Young Texas Reader

Rose Trevino Dies

2010-05-11T08:40:00.001-05:00

By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 5/3/2010 2:00:00 PM

Debra begins her memorial with "Rose Zertuche-Treviño, a librarian who devoted her career to helping improve the lives of children, died on April 30 in Houston, TX. She was 58.

Treviño spent her last seven years as the youth services coordinator for the Houston Public Library, a system that serves one of the biggest Spanish-speaking populations in the country. She retired in October 2009 and moved back to San Antonio, where she was born and raised.

Rose Zertuche-Treviño

"How fitting that Rose died on April 30th, El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/ Book Day)," says her friend and colleague Oralia Garza de Cortes, a Latino children's literature consultant. "She loved her work and devoted her life to making sure all children had access to great literature and particularly to programs where children could enjoy and connect to the literature." Read more at
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6727935.html?industryid=47074

YTR notes that in his time at the Houston Public Library Rose was indeed unfailingly kind and helpful. What more could be celebrated.

Carmen Tafolla Receives Awards

2010-05-04T17:01:00.001-05:00

News from UT San Antonio:

By Kris Rodriguez , UTSA Public Affairs Specialist

(April 19, 2010)--Carmen Tafolla, visiting assistant professor in the UTSA Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies Mexican-American Studies' program, was awarded the 2010 Charlotte Zolotow Award for Outstanding Writing in a Picture Book and the Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award.

The Zolotow award from the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is given annually for outstanding writing in a picture book for children in the birth through age seven range, published in the United States in the preceding year. Established in 1998, the award honors the work of Charlotte Zolotow, a distinguished children's book editor for 38 years with Harper Junior Books, and author of more than 70 picture books. The Cooperative Children's Book Center is a noncirculating library for adults with a professional, career or academic interest in children's and young adult literature.

The Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award, established at Texas State University in 1995, encourages authors, illustrators and publishers to produce books that authentically reflect the lives of Mexican-American children and young adults in the United States." Read more about it:

http://www.utsa.edu/today/2010/04/tafolla.html

TEKS Watch

2010-05-04T11:47:00.001-05:00

Inquiring minds may wish to follow UTEP's

"The state of Texas is currently revising its K-12 social studies Texas curriculum. The process begins with the standards--known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)--and will then move on to textbooks, testing, and educator certification.

TEKSWatch exists to educate citizens--in Texas and the nation--and encourage them to participate in the conversation."

http://organizations.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=64604

Texas Wildflowers by Slight Clutter

2010-05-04T11:19:00.001-05:00

Texas Wildflowers by slight clutter

Creative Commons, some rights reserved

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slightclutter/7221242/

Slight Clutter's original caption: "Took off on a hunt for wildflowers yesterday. My search took me to Brenham, Texas. This photo was taken alongside the road near an overpass.

I have to add that I suffered greatly for my "art," leaving Brenham with at least four dreadfully painful fire ant bites. Oh, but don't worry, they got there's in the end -- I promise you. mwahaahaahaahaa! "

General and Monaville, Texas - Joe Bax

2010-05-04T10:57:00.001-05:00

JOE BAX, rancher, lawyer, author

A few months ago I was browsing a B&N bookstore and saw an interesting book. It was short so I picked it up and began reading its 168 pages. Finished it before I left the store. Reconstruction period Texas with the old man and his family patching things together until racial strife emerges. The story reveals a portion of Texas not often revealed - many in Texas besides the previous slaves really didn't like the degradation of the institution and the lingering virulence. The story is tight and moves well. It's good for the young reader as well as adults. Get a copy.

http://www.emeraldbookcompany.com/authors/bax/

Other reviews:

http://texas-history-page.blogspot.com/2009/10/review-of-general-and-monaville-texas.html

http://irenewatson.typepad.com/readerviews/2009/08/the-general-and-monaville-texas.html

http://detweilermom.blogspot.com/2010/04/general-and-monaville-texas-by-joa-g.html

Hard Winter - Johnny Boggs

2010-05-04T09:56:00.001-05:00

The Western Writers of America 2010 Spur Awards include for their the Best Western Juvenile Fiction winner, Hard Winter by Johnny D. Boggs, setting begins in Texas in 1920 and ends in Montana, an oldster recalls the 1886-1887 winter with a youngster. Publishers Weekly: "With hardly a shot fired, Spur Award-winner Boggs delivers one of his best westerns. ... Boggs has produced a tender and suspenseful western that doesn't need to rely on gun smoke."

http://www.johnnydboggs.com/

Historic School Buildings

2010-04-06T16:37:00.001-05:00

An ALERT from the Texas Historical Commission:

National Trust for Historic Preservation Seeks Applications for Pilot Grant Program for Historic School Buildings

Do you know of a historic school in need of preservation funding? The National Trust for Historic Preservation, in partnership with the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation, is currently seeking applications for a new pilot grant program that will fund the stabilization or rehabilitation of historic school buildings by providing funding for construction expenses. Once construction is complete, these buildings must be open to the public for use by the community.

Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, government agencies, and school districts/school boards are eligible to apply. Religious organizations are not eligible for funding. The maximum grant amount will be $50,000.

Grant application must be postmarked by April 30, 2010. To read the complete guidelines and eligibility requirements, and to download an application form, visit the National Trust's web site, and scroll down to
the section titled "Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation Preservation Fund."

PLEASE DIRECT ALL INQUIRIES TO:

Southwest Field Office / National Trust for Historic Preservation
500 Main Street, Suite 1030 / Fort Worth, Texas 76102 / Phone: 817-332-4398 / Fax: 817-332-4512

Summer Book 2010

2010-03-19T11:57:00.001-05:00

Sarah Gish has done it again - her Summer Book 2010, that is. And if you're wondering what the fourth largest city in the USA offers its kids, Sarah's got the best and brightest.

She describes the volume thusly: "THE SUMMER BOOK® is an annual comprehensive guide to Houston day camps and classes for kids 4 years old and up and teens. The guide is published annually in MARCH by Gish Creative and includes information on over 200 organizations offering camps and classes for children in the summertime. The camps are divided by "arts", "educational", "religious", "special needs" and "sports". It also includes information on which camps are free or offer scholarships, which are full day or for teens, as well as a week-by-week chart by date and a chart detailing amenities of each camp. To help parents "map out" each child's summer, there is a camp calendar for organizing weekly schedules. Please note that since every camp experience is unique, we made a decision to not rate the camps and to instead concentrate on information needed by parents."

And having it in hand I can only say, every locale should be so blessed with the organization and practical detail Gish puts into the book. Plus I'm a pushover for the neon colored pages. You can get the spiral-bound volume from Gish Creative for $12.95, a list of retailers is on the webpage.

Sarah is also an artist who sometimes works and imagines in "circles." I think she should identify the "Circles of Houston" iconography and make a book out it; maybe adult, maybe children, leave it up to her.

http://www.thesummerbook.com/

Houston Metropolitan Research Center Reopens April 5

2010-03-15T17:39:00.001-05:00

The Houston Public Library offers this news release.

"(Houston, March 15, 2010) - The Houston Public Library is pleased to announce that the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) will reopen to the public on Monday, April 5, 2010. Customers will be able to access HMRC resources Monday through Saturday, 9am to 6pm. Resources available include the collections and archives at the Texas and Local History Room. JIB is located at 400 McKinney, 77002, with the entrance of the new wing located through the garden on the Lamar and Smith sides of the building.

