Browse Exhibits (19 total)
Agriculture
The purpose of this lesson conducted was to teach students the importance of agriculture and teach students the history of John Shary, geography and climate in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas citrus, and how agriculture shapes the Rio Grande Valley. The Rio Grande Valley is one of the richest farming areas of Texas and remains an agricultural gem with diverse, year-round production. The inspiration to create these lessons came from the agriculture the Rio Grande Valley provides. By educating our children on agriculture, we are able to tell the history on the Rio Grande Valley as it will set the foundation for settlements. With Texas being an agricultural state, the majority of our people are actively engaged in the profession of agriculture.
Butterflies
The purpose of the weeks worth of butterflies and migration lessons is to inform students about the world that is around them, from as close as their backyard, to their school campus, even to a location that is just driving distance away from them. As the students go throughout the week they will come to know and hopefully, appreciate, the very insects that fly among us so casually. The students will not only learn about butterflies and their characteristics, but they will also learn about migration. Students will learn that it’s not only people who migrate, but it is also, birds, butterflies, and other types of animals too. These lessons will help students appreciate the life of not only themselves but of other beings we share this earth with too.
Birding
The resolution for this lesson is for the students to understand the economic impacts of the Rio Grande Valley. To gain the interest of the students, in this lesson the teacher will be using the topic of birds and the things that concern them to help the students develop knowledge on economics. The students will also be able to see how migration impacts the growth of Texas both in a positive and negative way. Because limited resources have a significant impact on the economic development of Texas, the students will also have an opportunity to see how those such resources have an impact in their hometown. Students will be able to see what it is like to go into a store and manage the money they have been given to buy the products they wish to have. Overall, the students will be pleasantly learning about economics and the impacts that come along with it.
South Padre Island
The purpose of this lesson is to help students identify common recreational activities of their local communities in the past and the present. They will first learn about the history of the South Padre Island and the first community established there with Priest Padre Jose Nicolas Balli with resources from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley University Library. Using the same resources, South Padre Island newspapers, students will read about recreational activities people took part in in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Students will then research about recreational activities that exist today in the South Padre Island to be aware of all the places that their community has to offer. By learning about this students will be familiar with what has shaped and keeps shaping the daily lives of people in the ways they have fun.
Battle of Palo Alto
The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the Battle of Palo Alto which happened in the Rio Grande Valley. The Battle of Palo Alto was the first battle of the Mexican-American War. Palo Alto recalls the scenes described by soldiers in dozen of letters and diaries entries. By the students understanding the history of Palo Alto, they will gain the outlook of their local history.
Citrus Industry
In this lesson we will be learning the Citrus Farming in the Rio Grande Valley and how it developed into the industry we have today. We will discuss in which communities citrus tree grow in and their characteristics, who John Shary was and how he utilized natural resources to grow his industry, and the effects the different weather patterns such as snow, floods, and extreme heat has on citrus farming in the community.
Peonage
The purpose of this lesson is to teach students about the evolution of the working system in the United States, and most importantly, in the Rio Grande Valley. Seven lesson plans were created in where the students will be learning about Peonage in the Rio Grande Valley. The first two days are based on Slavery, thus students make new connections to the new topic being taught. That way the student can have their previous knowledge activated going in to the next days, which are day three and four, in where the term Peonage will be introduced. Then the students will go into day five in where they will compare the characteristics of slavery and peonage. On day six and day seven the students will express their point of view on the topics through a series of activities. One of the activities will be to visit The Museum of South Texas History, and the last activity will be to create a proclamation about how the student would change the laws regarding the peonage system.
Karankawa Indians
The goal of this lesson plan is to give background information on the Karankawa tribe. These background information ranges from knowing where their territory is located, their dietary supplements, their weapons and tools, and their language and culture. To begin the week, students will be creating a foldable where they continually add information onto it throughout the week. This foldable will introduce to the students how the Karankawa’s tribe was founded, how they were physically built, and more. Next, The Karankawa’s physical traits will be described in detail to help students visualize how the Karankawas looked. The following lesson will involve students learning how the Karankawas utilized different types of tools and weapons. After, students will learn about different dietary supplements that were present in the lives of the Karankawas. Then, students will be educated on types of shelter that the Karankawa’s resided in. In addition, students will be given a wide variety of information on the Karankawa’s culture. To the end of entire lesson, students will be informed on where the Karankawas are today, and what caused their current circumstances.
