Texas History Tuesday: Missions

Is it really only Tuesday? Today was a tough day, but ended with a laugh. Check out my latest Facebook Post to see what had us all laughing. 

This week we started discussing Spanish Missions in Texas. We began by getting some background knowledge about missions in general and then some more specific information about the five Missions of San Antonio using this Spanish Missions of Texas Powerpoint. 

Students usually get really excited about this unit because many, if not most, have been to at least one of the missions. They are a little over an hour away from our school, so they are a very accessible day trip for our families. Before our budget belts go tightened, we used to take a field trip to see a mission, but now it is a little too far. 

We also have a pretty high population of Catholic students and they can relate to the architecture and artwork of the missions. It is truly amazing to hear about the background knowledge that my students bring to this unit. I always learn something new, which I love!

In order to organize the information that we are learning, we use this Missions of Texas Fold-Up. It has a place up top for the general information on missions, and then a tab for each of the five Missions of San Antonio. 

This is the first of two weeks that we will be studying missions. I am working on a technology integration freebie for my blog readers only for the next installment of Texas History Tuesday, so make sure to check back next week!