Texas History Links
Welcome to your study’s links page! We’ve compiled many great resources to help you learn. If you find any broken links, please let us know below.
Lesson 1
4-Minute Overview of Texas History
Lesson 2
The Seven Regions of Texas (Note: In this course, we’ll just be looking at the four broadest physical regions of Texas. In higher grades, students learn about seven distinct regions.)
Texas Almanac: Regions of Texas (Parents, this is an especially helpful page if you are teaching multiple grades and have advanced students studying seven physical regions rather than four.)
Lesson 3
The Regions of Texas: The Blackland Prairie
Building a Grass House (This video may be helpful in giving teachers an idea of how the original grass houses were built, a process we are copying in this lesson’s activity!)
Lesson 4
The Regions of Texas: The Trans Pecos
Big Bend – National Geographic (An excellent introduction to the amazing scenery and animals of the Big Bend area!)
Brief Video Overview of Big Bend
Visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park
History of Guadalupe Mountains NP (NOTE: Video includes reference to an evolutionary timeline.)
The Sky Islands of the Trans-Pecos
Lesson 5
The Regions of Texas: The Coastal Plains
The Regions of Texas: East Texas
The Regions of Texas: South Texas
Lesson 6
The Regions of Texas: The Hill Country
Map of Buffalo Herds 1 (Note: Scroll about a third of the way down the page to see the map tracking the loss of buffalo herds.)
Surprising Facts about Buffalo (Note: Around the 5-minute mark, the video shifts to discussing the role of buffalo in Native American religious belief and practice.)
TED-Ed: Why the US Government Was Obsessed with Bison (Note: Some content may be disturbing to sensitive viewers.)
How 60 Million Bison Became 1,000 in a Century
Diagram of Buffalo and Its Uses
Lesson 7
Native American Ways of Life before Colonization
The Regions of Texas: West Texas
The Regions of Texas: The Panhandle
History of the Comanche Tribe (This video will also give you a preview of what is to come in this course!)
Lesson 8
Seven Cities of Cíbola (Includes a helpful map that shows Coronado’s route through the American Southwest)
Lesson 9
Motivations for Spanish Settlement of Texas (This video will also give you a preview of what we’ll be learning in upcoming lessons!)
The Incredible Journey of Cabeza De Vaca
Scale-Up Resource: Montesinos Sermon
Lesson 10
Estevanico: The Enslaved Explorer
Lesson 12
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
Tour of San Antonio Missions National Park
Lesson 13
Mission San Jose Mini Block Kit
Lesson 14
History of Mexican Independence
The Rise and Fall of New Spain
Miguel Hidalgo and Mexican Independence (Advanced)
History Behind Mexican Independence Day
El Grito: How Mexico Celebrates Its Independence
Lesson 15
Lesson 16
Overview of Spanish Colonial Period
Colonization Application Activity For this activity, you’ll need to access or download the PDFs available under “Grade Level Student Worksheet” as well as “Colonization Applications.” The worksheet provides a handy list of the requirements for potential settlers, while the applications document contains six fictional applications for students to review.
Empresarios: Why Invite Foreign Colonists?
Empresarios: How Did Empresarios Attract Colonists?
Empresarios: Choosing Colonists
Gone to Texas: The Story of the Texas
Empresarios (1978 Film) (30 minutes)
Lesson 18
Lesson 19
Texas Monthly’s Tex-Mexplainer Series:
Enchiladas
History of Telegraph and Texas Register
First Edition of the Telegraph and Texas
Register
Lesson 20
Texas Revolution in 3 Minutes (Basic)
Texas Revolution (Advanced)
Washington-on-the-Brazos: Birthplace of Texas
History of the Texas Declaration of
Independence
George Childress and the Texas Declaration
Lesson 21
The Alamo and the Texas Revolution for Kids
Travis Letter: Victory or Death
Lesson 22
Lesson 23
Joe’s Account of the Battle of the Alamo
Interactive Virtual Presentation about Goliad (Advanced)
Lesson 24
Aerial View of San Jacinto Battleground
Lesson 25
Pledge of Allegiance to Texas Flag
The Texas Capitol (Narrated by Matthew McConaughey)
History and Photos of the Texas Capitol
Lesson 26
Lesson 27
Photos of Lindheimer’s Discoveries, Life in
Texas
Pressed Flowers Tutorial (Video)
Lesson 28
Friedrich Ernst and the First Texas Germans
German Texans: Land, Freedom, Community (Be sure to watch the video, “German Texans: Old World in a New Land”!)
Lesson 30
Lesson 31
Lesson 32
Lesson 33
Mexican-American War | Smarthistory (The interactive map shows how the United States’ territory expanded!)
Lesson 34
Buffalo Soldiers on the Frontier
Buffalo Soldiers | History at Home
Buffalo Soldiers | Bullock Museum
Lesson 36
Lesson 39
When the Seminole Indians Aligned with Escaped Slaves
Lesson 40
Bio of José Policarpo Rodríguez
José Policarpio “Polly” Rodriguez
Lesson 41
Juneteenth: Celebrating Freedom
Lesson 42
Texas Chili and the Chili Queens of San Antonio (We won’t be using this video’s recipe, but the host provides a great—and detailed—history in his commentary! You may wish to start around the 9-minute mark.)
The Chili Queens of San Antonio
Lesson 43
How Longhorn Cattle First Came to Texas
Official State of Texas Longhorn Herd
Lesson 44
Why Is Fort Worth Called Cowtown?
History of Fort Worth Stockyards
King Ranch: An Enduring Legacy
Lesson 45
Chuck Wagon Cooking on the Trail
Lesson 46
Lesson 47
Bob Lemmons: Herding with the Wind
The Life and Legacy of Bob Lemmons
Lesson 48
Git Along Little Dogies – Lyrics
John and Ruby Lomax Recording Trip
Recording of “Old Chisholm Trail”
Cowboy Songs, Ballads, and Cattle Calls from Texas
Lesson 49
Elisabet Ney Museum Digital Collection
Hidden from History: Elisabet Ney
Map of Texas Historical Markers
Lesson 51
Why The Texas Heroes Monument Matters
The Legend of Lafitte and His Treasure
Lesson 52
Lesson 53
How Storm Surges Work—and Why They’re So Deadly
Lesson 54
The Deadliest Storm in US History
A Look Back at the Great Storm
Lesson 55
Roughnecks in the Oil Fields | Bullock Museum
Oil Discoveries in Texas (Be sure to check out the handy map!)
Lesson 56
The Dust Bowl and the Great Depression
Performance of Texas, Our Texas (brief version)
Performance of Texas, Our Texas (full version)
Lesson 60
Lesson 62
Monarchs and Their Migration (Be sure to look at the map of their migration path—does this remind you of the story you read today?)
Lesson 63
The History Behind Fiesta Medals
DIY Fiesta Medal (Note: Parents may want to handle using the hot glue gun to attach the pin backs to the medal rounds. We recommend doing this after the medals have been decorated, to make it easier to decorate the medals!)
Celebrate Freedom Week
National Archives: Declaration of Independence
National Archives: Observing Constitution Day
National Archives: Constitution Workshop Activity
Library of Congress: Constitution Day Resources
Library of Congress: Constitution Day Activity
Why Wasn't the Bill of Rights Originally in the Constitution?