Classic Housewife

Homeschooling in Texas, School at Home, Texas History

Ultimate Homeschool Guide to Texas History

August 9, 2012

The Ultimate Homeschool Guide to Texas HistoryTexas History is a HUGE subject. Tackling Texas History is almost as big a task as tackling American History! To make it a little bit easier, Texas history can be divided into three basic time periods:

  • exploration and development
  • revolution and development of the Republic
  • becoming a state and beyond.

Not surprisingly, searching for Texas History resources on the internet is also a huge task. Digging through them can be daunting! (Did you know that searching for resources on Stephen F. Austin can be a bit tricky, since there are so many search results for the city of Austin, the Stephen F. Austin university and other Stephen F. Austin cemeteries, park and whatnot? Oy!)

A panoramic view of bluebonnets in a field between Bastrop and Giddings, Texas.

 

I’ve scoured the internet, dug through the unrelated resources and the broken links, and come up with a huge, no, ULTIMATE list of links to help homeschoolers study Texas History at home. To help you dig through the information a little easier, I’ve decided it into three main categories:

Dogtrot log cabin at Witte, San Antonio, TX IMG 3131
Dogtrot log cabin at Witte, San Antonio
You can go straight to one of the following sections:

 

 

 

 

General Texas History Information

I haven’t provided *every* source I found with Texas History information, but I have tried to include a large variety of sources for comparison and research. Some of these are very similar, some of them provide additional information.

Screenshot: TexasHistory.com

General History Information

Obtain an overview of Texas History from early explorers to modern day:

Famous People from Texas History

Stephen f austin
Stephen F. Austin
Here you’ll find lists and lists of key figures from Texas history. Many of these overlap, but each list has a different focus so most of the lists also contain additional historical figures.

Additionally, you can find even more information about the following key figures. Many books, movies and websites have been dedicated to these famous men.

Trying to decide who to include here is like trying to decide what kind of fudge to buy in a fudge shop – I want them all! Did I leave out someone that you think should have made the cut? Tell me who.

Davy Crockett by John Gadsby Chapman
Davy Crockett by John Gadsby Chapman

Stephen F. Austin

Jim Bowie

Davy Crockett

Sam Houston

Sam Houston at San Jacinto
Sam Houston at San Jacinto

Anson Jones

Anson Jones

Mirabeau B. Lamar

Z.N. Morrell

Jose Antonio Nevarro

Thomas J. Rusk

Juan Seguin

William B. Travis

Lorenzo de Zavala

Important Events & Places in Texas History

There are MANY significant events in Texas history, many battles fought along the path to freedom and then annexation with the United States. Many significant events have occurred since then, too. I could have chosen to include more current events, such as the assassination of John Kennedy. However, for this section I chose to focus on events significant to the story of becoming an independent country and then a state in the nation.

1854 Alamo

Battle at the Alamo

Battle of Concepcion

Battle of Fort Velasco

Gonzales cannon 2005

 

Battle of Gonzales

Battle of Salado Creek

Goliad MassacreIntroduccion Constitucion de 1824

Mexican-American War

The Constitution of 1824

Texas Facts & Symbols

Bluebonnets in the state of Texas.

There are many symbols and icons that Texans hold dear to their hearts – everything from armadillos to cowboy hats, bluebonnets to Mockingbirds. Do you know the state tree, food or insect? Here you’ll find interesting state symbols but also trivia, facts and maps.

The Natives of Texas

Screenshot from Texas Beyond History

Yes, when the explorers arrived, this land was not empty! There were many Indian tribes living in this large area we now call our home state. Indian arrowheads can still be found in some areas. Find out which Indian tribes lived in your part of Texas.

Interesting Native Indians from Texas’ past:

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Existing curriculum and unit studies for Texas History

 

There are actually several existing Texas History options already — though I wasn’t able to find as much curriculum as I thought I would. I’ve included them and also unit study type resources, as well as DIY unit studies from some homeschool bloggers.

Screen Shot from Discover Texas website.

Texas History Curriculum

Texas History & State of Texas Unit Studies

Texas Materials from Currclick.com

Mission Concepcion, San Antonio

Texas History Studies Compiled by Other Bloggers

One room schoolhouse, Deaf Smith County Historical Museum, Hereford, TX

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How to craft your own DIY Texas Homeschool Curriculum

Creating your own Texas History can seem daunting — okay it can BE daunting!! But it really isn’t as difficult as it seems. You just need a plan of action.