The design of the new 21,500 square-foot state-of-the-art archival wing harmonizes with the Spanish Plateresque architecture, with its matching masonry, a clay tile parapet, arched windows, and sculptural decoration. The construction includes an extremely energy-efficient and weather-resistant exterior envelope to protect the archival collection.

HMRC closed to public access at the end of 2009 while it moved its collections to the recently-completed new wing of the Julia Ideson Building (JIB). The collections are now in the new wing which includes a spacious research/reference room on the first floor and three floors of high-density shelving for the valuable holdings of the HMRC. The wing is complemented by a new south loggia and adjacent palm-shaded public garden, also called the outdoor reading room. The two-story loggia, like the wing, was a part of the original plan for the 1926 building but never constructed. It provides open-air seating on both levels and a gracious transition from the first floor of the original building to the outdoor reading room.

Currently, the new wing is the only portion of JIB open to the public while the renovation on the rest of the building is completed. The building is now undergoing hazardous materials abatement and selective demolition of non-historic elements to prepare for new mechanical and electrical infrastructure, new elevators, and restoration of the historical interior materials. The renovation will take about a year, after which the Houston Public Library will spend several months moving the architectural archives and photo lab into the restored building and preparing to reopen in early Summer 2011."

Falling in a Circle - a Collaborative Texas Novella

2010-03-05T11:36:00.001-06:00

Mike Kearby is a skilled Texas author with a record of writing good books for the YA market. He also coordinates The Collaborative Novel project involving Texas high school students from ten schools. The project eventually produces a novel year year. This year they offer a free e-book version of the work to any junior high, middle school, or high school librarian who requests one.

The student writers also visually designed the book as well as contributed the plot and writing. Real-life issues come into focus. "This year's project speaks of students with disabilities. One of this year's writer, Marcus Parks, is disabled and he wrote the afterword for the book."

If your junior, middle school, or high school library would like to receive a complimentary copy of the 50 page book, Falling in a Circle, e-mail Mike at - kearb@hughes.net and he will e-mail a PDF. version back to you. The file size is 278 kb

Kearby summarizes the volume as "A collaborative effort by ten Texas high schools, Falling in a Circle explores the cruelty often passed along to those among us with physical disabilities. The novella provides its audience with a fascinating glimpse into one character's emotional pain, and internal conflict. Will Kat learn from her past and cope with her future? Or will she continue Falling in a Circle?"

The back cover blurb for the book is below:

"Kat Morelli, a student at Cedar Lake High School , gains attention from her peers by making fun of other students …especially those who are handicapped or disabled. Before her senior year, Kat receives a devastating diagnosis from her doctor. She has bone cancer. The cancer is so widespread that doctors must to remove part of her lower leg, leaving Kat to endure the same cruel jokes she once delivered thoughtlessly on her classmates."

This is not the same 2006 Noah's Ride: A Collaborative Novel, by Phyllis Allen, Judy Alter, Mike Blackman, Mike Cochran, Jeff Guinn, Mary Dittoe Kelly, Elmer Kelton, James Ward Lee, James Reasoner and Mary Rogers.

See Mike at http://www.mikekearby.com

Tejas Star Book Award

2010-02-28T09:16:00.001-06:00

Region One Education Service Center recently inaugurated a new category of recognition of children's books - BILINGUAL. Check their website to see the current titles nominated for the next round. Its self-description: "The Tejas Star Book Award was created by the Region One ESC Library Advisory Committee to promote reading in general and for readers to discover the cognitive and economic benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism. All the children of Texas will have the opportunity to select their favorite book from the Tejas Star list during the month of February 2010."

The volumes have not been reviewed for their having Texana content, but some are likely to apply. The Tejas Star Book Award Committee selected the following books for the 2009-2010 Tejas Star Book Award.

Alire Sáenz, Benjamin. (2008). A Perfect Season for Dreaming/Un tiempo perfecto para soñar. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos. Esau Andrade Valencia (illus.). Lluis Humberto Crosthwaite (trans.). ISBN: 978-1-933693-01-9. Gr. 1-5.

Anaya, Rudolfo. (2007). The First Tortilla: A Bilingual Story. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. Amy Córdova (illus.). Enrique R. Lamadrid (trans.) ISBN: 978-0-8263-4214-0. Gr. 3+.

Brown, Monica. (2007). My Name is Gabito/Me llamo Gabito. Flagstaff, AZ: Luna Rising. Raúl Colón (illus.). ISBN: 978-0-87358-908-6. Gr. K-3.

Costales, Amy. (2007). Abuelita Full of Life/Abuelita llena de vida. Flagstaff, AZ: Luna Rising. Martha Avilés (illus.) ISBN: 978-0-87358-914-7. Gr. K-2.

Garza, Xavier. (2008). Charro Claus and the Tejas Kid. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos. ISBN: 978-1-933693-24-8. Gr. 2-5.

Gonzalez Bertrand, Diane. (2007). We Are Cousins/Somos primos. Houston: Piñata Books. Christina E. Rodriguez (illus.). ISBN: 978-1-55885-486-4. Gr. K-3.

González, Lucía. (2007). The Storyteller's Candle/La velita de los cuentos. San Francisco: Children's Book Press. Lulu Delacre (illus.). ISBN: 978-0-89239-222-3. Gr. 3-6.

Read more about the program, criteria, and voting process at: http://www.esc1.net/12931098115329437/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=54607&12931098115329437Nav=|864|&NodeID=864

Reading in Fort Worth

2010-02-23T21:46:00.000-06:00

Can a Statue be a Role Model? by YelmelNoBrainer

Some rights reserved Creative Commons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yelmelnobrainer/42065170/

Littlest Dancer

2010-02-23T21:36:00.001-06:00

Littlest Dancer by cybertoad

Some rights reserved Creative Commons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cybertoad/269796073/
(At the Dallas State Fair)

Miniature Texas Capitol Building

2010-02-23T21:27:00.001-06:00

Miniature Texas Capitol Building

(at Austin Children's Museum)

by abbamouse Some rights reserved Creative Commons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbamouse/4021463982/

Derby Girl - Shauna Cross

2010-02-17T19:37:00.001-06:00

Ambrosia Salad reviews Derby Girl (the movie's Juno) by Shauna Cross. For YA and adult. An extract from the review reads:

Bliss' "only friend is the beautiful Pash Amini who moved into town and shares the same indie rock spirit as Bliss. They spend most of their free time slaving away at the "Oink Joint," a gross barbecue restaurant that all the local hicks frequent. The only thing that gets them through the hell of small town Texas life is each other. That, and imagining finding the perfect rocker boyfriends whilest getting the hell out of Bodeen.// But everything seems to change when Bliss picks up a flier for Roller Derby while shopping in downtown Austin with her mother and sister one day."

Texas Roots of Spanish Educators

2010-02-12T11:20:00.001-06:00

In Armando Rendón's "Somos en escrito" a posting The roots of Texas education planted in Colonial Spanish days by Brownsville native Dr. Lino García, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Spanish Literature at University of Texas-Pan Ameican, provides a lengthy revival to and extension to Max Berger's earlier work "Education in Texas during the Spanish/Mexican Periods" in the July 1947 Southwestern Historical Quarterly. The commentary covers the Indian mission efforts, local schooling, government decrees, supportive land grants, etc. The primary focus is San Antonio but other locales are included. Read more at

http://somosenescrito.blogspot.com/2010/02/roots-of-texas-education-planted-in.html

another version from last September is at

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/articles/heritage-102606-hispanic-month.html

Angela 1 - David Bedford

2010-02-02T14:49:00.001-06:00

Angela 1: Starting Over. A novel by David A. Bedford. NY: Eloquent Books, 2009. hardback with pictorial front. 188 pages ISBN 978-1-60860-755-6 $25.95 http://www.eloquentbooks.com

Yes, Angela's got a zit. Add to that the impending divorce, the move from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, the difficult last name, and to top it off her mother enrolls her in the honors courses. And now the Kitty Kat girls are out to get her. But Angela has a couple of good friends in Fiona and Benjie, who frankly admits he likes her curls. She performs well in classes and enjoys Mr. Romero's history classes even if some of the adults think him subversive – gee, he even respects, encourages, and explains the lessons to his students.