Hurricane Beulah / Huracán Beulah
The Rio Grande Valley is an area of high risk since many hurricanes form in the Gulf of Mexico; most states along the coast can be impacted by the rain and heavy winds of the storm. Emergency groups notify people in the news and other media forms on how to get prepared in case of a natural disaster. In 1967 Beulah was a category 5 with winds of 160 mph, meteorologists were following its path, and the news started advising people to take the necessary precautions and which were the areas that had to be evacuated. It is very important that people know when they must evacuate, and what to have if they are staying in their homes. It is important that we educate on the history of how other hurricanes have impacted the Valley past and present, what the damages were and how the community was able to recover from this. Students will be able to apply the knowledge gained from this lesson to be prepared for hurricane season. Students will have an understanding of how these natural disasters affect us.
Mercedes Livestock Show & Rodeo
During these five lessons, the students learned a small portion of what the Rio Grande Valleys culture consists of through the Mercedes Livestock Show and Rodeo.
In the first lesson we informed the students about the jobs that are in our community as well as in the livestock show. We must educate our students of the importance of those people and the jobs they do. On Tuesday, the students were able to see what it was like to be a cowboy for a day. They learned new vocabulary words referring to cowboys and their clothing. On Wednesday it went more in dept on the marking/brandings of the cattle. We opened our lesson by talking about the Rio Grande Valleys history and telling the students that back in the day ranchers used these markings to distinguish which cattle belonged to Texas and what cattle belonged to Mexico. On Thursday we wanted to have a designated day for the activities that are in the Livestock Show and Rodeo. The Livestock Show and Rodeo includes a carnival, plenty of food such as turkey legs, barbecue, funnel cake and has a petting area for kids to touch the animals. Lastly, on Friday we decided it was going to be a review and assess day for the students. We wanted the students to review everything from the previous days by using the game jeopardy which is very fun to play for students and it involves team work in action.
Citizenship in the Republic of Texas
These three lesson plans are designed for fourth-grade students and they focus on the Pledge to the Texas Flag, Texas Independence Day, and Juneteenth. The overall purpose of these lessons is to help students become aware that Texas was once its own country until it agreed to join the United States of America in 1845.
An additional goal is for students to understand the significance of the oldest known celebration of when the enslaved were freed, Juneteenth. These concepts are incorporated because it is important for students to know the history of the state they live in. Throughout the lessons, students will be able to have fun with various engaging activities along with assessments to prove their understanding. By the end of these lessons, students will be able to explain the meaning of the Pledge to the Texas Flag and the significance of Texas Independence Day, as well as Juneteenth.
Local Celebrations
For this lesson students will learn about the holidays, seasons, national holidays in the U.S., and the weather. Students will be able to identify what holidays we celebrate during what season, including national holidays. The students will learn about the weather of each season and what type of clothing is appropriate for that season, or according to the weather. Students will use prior knowledge on their favorite holidays and what traditions they do with their family to celebrate that holiday. They will also learn what traditions their community has for celebrating certain holidays, and specific celebrations that take place in the Rio Grande Valley. A series of projects, group work, and a book will be used throughout the different days of the lesson. At the end of the week, teacher will check for understanding with a formative assessment. Each lesson is adaptable to ELL students and learners with special needs.
Harlon Block
The purpose of this lesson is to help students make connections between what is being taught in school and their community. The student should be able to learn history that had shaped their community. For the city of Weslaco, TX. Harlon Block was a hero. Thus, the city has a Sports Complex named after him. The city museum has a small exposition about Harlon Block life and accomplishments. The Marine Military Academy from Harlingen TX, has the monument of “raising the flag in Iwo Jima Battle” this is to commemorate all of those who serve during World War II, this war was one of the deadliest wars and it claimed the lives of many soldiers who were part of our community. The Academy also has an annual parade in remembrance to the Iwo Jima Battle and Harlon Block, this is a public event.
It is important for the student to be able to make a relationship between school and community. Unfortunately, new generations do not know much about who Harlon Block was, and this is the main reason we thought of using him as an example of local people being contributors to our nation. We considered for this lesson the use of Paulo Freire Pedagogical Framework theory. He based his theory on curiosity and our lessons considered our students to use their creativity to do the activities and assignments. As well as using innovation and collaborative assignments that will help them fight for social justice and become good citizens (Lewis, 2012, p 29).