Here are two articles about how to craft your own unit study to give you a helping hand.

I’ve already given you TONS and TONS of history information so far in this post. You don’t have to include it all.. in fact, I wouldn’t! Start small, next time you repeat Texas History, dig deeper. And so on, and so forth.

Here’s an additional list of resources that you can add to the history information above and come up with a Texas History unit study all your own.

Books about Texas and Texas History

Screenshot from Hendrick Long Publishing Company

Hendrick-Long Publishing Company – a publishing company dealing only with books about Texas, categorized by age group and fiction, non-fiction.

Younger

Middle

Older

Movies About Texas and Texas History

Other Websites, Printables, Etc.

Screenshot: The Portal to Texas History
Texas capitol day
The Texas State Capitol

Field Trips

One of the neatest things about the digital age is the ability to take virtual field trips! From our laptop we can view the world around us. There are several virtual field trip sites available for Texas.

Screenshot: National Park Service

If you’re local enough to visit some historical landmarks in person, that’s even better! One of my favorite “Texas History” places to visit is the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. It’s 3 stories of Texas history!

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What a list! This list can be updated periodically. Please email me with additions, corrections, broken links, etc. Thanks!

You can find this and a whole slew of other “Ultimate Guide” posts at iHomeschool Network. Art? Science? Geography? How about cooking, parenting or marriage? There’s a little bit of everything!

 

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Rebecca
Rebecca
August 9, 2012 5:31 am

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this and would love to link it into my Ultimate Guide of Early US History…..let me know if you are ok with that….and I will be sharing and pinning this with my readers. Texas plays a huge part in our country and everyone should be aware of their history!

Reply
Amber
Amber
August 9, 2012 8:50 am
Reply to  Rebecca

Go for it! I just added my “Pinnable Image” to the top. =)

Reply
Ticia
Ticia
August 9, 2012 8:03 am

I love how you’ve broken it down!

Reply
Amber
Amber
August 10, 2012 12:56 pm
Reply to  Ticia

Thank you, Ticia!

Reply
Katie
Katie
August 9, 2012 8:49 am

Woohoo!! Go Amber!! What an awesome resource!! I’ve got to pin this for later!

Reply
Amber
Amber
August 10, 2012 12:56 pm
Reply to  Katie

Your enthusiasm makes me smile, Katie! =)

Reply
Colleen P
Colleen P
August 9, 2012 11:38 am

My kids are fascinated by Texas so these are sure to be helpful links. Thanks for a very well organized resource!

Reply
Amber
Amber
August 10, 2012 12:57 pm
Reply to  Colleen P

Yay! I’m glad this is helpful. Have fun!

Reply
Judy @ Contented at Home
Judy @ Contented at Home
August 9, 2012 10:18 pm

You’ve compiled such a huge amount of information here, Amber–very comprehensive post!

Reply
Amber
Amber
August 10, 2012 12:57 pm
Reply to  Judy @ Contented at Home

Thank you, Judy! (And yet, I still left so much out!)

Reply
Felicia
Felicia
August 10, 2012 11:40 am

Wow – its a lot of info! Thanks for all your work compiling this.

Reply
Amber
Amber
August 10, 2012 12:58 pm
Reply to  Felicia

It’s A LOT, isn’t it?! I’m glad I did it. I didn’t know how much there was to it when I began, and I learned a lot!

Reply
Carol S.
Carol S.
August 21, 2012 9:04 pm

I don’t live in Texas, but we’ll be studying all 50 states this year (and American history) in our homeschool and I’ll be sure to check out all these wonderful topics and links. I saw a very funny bumper sticker when traveling out west one time which said: “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!” I’m looking forward to learning about the great state of Texas this year.

Reply
Jennifer M.
Jennifer M.
September 15, 2012 9:11 am

Finding this makes me so happy! I was not looking forward to researching all of this myself so I am very grateful that you did. What a blessing to have so much helpful information in one place. Thank you so much!

Reply
Amber
Amber
September 16, 2012 7:35 am
Reply to  Jennifer M.

I’m so glad to help!