Before the dance contest, the Kitty Kats get that jerk Leroy to "attack" her for which Angela flips him and sends him the hospital for which the principal suspends her of all things. Her mother pulls a Corleone and gets her right back in. And the story goes on from there.

In the short 16 chapters, author David Bedford relates in a fasting moving narrative proving life's troubles can be overcome and one can even come to enjoy Corpus as a new home by the sea.

The volume may be most readable by YA honors students in high school or even middle school. Good work, Bedford!

Heart of Texas Writing Project

2010-01-15T11:23:00.001-06:00

Self-described as "

(UT Org)- The Heart of Texas Writing Project- UT Austin

What is The Heart of Texas Writing Project?

The Heart of Texas Writing Project is a site of the National Writing Project promoted by the United States Government to respond to the literacy education needs of the country. This project seeks to improve the teaching and learning of reading, writing and 21^st century literacy skills by providing in-service professional development to schools and districts, hosting one day workshops for teachers throughout the school year, hosting an intensive four week summer institute, sponsoring child and teen summer writing camps, and maintaining a dedicated group of literacy professionals in the community. Teachers also meet in different study groups around the Austin area to discuss student work and books they have read. The workshops and summer institute have two main focuses: firstly, to learn how to better teach reading and writing and secondly, to work on your own reading and writing. The Heart of Texas Writing Project mainly works with Austin Independent School District (AISD), Round Rock ISD, Taylor ISD, Leander ISD, Lake Travis ISD, and Del Valle ISD.

Ultimate Goal

The mission of The Heart of Texas Writing Project is to improve the teaching and student experience in the areas of literacy, reading and writing in the greater Austin area. The Heart of Texas Writing Project also believes that teachers learn best from other teachers and utilize this belief in facilitating all of their professional development pieces. "

Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Conservancy Video and Calendar

2010-01-07T13:34:00.001-06:00

The Cattlemen'sTexas Longhorn Conservancy, headquartered over in Gonzales, a place where Spanish cattle have roamed for a couple of centuries or better, is pretty serious about their self-assigned task:

"Founded in 2005 as a not-for-profit corporation and bestowed the tax exempt status of a 501(c)3 public charity, the mission of the Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Conservancy is to engage in scientific and historical research, education and other charitable purposes associated with Texas Longhorn cattle.

Imported to the Western Hemisphere more than five hundred years ago by the earliest Spanish explorers, the Texas Longhorn played a significant role in the history of the Americas and became recognized as North America's original bovine. Nearly cross-bred into extinction following the great Western trail drives, the Texas Longhorn was acknowledged as a national treasure by the U.S. Congress, which in 1927 established a protected herd on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

The Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Conservancy recognizes the value of this national treasure in its original phenotype (appearance) and genotype (genetics) and is intended to provide ongoing resources toward research and education pertaining to this naturally evolved, historic breed."

The calendar hangs on the wall with its pre-punched hole. When opened it's 11 x 17. squarely. Of course, each month has a special color photograph of and quotation about the breed - and by that the CTLC means the unique breed that emerged from the early Spanish stock and formed the basis of millions of cattle first run up the great cattle trails after the Civil War. They weed out the cross-breeds. Only $15.

The downloadable educational video is about 15 minutes long and is professionally done. History, modern challenges, and efforts by themselves and others are spotlighted. It's available online or in a disk form. The website describes it as: "This 15-minute educational video was designed for use in public schools as introduction into Texas History, Social Studies and Science curricula as well as for use in Museums, Historic Sites, Libraries, State Parks and other public learning centers. A Longhorn Educational DVD will be mailed to anyone making a donation to the Conservancy or joining as a member."

Enrique Guerra, current president and one of the CTLC founders, Maudeen Marks, part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Fayette Yates, longtime rancher, and others are interviewed and they speak well for those who wish to raise, perpetuate, and care for our official state large mammal, the true TEXAS LONGHORN.

God and Texas

2010-01-07T08:48:00.001-06:00

The Texian Christian Writers organization has a collection of books demonstrating their self-description: "We, the Texian Christian Writers, do covenant with our Lord Jesus Christ and one another to become Christorians -- dedicated to remembering, researching, recording, and restoring the God of History to the people of Texas and the world.

We have many members who qualify as professionals and many who are interested in serving God in ministry to children through the history of Texas. If you are interested in joining our group, here is what we ask:
1 You are a practicing Christian who holds Jesus as Lord of your life. 2 You have an interest in the Christian history of Texas.
We have 2 conferences each year and at these conferences you may join our group. Also, you may join by sharing your interest with our group via email." The TCW has several biographies for the 7th grade market, coloring books on early Texians and a volume entitled *The Texas God Created*. See more at http://www.godandtexas.org/

... y no se lo trago la tierra - Tomás Rivera

2010-01-01T22:33:00.001-06:00

2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Tomás Rivera's, "... y no se lo trago la tierra / ... And the Earth Did Not Devour Him" receipt of the Quinto Sol Literary Prize in 1970. La Bloga's Jesse Tijerina offers a retrorspective entitled "Un tragito para Tomas" on this now classic identity search of a young Tejano. Tijerina's review begins: "Prior to Tomas Rivera's groundbreaking novel, searching for a literary work with the ability to portray the life of migrant farmworkers with such precision and haunting reality would have been time and energy hard spent. While the experience's of Rivera's characters survive between 1945 and 1955, their stories of heartbreak and joy along the migrant stream differ only in decade as familiar situations and circumstances continue to cultivate in the fields of fruits and vegetables toiled by today's migrant farworker."

Do continue reading the commmentary at

http://labloga.blogspot.com/2009/12/un-tragito-para-tomas.html

House Slave Next Door

2010-01-01T22:08:00.001-06:00

The Houston City Hall Examiner comments in an articleew entitled "Houston's controversial true news story on slavery is out in a book" on the volume House Slave Next Door about child trafficking and slavery in the Houston and Sugarland areas, particularly the case of Celestina Ifeacho.

One of the review's paragraph's clearly understates the volume's contents

"This book is not a biography, but simply, a compilation of investigations and story pieces published in the International Guardian on a controversial alleged child-trafficking victim who eventually ended up in immigration jail somewhere in the North side of town, awaiting deportation amidst sloppy bureaucracy over official classification of her status as a victim of slavery."

New Deal for Texas Parks - interactive exhibit from TPWD

2009-12-24T10:25:00.001-06:00

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has developed an interactive exhibit on the New Deal for Texas Parks:

It's self-description begins:

"Welcome to a New Deal for Texas Parks - an online exhibit and education center for teachers and students of Texas history, made possible in part through the generous support of Humanities Texas' Linden Heck Howell Texas History Grant. Humanities Texas is a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Flip through the pages of the scrapbook to explore how individuals, communities and landscapes in Texas were impacted by the New Deal Era. Discover how the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed many of the state parks we enjoy today. Explore a variety of primary source documents such as photographs, oral histories, letters and music that help tell this American story through the eyes of Texas." Read more at

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/historic_sites/ccc/new_deal_texas_main/

Open the Table of Contents or select a theme. Click on a page's corner and turn the page. The "My Keepsake" pdf on the left of each section's first page offers a type of lesson plan.

