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Description
OVERVIEW
Students will review the strengths and weaknesses of available primary sources used to study early people of Texas. Students will examine a series of excerpts from a primary source account given by Cabeza de Vaca of various encounters he had with American Indians. Students will be able to summarize the accounts and identify and explain the significance of these accounts, including recognizing any bias that could be evident within them.
LESSON TIME
This lesson will take approximately 45 to 60 minutes. Exact times may vary based on the specific needs of individual classes.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
- How do we know what we know about the encounters between the Spanish and the American Indians during the Age of Contact?
Teacher Tools
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Lesson Plan, Teacher Guide, Primary Sources Used
Downloadable/editable versions of this lesson plan, including a step-by-step guide through the lesson. When applicable, a list of primary sources used in the lesson is also included.
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Slideshow
This ready-to-use classroom slideshow contains the warm-up exercise, the daily objective, the “We will / I will” statements, and the essential question for the lesson.
It guides the class through the assignment providing larger versions of images, visual representations of the directions, and supports for reading and answering questions including sentence stems for in-class responses. It concludes with the exit ticket.
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Primary Source Cards
(For Use with worksheets) Recommend printing either one set of primary source cards per student or one set per partner group. Excerpts need to be cut into individual cards before the lesson.
Student Activities
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Warm-up and Exit Ticket
In this printable warm-up / bell-ringer activity, students will read a scenario in which they hear classmates discussing a new student. They record their thoughts based on what they hear and evaluate whether they should believe the information or not.
This warm-up will reintroduce the concept of primary sources, points of view, and bias in preparation for the day’s lesson.
In this exit ticket, students will refer back to the scenario in the warm-up in which they heard second-hand information about a new student. They will consider and respond what they could do to get more accurate information about the new student, and what might be the result if they continue to only believe what they heard second-hand.
The Warm-up and Exit Ticket document includes two warm-ups on the front of the page and two exit tickets on the back of the page. This formatting reduces the number of copies needed, as teachers will cut each printed page in half. Each student will receive a half-page with the warm-up on the front and the exit ticket on the back.
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Grade Level Student Worksheet
In this printable worksheet assignment, students will read a brief passage introducing the story of Cabeza de Vaca to put the primary source excerpts into context. They will then match 4 primary source excerpt cards from de Vaca’s writings to 4 modern-day translation cards. Students fill out a chart summarizing the main idea of each excerpt, then answer comprehension questions about the excerpts.
Grade Level includes a combination of short, constructed response and multiple-choice comprehension questions.
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Foundation Student Worksheet
Foundations Level requires less writing, offering multiple choice options to summarize each excerpt, and contains multiple choice comprehension questions with one answer choice eliminated.
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Advanced Student Worksheet
Advanced Level also includes examining each excerpt for bias, recording their findings and explaining them. Comprehension questions require short, constructed responses.
Sources
Previews and links to sources referenced in this lesson.
Portrait of Cabeza de Vaca. Wikimedia Commons.
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Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar, active 16th century & Bandelier, Adolph Francis Alphonse, 1840-1914. The Journey of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and His Companions From Florida to the Pacific, 1528-1536
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