trade partners with the Caddoes. In1525, Cabeza de Vaca and his men entered Jumano village. They were the first Europeans these Indians had ever seen. Instead of
coming out to greet t heir visitors, they stayed inside their homes. Then the Spaniards witnessed a strange sight. One Spaniard reported later that the Jumanos “were all seated
with their faces turned to the wall, their heads down, the hair brought before their eyes, and their property placed in a heap in the middle of the house.” No one knows why they
thought the Spaniards were gods. They were not gods, of course, but the Indians of this region would later have good reason to fear them.
Western Gulf Peoples (p. 46-49)

Along the southern part of the Texas Gulf Coast, and spreading as far to the west s modern day DelRio, lived a group of people call Coahuiltecans. The Spanish explorer, Alvar
Numez Cabeza de Vaca described the Coahuiltecan people in 1528: “These people see and hear better, and have keener senses than any other in the world. They are great I
hunger, thirst, and cold, as if they were made for the endurance of these more than other men.”
Plains People (p. 49-54)

The horse was central to the way of life of the American Indians who lived on the Great Plains. However, it was not until Europeans arrived in the Americas that the indigenous
peoples began using horses. Scientists and historians are not certain how American Indians first came to use horses, but they do know that horses were first brought by the
Spanish. One theory is that they stole horses to aid their escape from working for the Spanish in New Mexico. From there they headed onto the Great Plains, where horses were
very useful to them.
Texas American Indians Today (p. 55)

Although about 100,000 American Indians live in Texas today, most are from tribes that originally came from outside Texas. Warfare or disease mostly destroyed the original
indigenous peoples of Texas; others merged into the Spanish-speaking population. The American Indians of Texas who did not disappear eventually were forced by the United
States government to settle on reservations in Oklahoma.
~Guided Reading and Discussion Questions

See Small Group Purposeful Talk Question Stems from the previous page for this portion of the lesson.
~Analyzing Maps and Charts & Digital Activity

See Online Resources from the previous page for this portion of the lesson.
~Assign the Digital Lesson Quiz for this lesson (p. 55). Teachers can also opt to have students demonstrate mastery by responding to the following questions on paper:

Which types of artifacts did archaeologists likely discover to explain why early American Indians migrated to Texas?

How did the year A.D. 900 mark a turning point for American Indians in Texas?

Why is Cabeza de Vaca useful for learning about early Texas Indians?

The Coahuiltecans ate many things. They ate snakes, lizards, armadillos, worms, snails, spiders, and insects. When times were especially difficult, they even resorted to eating
rotten wood.” What does this quotation tell us about the Coahuiltecan people?

How were alliances helpful to the Texas Indians?