Pecos Bill goes international via radio broadcast

2009-12-21T10:13:00.001-06:00

An international revival of Pecos Bill is accorded by its inclusion in the Voice of America's Special English series. The story is at the posting and an audio version is as well. The comments on the posting come from all over the globe demonstrating the story's continued universal appeal of Edward O'Rielly's 1920's popularization of Bill and Slue-Foot Sue.
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2009-11-28-voa3.cfm

See a summary of a 7-volume series at http://www.americanfolklore.net/pecosbill.html

Last Night I San to the Monster - Saenz

2009-12-21T09:51:00.001-06:00

The School Library Journal has made its selections for best books of 2009, and a Texas publisher's title in included.

"SÁENZ, Benjamin Alire. Last Night I Sang to the Monster. Cinco Puntos. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-933693-58-3.
Gr 9 Up–Eighteen-year-old alcoholic Zach doesn't know how he got to rehab, but with the steadfast support of his therapist and his fatherly roommate, he gradually allows horrific memories to emerge. This is a wrenching and inspiring portrayal of loss, love, and the process of recovery."

http://www.cincopuntos.com/

See the whole list at http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6708210.html

Evolution of Calpurnia Tate - Kelly

2009-12-21T09:45:00.001-06:00

The School Library Journal has selected its best books of 2009 and a piece of Texana is among the best. SLJ briefly cites the title

"KELLY, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Holt.Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-8050-8841-0.
Gr 5-8–During the long, hot Texas summer and fall of 1899, a girl with six brothers and a disdain for the domestic arts hones her observational skills with the help of her unconventional naturalist granddaddy and a copy of Mr. Charles Darwin's Origin of Species."

Hypocricsy of Education (in Texas) - Kearby

2009-12-21T07:56:00.001-06:00

Texas author for young readers offers his opinion on Texas education testing

http://www.aussieschoolpals.com/education/the-hypocrisy-of-education-reform-in-texas/

Ron Stone Academy for the Teaching of Texas History

2009-12-18T18:55:00.001-06:00

University of Houston New Release

Texas History Academy links late Ron Stone, UHFoundation Gift Launches New Resource for Texas History Teachers

It begins: "June 3, 2009 - Houston - The rugged history of the Lone Star State is revealed in landmarks, cities and tales. Now, a new resource at the University of Houston Center for Public History helps Texas teachers harness that rich history for the classroom.

The University of Houston Center for Public History has announced a $75,000 gift from the Ron Stone Foundation to begin the Ron Stone Academy for the Teaching of Texas History. The gift will be matched by a $75, 000 contribution by the university."

For more information about The Ron Stone Foundation, visit http://ronstonefoundation.org/.

General Land Office - Teachers Guide

2009-12-01T09:15:00.001-06:00

Teachers Guide:

Three Centuries on the Land: The Archives of the Texas General Land Office (The Story of Texas is told through the history of its public lands).

Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................3
History of the
Texas General Land Office.............................................4
Categories
of Land Grants in Texas................................................10
Mineral Files..................................................................15
Digital Preservation Project............................................16
The Campaign to Save Texas History…………………17
Appendix A
Commissioners of the General Land Office....................18
Appendix B
Sources for Further Reading..........................................19

This 20-page document is available online at

http://www.glo.state.tx.us/archives/additionpubs.html

Connect 2 Texas web site

2009-11-28T13:44:00.001-06:00

Self-described as "

Welcome to the
Connect2Texas web site!
The purpose of this site is to promote programs offered by interactive videoconferencing providers in the State of Texas. Click here to see the list of providers

TEACHERS: Not sure what to expect with a content program? Click here to see a sample program from Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, or click here for a brief overview of Connect2Texas (these files will play in Windows MediaPlayer).

An interesting development worth checking out .
http://www.connect2texas.net/

The following providers have programs listed on this site
Amon Carter Museum Bass Performance Hall Botanical Research Institute of Texas Cook Children's Medical Center Education Service Center Region XI Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge McDonald Observatory	Monnig Meteorite Gallery at TCU National Archives Fort Worth National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame Sid Richardson Museum Texas Wildlife Association The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum The Grace Museum UNT Health Science Center

Houston Chronicle's Today in Texas History

2009-11-28T13:30:00.001-06:00

The Houston Chronicle blog Texas on the Potomac for last several months has been rather steady in adding 2, 3, or 4 entries a week to their Today in Texas History postings. Enough to keep regular tabs on, good reading. I've added it to my Yahoo homepage. You may want to try it.

http://blogs.chron.com/txpotomac/

Quarter Horse - Official Texas State Horse

2009-11-28T12:58:00.001-06:00

Logan Head, a youngster in Bonham, led the posse that established the Quarter Horse (Steel Dust and all that) as the official Texas state horse. Logan's effort has been noted elsewhere, but here's the anticipatory news as reported in New Zealand. Good going Logan!

http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2009/08/126.shtml

The American Quarter Horse Association is headdquartered in Amarillo, of course. Logan is a Youth member.

http://www.aqha.com/

http://www.aqha.com/news/2009PressReleases/08182009_texashorse.html

While eating a supper of the official state dish CHILI, seasoned by the official state peppers JALAPENO and CHILTIPEN official state vegetable SWEET ONION and the official state small mammal the ARMADILLO and the official large mammal the LONGHORN, prepared in the official state cooking implement the DUTCH OVEN, cowboys and cowgirls, dressed in their offiicial fabric COTTON shirts and blouses, can tether their quarterhorses to the offical state vehicle the CHUCKWAGON which is always among a field of the state flower the BLUEBONNETS and the official grass GAMMA and the official state plant the PRICKLEY PEAR CACTUS and the official native shrub the PURPLE SAGE. If the chili is quite ready, sing the official song TEXAS OUR TEXAS and snack on the official snacks TORTILLA CHIPS and SALSA. Along with the chili, you'll want the official state bread PAN DE CAMPO. Afterwards enjoy some official state dessert STEUDEL and SOPAIPILLA and the official health nut the PECAN. Relax under the official tree the PECAN, listen to the offiicial bird the MOCKINGBIRD and the official musical instrument the GUITAR supply music for the official folk dance the SQUARE DANCE, and watch your official dog the BLUE LACY snap at the official insect the MONARCH BUTTERLY, root around the gamma for the official reptile the HORNED TOAD and gaze in puzzle at the official flying mammal the MEXICAN FREE-TAILED BAT. Non-dancers can chat about the official sport the RODEO, their last sighting of the official fish the GUADALUPE BASS, whether a saddle blanket can be made from the official tartan the BLUEBONNET TARTAN and whether one prefers our current state artist, historian, or poet laureate.

Tejanos in Texas History

2009-11-28T11:12:00.000-06:00

http://tejanapundit.blog-city.com/hispanic_heroes_you_wont_always_read_or_hear_about.htm

Teachers may wish to consult the Tejana Pundit regarding profiles in Tejano history.

