Social Studies 7th Grade Lesson

OVERVIEW: A study of Native American cultures can sometimes be difficult for

students to grasp due to the differences between the historical realities of Native
American cultures and the realities of students daily lives. In order to bridge this
understanding gap it is essential to make connections between the two realities.
This lesson aims to bridge that understanding gap by connecting the lives of the
Native American inhabitants of Texas prior to the revolution with the students’ lives
through an examination of the tribes’ differences and how they are connected to
their geographic location in Texas.

PUPOSE: The purpose of this unit is to comparing the cultures of the Native
American tribes of pre-revolutionary Texas as well as identifying ways in which
Texans have adapted to and modified their environment and the consequences of
these modifications.

OBJECTIVES: As a result of completing this lesson, students will demonstrate the

following skills and understandings:

• Identify the different Native American cultures that existed in Texas prior to
the revolution.
• Compare the differences between these Native American cultures.
• Understand the effects of the interactions between humans and the
environment in Texas during the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Identify ways in which Texans have modified and adapted to their
environment, and the consequences of these actions.

LESSON: Divide students into four groups to represent the four major groupings of
Native Americans in Texas prior to the revolution (the Coastal Plains, Puebloan,
Plains Tribes and Southeastern). One the groups have been assigned and
identified, distribute blank maps of Texas and a sheet identifying the different
attributes of each group.

Have the students read over their fact sheet and then have them attempt to draw
out on their map where their culture is located based on the information provided
(e.g. housing type, major food source, etc.). After the students have identified
where they believe they are located take time to discuss and note how the
geography of the areas affected how the cultures existed. Make sure to draw
connections about how the different tribes adapted how they lived to their
environment.
Continue the discussion by bringing in the arrival of European settlers. How did this
effect the Native American cultures already resident in Texas? How did the
European settlers modify the environment? How did they adapt? Have the
students compare and contrast the differences between the two cultures in how
they related to the environment of Texas.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS: Four blank maps of Texas. Fact sheets/packets on the

different groupings of Native American cultures.

TYING IT ALL IN: Close lesson by discussing, briefly if time permits, how we adapt to
and modify the environment of Texas today. Use this to draw connections between
the activities of the Native American and European settler cultures to our modern
culture. By tying the lesson into the modern era a better connection can be made
with the students to this distant, and possibly somewhat alien, subject matter.
Make sure to reinforce the role the environment plays in cultural development even
to this day and the consequences that human activity has on the environment.

TAKS:
7.2 History. The student understands how
individuals, events, and issues prior to the
Texas Revolution shaped the history of
Texas. The student is expected to:
7.2A compare the cultures of Native Americans
in Texas prior to European colonization;

7.10 Geography. The student understands

the effects of the interaction between
humans and the environment in Texas
during the 19th and 20th centuries. The
student is expected to:
7.10A identify ways in which Texans have
adapted to and modified the environment and
analyze the consequences of the modifications;