Reply
trackback
Ten Free History Resources A Classic Housewife in a Modern World
October 3, 2012 11:24 am

[…] I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my Ultimate Guide to Texas History, which does have links to paid resources but also has lots and LOTS of links to free Texas History […]

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January 10, 2013 10:41 am

[…] out the Ultimate Guide to Texas History over at Classic […]

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Sandy Knarr
Sandy Knarr
July 11, 2013 7:38 pm

I just wanted to applaud you! Our family just moved to Tx.I want to spend some time getting to know our new state this year and had NO idea where to even look for info. I started searching… and searching… and searching! THANK YOU for helping us get to know our new home!

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kristen
kristen
December 12, 2013 10:22 am

Thank you so much for taking the extra time to share all of these Texas finds into one place! We are going to study Texas history next semester and I was starting to research. Now I won’t have to do nearly as much. Thank you! Kristen

We will be going to some of the special reenactments of Texas history. They are fun and make the history come alive. You can find the link to all 2014 dates here
http://Www.texasarmy.org

Reply
Laura
Laura
September 23, 2014 12:22 pm

THANK YOU!!!! I’ve been researching TX history to start in the spring and you have such a wonderful resource here. Thank you for all your work and time into creating it.

Reply
Lynn
Lynn
October 15, 2014 10:33 am

I love what you’ve done here, and thanks so much for the hat tip to Discover Texas. Since you first posted, we’ve totally updated our program and website. If you have a moment, I’d love it if you could update the Discover Texas address and image at http://www.discovertexasonline.com. I know your site is a huge benefit to Texas homeschoolers. Thanks!

Reply
Cynthia
Cynthia
October 17, 2014 12:07 pm

Thank you so much! What a blessing to a first year homeschool mom!

Reply
Kimberly
Kimberly
May 29, 2015 7:05 pm

You simply must include the Star of the Republic Museum in Washington on the Brazos State Park. It’s fantastic. Very nondescript…almost ugly from the outside, but really great exhibits on the inside. It’s the only museum in TX dedicated to the history of Texas before it became a state.
My 4 kids loved it, and the oldest 2 even tried out a scavenger hunt the curator gave them.

Reply
Sara
Sara
June 23, 2015 10:15 pm

Wow! Thank you thank you thank you! We just moved to Texas and are behind on Texas history so this is perfection!

Reply
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September 8, 2016 11:52 am

[…] Texas History Unit, fall semester – I really want to do a Texas history unit with the kids because it’s been a while. Catie will do this with us, and she’ll do government next year. […]

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Lisa
Lisa
June 16, 2017 2:34 pm

Great resource! But the link godandtexas to order The Texas God Created doesn’t have anything to do with books. Where can I order them?
Thank you & Blessings!
Lisa

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Amber
Author
Amber
June 20, 2017 4:29 pm
Reply to  Lisa

Hi, Lisa,

Thanks for pointing that out! I have googled and searched and I can’t find it anywhere. I have no idea what happened to it.. =(

Reply
Lynn Dean
Lynn Dean
June 22, 2017 2:17 pm
Reply to  Lisa

The Texas God Created was written by Dana Buckley, who was a member of a group called Texian Christian Writers. In order to give themselves more time to write, I believe, they turned the printing over a few years ago to the Johnson Printing Service, who still publishes several of their titles. Currently you can order this book (and several others) at http://www.orders.jpsgraphics.com/godandtexas.asp.

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Amber
Author
Amber
June 30, 2017 12:04 pm
Reply to  Lynn Dean

Thank you, Lynn! I wasn’t certain if that was the right one or not. =)

Reply
trackback
Texas Homeschooling: Field Trips in Texas - Classic Housewife
August 9, 2017 8:22 am

[…] know I’ve only scratched the surface here. I do have a longer list in my (Ultimate Homeschool Guide to Texas History.) Here, I wanted to include a variety of opportunities all across the state. Speaking of […]

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August 10, 2017 10:08 am

[…] to be taught in a classroom or co-op group. I’ve already compiled a ginormous resource for teaching Texas History for you. But it really is ginormous, there’s a lot to dig through, and a ton of options. I […]

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Sara
Sara
August 14, 2019 12:33 pm

cur click.com looks like its closed.

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Holly
Holly
June 5, 2020 10:30 am

Thank you for all the info! I’m going back and forth between The Texas God Created and Discover Texas online. Anyone here have a recommendation between those 2??

Reply
Darcy
Darcy
January 7, 2021 9:17 pm

Great resources I’ve never seen before! I hope you might include freefuntexashistory.wordpress.com, which I created for my son and shared for other young homeschoolers wanting to study Texas history.

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