The Pundit also has a good list of Tejano blogs and self-describes her blog as "

"It's all about finding strength from within. It's about learning from the past, persevering in the present and having the ganas, or desire, to flourish in the future. I'm an American, but I'm also Indigenous, Mexican, French and German and that's a wonderful thing. One can't be anything if one doesnt know who they are. For centuries people have been trying to break through barriers and I've gone and continue to go through them as if they dont exist."

Texas Tribune - new newspaper

2009-11-12T20:49:00.001-06:00

The Texas Tribune is described by the Texas Community College Teachers Association:

The TCCTA description begins: "A new approach to Texas journalism is getting cranked up, and you may want to have a look. It's the Texas Tribune, calling itself a "non-profit, nonpartisan public media organization," with promises to "promote civic engagement and discourse on public policy, politics, government, and other matters of statewide concern."

So far it looks like the effort will devote considerable energy to legislative and education issues."

Or go to the new Texas Tribune, headed by the former head of Texas Monthly, Evan Smith

http://www.texastribune.org/

Check its parts

Front Page

Topics

Library

Polling

Parks & Wildlife - Keep Texas Wild - for Educators

2009-11-12T20:29:00.000-06:00

The invitation from TP&W reads: "Dear Educators,

We are excited to present to you "Keep Texas Wild" – a magazine section for kids.

Our kid-friendly, four-page sections include fun facts presented with a lively writing style, eye-popping photos and a creative, whimsical design. The topics are Texas- specific, with special attention to conservation issues.

"Keep Texas Wild" includes hands-on activities that cross the spectrum of curriculum (including art, math, science and social studies) and a call to action that encourages students to get outdoors and get involved."

Special issues of the KTW periodical is accompanied by teacher lesson plans.

http://www.tpwmagazine.com/ktw/

The November issue:

November 2009 – Volume 2 Issue #3 (PDF): Bird Lips!?

Teacher Lesson Plan

Half Broke Horses - Walls

2009-11-12T16:59:00.001-06:00

'Half Broke Horses: A True Lfie Novel,' By Jeannette Walls
Book Review by Juanita Sherwood
The review begins:
""Half Broke Horses" is listed as a true-life novel. That designation is used because the book is based on experiences of the author's grandmother, which are true, but to tie them altogether, the author has added dialogue and information that she cannot substantiate. Thus, she has designated it as a novel.
Lily Casey Smith is the main character. She was raised in two locations: west Texas and New Mexico. Her father was a rancher; the ranch she first lived on was very isolated."

Semicolon Remembers the Alamo

2009-11-12T12:12:00.001-06:00

A recent (10/13/09) Semicolon's "Texas Tuesday' focused on several young readers' volumes and the Alamo.

http://www.semicolonblog.com/?p=7448

Youth Writing - Sweazy

2009-11-11T15:22:00.001-06:00

Larry D. Sweazy writes "Youth Writing: Corralling Young Readers: in the October issue of the Western Writers Association's Roundup, an online journal.

Read it at http://www.westernwriters.org/OCT2009RU.pdf

This issue also has article on the recently passed Texan, Elmer Kelton, the "Greatest Western Writer."

H.G. Bissinger Inteview

2009-11-09T11:30:00.001-06:00

Friday Night Lights author H.G. Bissinger is interviewed, partially about last year's banning of FNL in Beaumont schools, in the annual report of the Texas ACLU review of Texas schools' recently banned books. McCarthy's The Road and Sandra Cisneros' Woman Hollering Creek are on the lists.

Page 8 reports "Where were the Most Challenges?

Stephenville, Houston and Irving school districts reported the most challenges for the 2008-2009 school year. Stephenville ISD led the charge this year with 11

challenges, all of which resulted in bans. Houston ISD and Irving ISD tied for the second most this year with six challenges each. This marks quite the improvement

for HISD, as the district reported 20 challenges last year. Unfortunately, only one of HISD's six challenges resulted in the book being retained without restriction.

While Irving ISD experienced just as many challenges, five of the six books challenged were retained without restriction: a sole book was restricted to the reference library. Tying for third was Seguin ISD and Klein ISD, each with four challenges."

National Banned Books Week September 26 – October 3, 2009

Luke and the Van Zandt County War - Alter

2009-11-09T10:56:00.001-06:00

Luke and the Van Zandt County War by Judith MacBain Alter tells a story from a 14-year-old girl's eyes and her brother's, both children of a doctor. She sees the Ku Klux Klan in East Texas. There are objections.
Reviewed at
http://www.semicolonblog.com/?p=7553

Jack Rabbit Moon - Darden

2009-11-09T10:48:00.001-06:00

Jack Rabbit Moon by Dorraine Darden is reviewed at

http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-jack-rabbit-moon-by/

11-year-old Marnie lives in SW Texas, and life is, well, just not perfect.

Juan Seguin lesson plans - Harris

2009-11-08T17:10:00.000-06:00

Charlie Harris, formerly of Brooklyn and now of El Paso, has prepared a several page long background and lesson plan on Juan Seguin, the prominent Tejano whose life wrapped around the 1830's and beyond. His family had been a pillar of Bexar for some time before. Try the plan, available via UTEP's Center for History Teaching and Learning, at http://academics.utep.edu/Portals/1719/Publications/Seguin.pdf

Why Study History?

2009-11-06T13:04:00.001-06:00

The American Historical Association's website has a useful essay on "Why Study History?" by Peter N. Stearns. Teachers and parents may wish to read the brief article to help their children find their value and identity within the historical stream. Among the reasons is that history "harbors beauty."

http://www.historians.org/pubs/Free/WhyStudyHistory.htm

Young Adult Texana from Austin Public Library

2009-11-06T01:09:00.001-06:00

The Austin Public Library has a nice variety of lists for their teenage readers. One of those lists features Texas authors which also includes titles about Texas.

http://www.connectedyouth.org/books/index.cfm?booklist=texas

TEKS Texas History at TEA

2009-10-30T11:26:00.001-05:00

From the Texas Administrative Code, read and learn

4th grade

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter113/ch113a.html#113.6

7th grade

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter113/ch113b.html#113.23

Bullock Texas State History Museum Teaching Aids

2009-10-30T11:13:00.001-05:00

Educators may visit the Bullock Museum for assistance.

http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/education/educators.html

K - 12th Grade Teachers
Please click here for educator guides, and multimedia resources as well as information on distance learning, professional development, and how to plan your next field trip.

Home School Teachers
Please click here for educator guides and multimedia resources, as well as information on upcoming events for home school groups.

Adult ESL Educators
Please click here for information about the Museum's new adult ESL program.

Star Educator E-newsletter
Click here to subscribe to the Star Educator E-Newsletter.

LC American Memory Collections

2009-10-24T10:33:00.001-05:00

American Memories is a section of webpage by the Library of Congress.

Searching for "Texas" one finds 250 pages of items, each page with 15 items, and 250 is the maximum number of pages retrievable. So Texas likely has far in excess of 5,000 items. Can so be useful for schools.

What items? Photographs, maps, sheet music, architecture, books, laws, just all sorts of things - graphically depicted !!!

The items are mostly from the LC, but other institutions contribute, e.g., UT-Austin.

In all probability your town has material there, maybe dozens, maybe hundreds.

Topics are broad. American Memories has bluebonnets, armadillos, longhorns, etc.

Go see !! http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

You can search by place - lotsa hits for Dallas, Galveston, Houston, and of course my hometown of Marshall, and my places of education Jacksonville, Nacogodoches, Kingsville, and Austin. You can browse by time period..

