Alexis Shulski

Culture of Texas Lesson

Third Grade
Lesson Preparation
I. Learning Objectives
A. Students will be able to identify aspects of Texas culture such as food, music, art,
language, and current events
B. Students will be able to make a comparison between Texas culture and their own
culture
C. Students will be able to make an inference about how Texas’ geography
influences its culture
II. Standards
A. Standard - 7.3.3.A: Identify the human characteristics of places and regions using
the following criteria: Culture
III. Academic Language
A. Culture: the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular
nation, people, or other social group
B. Current event: Important events that are currently happening in the world
C. Exhibit: A collection of objects on display in a museum
IV. Technology, Materials, Resources
A. One copy of Miguel’s letter for each student
B. One blank packet for each student
C. Packet with guided questions and sentence starters for any students that need it
D. Samples of Texas music and speakers to play it on
E. Printed pictures of Texas food, musicians, and art
F. Printed picture of the first issue of the Daily News
G. Two news articles printed from Dogonews.com which are titled: “Massive Clock
Buried Inside a Texas Mountain Will Keep Ticking for 10,000 Years!” (2018)
and “Hurricane Harvey Slams into Southern Texas” (2017)
Instructional Delivery
V. Anticipatory Set
A. “I got a very special letter for us in the mail today! The letter says that it came all
the way from Texas, but I have no idea who sent it! Should we read it together?”
B. Pass out copies of the note and have students take turns reading it aloud.
C. The letter should say “Hello third grade class! I heard that you’re learning about
the culture of Texas in school today, and I wanted to send you a letter because I
live in Texas! I’m in third grade, too. I love my home, do you love your home,
too? There’s so many amazing things about Texas. I love the food, the music, the
different languages I hear, and the art! What are your favorite things about your
home? How is your home different from mine, and how is it the same? Please
 write back, I’d love to hear what you learned about my culture and to learn about
your culture, too! Sincerely, Miguel.”
D. “Wow, Miguel must love living in Texas! He said his favorite things about it are
the food, music, languages, and art. Before we write back to him ,we should learn
a little more about those things so we can tell him what we learned! I’ve set up a
museum around the classroom all about Texas culture! There’s five different
exhibits. The exhibits are about food, music, language, art, and current events of
Texas. Everyone is going to get a packet to bring with you through the museum so
that you can create create a different page for each exhibit. You can write notes or
draw pictures about all the different aspects of culture you learn about! On the last
page, we’re all going to write a letter back to Miguel so we can tell him what we
learned, and teach him something about our own culture too!”
VI. Instructional Activities
A. The classroom should be set up as a museum. Around the room there are five
different “exhibits.” The exhibits are labeled food, music, language, art, and
current events of Texas.
B. Students all receive a blank packet to write in while walking around the museum.
C. Have students write or draw on one page for each exhibit.
D. Give students about 30 minutes to walk around
E. Food exhibit: Includes pictures along with some background information. This
information includes: Blue Bell Ice Cream was founded in Texas in 1907. The
first Whataburger opened up in Texas in 1950. Queso first appeared in Texas
restaurants in 1910. Dr. Pepper was invented in Texas in 1885. Sweet Tea was
created in Texas in 1897. Pecan Pie was invented in Texas in the 1870’s.
F. Music exhibit: Include pictures of musicians and even have music playing aloud
in this exhibit for the whole class to listen to while walking around. Information
in this exhibit includes: Willie Nelson was born in Texas in 1933. Beyonce was
born in Texas in 1981. Selena was born in Texas in 1971. Buddy Holly was born
in Texas in 1936. George Strait was born in Texas in 1952.
G. Language exhibit: Include information on the languages spoken in Texas, along
with a primary source, the Galveston Daily News which was published April 11,
1842. “Texas has the second highest amount of Spanish speaking families of all
fifty states. Second place out of fifty is pretty high! In Texas, most people do
speak English, but at least 29% of the population speaks Spanish. The Daily News
is a newspaper in Texas that was first published in 1842. Take a look at the first
ever paper that they published and see if you notice any other languages
included!”
H. Art exhibit: “Julian Onderdonk was born in Texas in 1882” Include three samples
of his art along with their titles. “Porfirio Salinas was born in Texas in 1910”
 Include three samples of his art along with their titles. “Dorothy Hood was born in
Texas in 1919.” Include three samples of her art along with their titles.
I. Current event exhibit: Include news articles along with images printed from
Dogonews.com. The articles are titled: “Massive Clock Burried Inside a Texas
Mountain Will Keep Ticking for 10,000 Years!” (2018) and “Hurricane Harvey
Slams into Southern Texas” (2017)
VII. Closure
A. After each question, give students time to talk to the people around them before
you call on someone to answer it.
B. “I hope everyone enjoyed the museum and learned a lot! Can anyone share what
they wrote or drew in their packet about the foods of Texas?”
C. “Who would like to share what they wrote or drew about the music?”
D. “Who has a favorite song that they heard playing?”
E. “What did you write or draw about the languages of Texas?”
F. “Did anyone write about the first newspaper published in Texas?”
G. “Who would like to share their favorite painting and which artist created it?”
H. “What was something that you learned from the current event exhibit?”
I. “What was your favorite exhibit and why?”
J. “Is there anything about Texas culture that you learned today that reminds you of
your own culture where you live?”
K. “After learning about both the culture and the geography of Texas, is there any
part of their culture that you think may be influenced by its geography?”
L. “What are you going to say to Miguel in your letter?”
Meeting All Learners
VIII. Differentiation
A. Allow students to work together while exploring the museum
B. Allow students to revisit exhibits if needed
IX. Accommodations
A. The teacher will provide students with a packet that will guide them through the
museum instead of a blank one. It will have appropriate sentence starters,
including:
1. “Foods that were created in Texas are”
2. “Some music that was created in Texas is”
3. “Some artists that were born in Texas are”
4. “Languages that they speak in Texas are”
5. “Some current events in Texas are”
6. “My favorite exhibit of the museum was”
7. “My favorite part of my own culture is”
8. “One thing that Texas culture has in common with my own culture is”
X. Modifications
 A. Students will be able to identify aspects of Texas culture such as food, music, art,
language, and current events when working with others
B. Students will be able to make a comparison between Texas culture and their own
culture when working with others
C. Students will be able to make an inference about how Texas’ geography
influences its culture when working with others
Meeting Objectives
XI. Assessments
A. Students will write a letter to Miguel telling him about the museum. They should
include what their favorite exhibit was and why, their favorite thing about their
own culture, and one thing that their cultures have in common. Also encourage
students to include any questions that they may still have about Texas so Miguel
can “write back.”
B. Teacher collects the entire packet
C. This will be graded with a checklist that includes:
1. Student created a page for Texas food
2. Student created a page for Texas music
3. Student created a page for Texas language
4. Student created a page for Texas art
5. Student created a page for Texas current events
6. Student wrote about at least one aspect of Texas culture in their letter
7. Student included one aspect of their own culture in their letter
8. Student made a comparison between Texas culture and their own culture
in their letter
Appendix