Melon Strike of 1966
In 1966 for about 90 days hundreds of men, women and children from Starr County began a strike that change workers’ rights in Texas. This march began from our side of the world (RGV) to the state capitol (Austin, TX) where over 15,000 people, including Cesar Chavez, voiced their opinions.
The strike for fair wages began the summer of 1966, when The National Farm Workers Association in Texas called attention to harsh working conditions and low pay. The strike began against the Starr County melon growers who were paying workers between 40 - 85 cents an hour. The strikers demanded a minimum wage of $1.25, workers shut down every packing shed in the county in the middle of the melon harvest season. The melon strike sparked the Chicano movement in Texas which led to Texas civil rights movement.
NOTE: The students have provided a description of the United Farm Worker's Melon Strike of 1966. However, the primary sources provided relate to the Texas Farm Worker's Melon Strike of 1976.
Fiesta San Antonio
The objectives of this lesson are to have the student be able to identify customs, celebrations, and traditions of Fiesta San Antonio. The student will also be able to use detail and imagination throughout their writing. Some essential questions throughout this lesson are, How does Fiesta San Antonio illuminate tradition? Also, How does this Fiesta incorporate the history of San Antonio?
There are two subjects that are integrated throughout the five day lesson plan. The first subject that is integrated is Social Studies. This is integrated by having the students learn about the history of Fiesta San Antonio. The second subject that is integrated is English Language Arts and Reading. This is integrated by having the students complete writing prompts throughout the five day lesson plans. The purpose of this unit is to create a better understanding of the history and origin behind the Fiesta San Antonio and its evolution.
This lesson correlates to UTRGV B-3 institute because the celebration we are focusing on relates to our deep South Texas biculturalism and traditions, which the students will be exploring. The pedagogy that supports our lesson is Place-Based Education and the lesson is centered around the constructivist theory that supports the students learning through a combination of hands-on activities, social interaction, and critical thinking situations.
The Grape Strike
The purpose of this lesson is to help students recognize the working conditions of farm workers in Delano, California in the 1960s. On September 8, 1965, Filipino farm workers organized as the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC). They decided to strike against grape growers due to low pay and horrible working conditions. They were demanding pay of $1.40 an hour plus 25 cents per box of grapes picked.AWOC leaders asked the NFWA if they can lead another strike with Latino farm workers. The NFWA (National Farm Workers Association) was led by Cesar Chavez and this was the first major collaboration between Filipino and Mexican workers (Franky Abbott, 2016).
Pharr Riots of 1971
By teacher implemented strategies such as, direct instruction, inquiry and small groups, students will acquire knowledge on the riots that occured in Pharr, Texas in 1971. Teacher will engage students with essential questions, an article, and open discussion. Students will then conduct structured research that describes and defines the Pharr Riot. They will compare their discoveries to research of discrimination all over the United States. Students will then demonstrate their understanding through formative assessment, summative assessment and a comprehensive project. Teacher is prompted to teach this lesson during the week celebrating Martin Luther King Jr., as discrimination and racism play a big role. Students can then make a connection between their community and the history being taught (place-based education).
Edcouch-Elsa Walkouts of 1968
On November 14, 1968 in Edcouch-Elsa, about 150 to 200 Mexican and Mexican-American Edcouch-Elsa high-school students walked out of their high-school at 10 a.m. to boycott the high school, teachers, administration, and the Edcouch-Elsa school board officials. The reason for the walkout was due to the principal and school board staff not hearing and implementing the list of demands and recommendations the Mexican and Mexican-American students had the day before. Another reason the students walked out and boycotted their school was due to the segregation, racism, discrimination, and the unfair treatment they endured every day from their teachers, counselors, and school administration.
For three days, following the walkout, these students protested for better education, end segregation, racism and discrimination against them, and to receive better treatment from the teachers, counselors, and school administration. After the walkout and protest ended, there were many students who were expelled or suspended that had participated in the walkout and protest. This walkout was the first walkout/protest to ever happen in South Texas. (Deiner, 2008) & (Martinez, 2017)
Charro Days
The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the experiences of Charro Days since its creation in the Rio Grande Valley. The first Charro Days celebration took place in the border of Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Tamaulipas in the year of 1938. As of 2019, it has reached its 83rd celebration. By students understanding the history of the Charro Days celebration, they will gain a better perspective on the ties between Mexican American culture.