You can also browse by topic

Texas History (with Primary Sources 1997) Marrou

2009-10-23T10:36:00.001-05:00

ERIC at http://www.eric.ed.gov/ notes this decade old introduction (ERIC 428996). Somebody should find it interesting to obtain a copy and compare it to opportunities today.

Texas History: Teaching with Primary Source Series. By Judy Marrou and Patti Woolery-Price. Peterborough, NH: Cobblestone Publishing Company, 1997. 192 pages.

It's abstract reads: "Intended to be used by teachers of grades 5 and up, this unit deals with Texas. The unit is built around the seven standards of the new Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), an outcome-based social studies curriculum guide for teaching Texas history. The guide includes the following standards: citizenship, economics, geography, history, government, culture, and science/technology. The activities in the unit are designed around the social studies skills outlined in TEKS. Looking at old photographs, letters, maps, and census records students learn the stories of real people. Students are asked to collect information from several sources and to create visual materials that include maps, timelines, and graphs. The focus is on cooperative problem-solving and decision-making as processes for learning. Activities are provided that allow students to practice the following skills and strategies: collecting, organizing, interpreting, and weighing the significance of factual evidence to achieve a systematic document analysis; comparing and contrasting evidence from different sources; identifying factual information and separating it from opinion; identifying points of view and biases; and developing defensible inferences, conclusions, and generalizations from factual evidence practice. (BT) "

Texas Slavery Project

2009-10-23T10:21:00.000-05:00

http://www.texasslaveryproject.org/

What is it? Self-description: "The Texas Slavery Project takes a deep look at the expansion of slavery in the borderlands between the United States and Mexico in the years between 1837 and 1845. Based at the Virginia Center for Digital History, the project offers a number of digital tools that allow users to explore the changing face of slavery in early Texas ...."

Need a some statistics, by area within early Texas, need direction to some primary sources (letters, laws, documents, etc.), need some maps that show distribution of slaves and slave-holders across the years? This is a notable place to come.

Torget's self-description: "Andrew J. Torget is the project's founder and director. Andrew is Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Texas, where he is completing a book titled Cotton Empire: Slavery, the Texas Borderlands, and the Origins of the Mexican-American War. Andrew received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia while serving as the founding director of the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond. He is also the co-editor of two books, Crucible of the Civil War: Virginia from Secession to Commemoration (University of Virginia Press, 2006) and Two Communities in the Civil War (W. W. Norton, 2007)."

An excellent website substantially derived from the work at the University of Virginia.

Does not address slavery among Native Texas tribes or the previous military system or peonage systems among the Spanish and Mexican elite, or the slavery in post-annexation Texas, or the prison labor system conducted by the state in subsequent years..

Antique Maps of Texas - Charlton

2009-10-21T13:29:00.001-05:00

Antique Maps of Texas, 4^th edition. Compiled by Pete Charlton. Fort Worth: Lectric Books, 2009. 325 pages, index. 1 CD-ROM (not Mac compatible), $20.00 http://www.lectricbooks.com/

Well, pull up a chair and grab a cup of coffee because when you get your copy, you'll be looking and clicking for a spell. This 4^th edition of Antique Maps of Texas has over 300 maps. Yessireebob.

CONTENTS: And its arranged into "Great Maps of Texas" 1777-1931, Special Maps (cattle, exploration, military and forts, county, geologic, minerals) US historic 1803-1907, and 9 sections of grouped USGS selected topographic maps. Accompanying each map, Charlton has written a 200-word text on the map, the topic, and / or the cartographer.

NAVIGATION; You can flip through the pages as you would a paper book; you can zoom in for a closer look; you can pan by grab and drag; you can bookmark, you can click the 17 tabs set on the right-hand edge, you can use the find button to search the maps' supplementary text Charlton provided. And, hey, look, there's a date and place index in the back. And for those accustomed to passive viewing, you can set the presentation on an auto-flip and watch the page spreads at a variable time span. If you prefer to opt out of the "page" presentation, a side-show option can be invoked. To top it off, Charlton has added period graphics between the sections.

Sure enough, the 1902 (the year before my father was born) Century Atlas railroad map shows my father's hometown of Harleton, my mother's hometown of Jefferson, and my hometown of Marshall, all snuggled up together.

Charlton's near decade long project is admirable. And while you can certainly use and benefit from this electronic map collection, Charlton also offers you the opportunity to have him supply printed versions. There're fairly good prices.

This is a worthy acquisition for citizens, libraries, and social studies teachers.

Texas history classroom videos - Jank Williams on Veoh

2009-10-20T15:24:00.001-05:00

Jank Williams teaches Texas history to a flock of youngsters. He is an active user of the Veoh video website to load his classroom videos there. The 18 videos (3 - 25 minutes) often feature Williams beside a power point presentation on the day's topic.

He joined Veoh about three months ago during the summer. These 18 seem to be his videos to date. His additions across the year will make an intersting and useful source for folks. Certainly his students find it helpful, and others wishing an survey of Texas history will also.

http://www.veoh.com/users/jankwilliams

Some samples include

25:44 Basic Texas Facts II

Will's Texana Youtube Channel

2009-09-28T09:10:00.001-05:00

I've developed a Youtube channel, Will's Texana Youtube Channel. It's free, It's easy. An account is called a channel.

Yes, I know and groan about the junk and ephemera that's there, but this last summer I wondered, just what IS there? So I looked. It took a while to get the hang of it all, but using a very undisciplined method which was also very unconsistent, I cobbled together 1,000 videos from other folks' channels and centralized them into 100 topical playlists.

There are some drawbacks (e.g., Youtube doesn't allow for alphabetizing the 100 playlists, so you'll find them in a jumble of 100.) I working on a means where by they can be alphabetizing on somebody's separate page, and this alternative would also enable the addition of other folks' playlists on other channels.

I'm issuing a report on Will's Texana Youtube Channel as a special issue of my Will's Texana Monthly. If you'd like a free copy just let me know. That report also includes a list of the 50 or so Youtube channels to which I subscribe, some rather professionally done - historical, contemporary, nature, gardening, media, etc - and some casually produced by individuals but worthy of notice and maybe your own subscription.

The WT Channel was first intended just as a device to record what I found. Now it serves as a repository (if temporary) to nudge librarians, archivists, historians, teachers, and other interested folks to further explore Youtube and other video repositories for their long-term value. Already one WT channel viewer, Joan Hood, has since begun her own channel, Joan's Texas Women Channel, to collect videos exclusively on that topic which I wouldn't be able to do as well at http://www.youtube.com/user/JoanHood1 .

Actually, I encourage you to start your own channel, if not so much to produce your own videos, but to collect along special lines.

And tell me where to go and what to do when I get there! It's a broad prairie with only slow rolling hills. I could use some talk and thought.

See the whole shebang at http://www.youtube.com/willstexana

TEKSWatch site for TEKS

2009-09-18T09:46:00.001-05:00

CHTL, the University of Texas at El Paso's Department of History's Center for History Teaching and Learning at http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=58084 has added a new component to their website, a TEKSWatch.

at http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=61097

The CHTL focuses broadly on history, but at this time there is considerable to draw the attention of those interested in Texas, for example the below are sample entries from their website:

"U.S.History to 1877 (8th grade)

Mexican War Gutted
See all of the proposed U.S. history changes [pages 22-32]

Texas History (7th grade)

Catholic Missions no longer Catholic
Civil War Aims Stated
Constitution of Texas now Republican
See all of the proposed Texas history changes [pages 12-21]

3rd grade

Juan de Oñate added as community builder

Lesson Plans

Secondary Level

U.S. History

Why Things Change: Great Man or Many People? - In the proposed TEKS, treatment of the civil rights movement moves from a "great man" to "organized Americans"
Why did Texas Secede from the Union in 1861? - The proposed TEKS enumerate reasons for Texas secession. In this lesson, students use primary sources to explain the reasons Texans gave in 1861 and then contrast those findings with the proposed emphasis of the twenty-first century curriculum.

Government

Why did Texas Secede from the Union in 1861? - The proposed TEKS enumerate reasons for Texas secession. In this lesson, students use primary sources to explain the reasons Texans gave in 1861 and then contrast those findings with the proposed emphasis of the twenty-first century curriculum.

Middle School

Texas History

Why did Texas Secede from the Union in 1861? - The proposed TEKS enumerate reasons for Texas secession. In this lesson, students use primary sources to explain the reasons Texans gave in 1861 and then contrast those findings with the proposed emphasis of the twenty-first century curriculum."

Draft Recommendations for Revisions to Social Studies TEKS

2009-08-13T14:13:00.001-05:00

Per TEA's Social Studies listserv:

The first draft recommendations for revisions to the social studies TEKS are now posted on the TEA website at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks/socialstudiesTEKS.html.

Instructions for providing informal feedback will be posted in the next few days on the same website.

UT Arlington Maps and Teachers

2009-07-16T14:18:00.001-05:00

Improving Teaching through the Use of Historic Maps

The University of Texas at Arlington's map collection is widely recognized as is their association with the Texas Map Society. A considerable effort, with some funding from the Houston Endowment, has enabled their mounting of a special program especially amenable to teachers - Cartographic Connections.

It's self-description reads:

"The University of Texas at Arlington is conducting a project entitled Cartographic Connections: Improving Teaching through the Use of Historic Maps. Funded by a grant from the Houston Endowment, Inc., Cartographic Connections is a three-year, interactive electronic pilot project. Its goal is to connect secondary school students and teachers to a primary source--historic maps of Texas, the Southwest and beyond, dating from the 1500s through the 1900s. Through the use of maps, students gain a better understanding of history and the sources that reveal it. The social studies and other programs in Texas schools can also benefit from the use of these historic maps.

The project involves UTA faculty, library staff, and selected teachers from across the state. The teachers and UTA staff and faculty are identifying curriculum needs and devising strategies that meet those needs through the use of historic maps. The project's objectives include:

determining curriculum needs in light of local, regional, and statewide requirements
selecting appropriate maps from among UTA's large collection of historic maps to help meet these needs
developing strategies and lesson plans to integrate the use of maps into the curriculum
sharing with other educators the techniques learned in the project
creating a website that incorporates historic maps, text, and ideas/strategies on how best to use maps in the classroom "

Read more at http://libraries.uta.edu/ccon/

The sidebar clicks include

Texas, Social Studies, and the Wall Street Journal

2009-07-16T11:54:00.001-05:00

Texas' neighbors are watching and have noticed the initial script lines of "Texas All in the Family" being tried out on the Texas Education Commission's front porch by actors of yet obscured faces. Exactly who is acting the roles of Archie Bunker and Meat Head are yet to be defined.

Of all news sources the Wall Street Journal considers the current Texas leaders' special approach to defining appropriateness or inclusiveness for our children's learning. Texas revisits various parts of the curriculum about once every 10 years. This year, social studies is one of those being visited for revision. Stephanie Simon wrote a July 14 article entitled "The Culture Wars' New Frontier: U.S. History Classes in Texas."

By STEPHANIE SIMON

The article begins: "The fight over school curriculum in Texas, recently focused on biology, has entered a new arena, with a brewing debate over how much faith belongs in American history classrooms.

The Texas Board of Education, which recently approved new science standards that made room for creationist critiques of evolution, is revising the state's social studies curriculum. In early recommendations from outside experts appointed by the board, a divide has opened over how central religious theology should be to the teaching of history."

By July 16 morning there were 242 comments, read more at http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB124753078523935615-lMyQjAxMDI5NDE3NDUxMzQwWj.html

If it weren't for the fact that millions of school children will be affected for the rest of their lives by the eventual decisions, the tragi-comic episodes to come could be viewed as simply entertainment of the "Family Guy" groundling level, not even constructive enough to be "King of the Hill."

At the outset, the oddest thing I find is that somebody wants to exclude from the American history textbook Anne Hutchinson, the famous 1600's woman religious dissenter/teacher who was exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for refusing to accept the gummit line on the REQUIRED religious formula and not to be confused (I suppose, but maybe not) with the current Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison who'll run in a primary against Governor Rick Perry who controls the commission's appointments.

Anyway, this current Texas ban of Anne Hutchinson brings to memory the recent attempt by some Texans to censor the book "Fahreheit 451," a novel against book censoring. Connected to that memory is Louis Sachar's book "Holes," a Newbery-winning novel set in modern Texas where nonconformist children are condemned to endlessly dig holes for greedy adults looking for buried treasure.

TSHA Texas Histsory Day Special Awards

2009-07-13T10:41:00.001-05:00

The Texas State Historical Association's Texas History Day special awards include

Oral History Award

The C. M. Caldwell Memorial Award for Texas History

The Colonial Dames Award

The Willie Lee Gay Award for African-American History

The Jewish History Award

The Hispanic Heritage Award

The UT Austin Liberal Arts Scholarship

The Descendents of Austin's Old Three Hundred History Award

The Jane McCallum Women in Texas History Award

The Institute of Texan Cultures Award

The Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP Legal History Award

The Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association Award

The Students' Choice Exhibit Awards

The Outstanding Entry Awards

The David C. DeBoe Texas History Day Teacher Award

Read more about them at http://www.tshaonline.org/education/thd/thdspecialawards.pdf

El dia de los ninos

2009-07-11T19:09:00.001-05:00

El dia de los ninos website at http://www.texasdia.org/ is being updated via a grant from the Texas Library Association. Check back before next April's celebration.

For a while the 100 page "Toolkit" can be found at

http://web.archive.org/web/20070610201221/www.texasdia.org/Toolkit/DNDL+Tool+Kit.pdf

Tomas and the Library Lady - Mora

2009-07-11T18:55:00.001-05:00

Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora is reviewed in Multicultural Lit for Children and Young Adults

The review begins "Tomas and his family travel from Texas to Iowa to harvest crops. He carries out water to his family while they are busy farming. On breaks his grandfather has the children gather all around and tells them stories. He tells Tomas that he is now old enough to visit the library where there are many more stories. "

Days of Little Rain - Nelson

2009-07-11T18:18:00.001-05:00

Publishers Weekly: Children's Book Reviews: Week of 7/6/2009

Days of Little Texas by RA Nelson. Knopf, $16.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-375-85593-1

The review begins "Ronald Earl, at the center of this multidimensional coming-of-age/ghost story, earned the moniker "Little Texas" at age 10, after performing a spontaneous healing while touring with his great-aunt's tent-revival ministry. But at 16, burgeoning sexual feelings and the apparition of a girl named Lucy, who died when he failed to heal her, cause Ronald to question his integrity as a spiritual leader." Read more at http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6668315.html?industryid=47141

Middle School Texas History Text - Willoughby

2009-07-11T11:44:00.001-05:00

The Austin Community College offers a press release on their professor's book on Texas history by Austin Community College Professor Larry Willoughby.

It begins

"State's middle-schoolers use ACC professor's textbook

Austin Community College Professor - Larry Willoughby

Austin Community College Professor Larry Willoughby does more than teach Texas history. He also writes about it.

A four-time author, Willoughby has written two history textbooks including one that's used in more than half of all Texas seventh-grade public school classrooms. "Texas!" has sold more than 300,000 copies and is in its third printing.

A self-proclaimed civil rights historian, Willoughby tries to write the textbooks from multiple perspectives. He especially revels in the underrepresented characters of history and tries to expose their stories." Read more at

http://www.austincc.edu/newsroom/index.php/2009/06/29/acc-professor-wrote-the-book-on-texas-history/

TEA Social Studies Expert Reviews

2009-07-11T09:57:00.001-05:00

Social Studies Expert Reviewers

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks/social/experts.html

David Barton, President, WallBuilders
Review of Current Social Studies TEKS

Jesus Francisco de la Teja, Professor and Chair, Department of History, Texas State University
Review of Current Social Studies TEKS

Daniel L. Dreisbach, Professor, American University
Review of Current Social Studies TEKS

Lybeth Hodges, Professor, History, Texas Woman's University
Review of Current Social Studies TEKS

Jim Kracht, Associate Dean and Professor, College of Education and Human Development, Texas A&M University
Review of Current Social Studies TEKS

Peter Marshall, President, Peter Marshall Ministries
Review of Current Social Studies TEKS

Read de la Teja, Hodges, and Kracht for commentary buttressed by their pro-public school, secular, social studies orientations. Read Marshall, Dreisbach, and Barton for other focal points. Contact the Curriculum Division at (512)463-9581 with any questions you may have or for an accessible version of the content on this page.

And for the inquisitive: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/social/index.html

Brazosport ISD - Holder

2009-06-17T09:43:00.000-05:00

Yes, an ISD can be worthy of historical reflection. Lanham begins an article in "The Facts," on Brazosport ISD

Retired teachers produce history of BISD

By Katlynn Lanham
The Facts ,

Published May 19, 2009

CLUTE — Frederick Holder and a group of retired teachers weren't finished giving history lessons when they left the classroom.

Holder is presenting copies of the first volume of a three-book series, "The Antecedent and Early History of the Brazosport Independent School District." The first edition covers 1821 to 1917.

Many times people are asked questions about the history of the school, but no one has the answer, said Francis Snelgrove, a retired teacher. Holder's books will be able to answer any questions people might have, she said.

"We can know something about what happened years ago," she said.

The project began in the 1980s when members of the Brazosport Association of Retired Teachers began researching the book, then searched for a writer to compile all of the information. Eventually, they found Holder, a Freeport native and 1948 graduate of Freeport High School."

Summer Reading

2009-06-17T09:22:00.001-05:00

Claire Abraham at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram comments on several (mostly new) Texas books suitable for young readers over the summer, "Read It: Cool Books for a Hot Lone Star Summer."

http://www.star-telegram.com/yourlife/story/1424107.html

Isabel's Texas Two-Step - Bryant

2009-06-15T06:45:00.001-05:00

Challenging the Bookworm Blog introduces a YA novel of a Isabel's family reunion and her sister's quinceanera on a Texas ranch with chickens, horses, and the like in Isabel's Texas Two-Step by Annie Bryant. It's one of a series, "Beacon Street Girl" series. Read more about it at

http://challengingthebookworm.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/isabels-texas-two-step/

Buffalo Music - Fern and Castillo - DRT Naylor Award

2009-05-28T21:31:00.001-05:00

The DRT announces:

"The Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library Committee is pleased to announce that the 2008 June Franklin Naylor Award for the Best Book for Children on Texas history is awarded to author Tracey E. Fern and illustrator Lauren Castillo for Buffalo Music, published in 2008 by Clarion Books in New York. The announcement was made Friday evening, May 15, by Connie Impelman, Chairman of the DRT Library Committee, at the 118th Annual Convention of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas in Killeen, Texas."

Texas History Mystery

2009-05-28T11:45:00.001-05:00

This interesting option self-describes itself as: "

Welcome to the Texas History Mystery video conference project. This project is designed for 4th and 7th grade students studying Texas History. Through video conference technology students are able to meet other students while learning about important historical events and figures.

Prior to the video conference each classroom will create a presentation with clues about their ONE mystery event, person, location, or invention. The other classrooms, using maps, the Internet, textbooks, and other resources, will try to discover the mystery event presented by each of the participating classrooms.

Quick Links for Teachers and Building Coordinators

See more at http://texashistorymystery.pbworks.com/

Posting Powerpoints on Texas History - Freese

2009-05-28T11:18:00.001-05:00

Todd B. Freese demonstrates the adaptability of one electronic format (powerpoint) into another (his blog). His presentation on the latter half of Texas history is embedded into one of his blog postings, "Texas History Review," at http://www.toddbfreese.com/2009/05/19/texas-history-review/

The 30 slides combine summarizing narrative (often bulleted) with photographs. The viewer advance from slide to slide at their own pace.

To press the possibilities, one could create a separate, fuller powerpoint for each slide in the review. That may be what he's doing in the day-to-day classroom.

Texas Online History Exhibits - Texas State Library & Archvies

2009-05-21T11:12:00.001-05:00

Texas State Library and Archives Commission provides several documented lessons on Texas history via their online exhibits. Other depositories would serve Texas well by similar works that integrated their holdings into learning opportunities. Self-described from http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/index.html

Texas Treasures

This exhibition highlights the greatest treasures of the Texas State Library and Archives, from Travis' Letter from the Alamo to the original Ordinance of Secession, from historic flags to wanted posters for Sam Bass and Clyde Barrow. New treasures and topics will be added on a periodic basis.

Portraits of Texas Governors

Biographies of all of the governors of Texas, complete with official portraits, timeline of events, revealing documents, and rare photos.

The McArdle Notebooks

Henry McArdle's battle paintings, Dawn at the Alamo and The Battle of San Jacinto, have become Texas icons. The painstaking detail of the paintings was reflected in exhaustive research. McArdle's notebooks are packed with letters, notes, and photographs documenting the paintings and the events they depict.

Forever Free

Fifty-two African-American men served Texas as either state legislative members or Constitutional Convention delegates during the last half of the 19th century, representing the first significant political achievement by the African-American citizens of this state.

Votes for Women!

Diaries and letters of Texas women, political cartoons, government documents, and photographs and postcards tell the little-known story of the women activists who fought to overcome societal attitudes and entrenched power and won the rights of full citizenship.

Pioneer Texas Architects

In the years from 1877 to 1900, the �Gilded Age� in American history, F. E. �Ernst� and Oscar Ruffini were part of the first wave of professional architects to practice in Texas. A large collection of their drawings, specifications, and correspondence can be viewed on site at the Texas State Library and Archives. Representative examples of their work are included in this exhibit.

Hazardous Business: Industry, Regulation, and the Texas Railroad Commission

Government documents, photographs, political cartoons, and other artifacts help tell the story of the agency founded in 1891 on a tide of populist resentment of the railroads that went on in the 20th century to wield legendary power over the supply and price of oil and natural gas.

Indian Relations in Texas

For more than three centuries, relations between whites and Indians occupied a central place in Texas life. The Texas State Library and Archives is home to a massive collection called the Texas Indian Papers. These and other documents and photographs from our collections tell the story of an epic clash of cultures.

Fortune Favors the Brave: The Story of the Texas Navy

The sailors of Texas were vital to the survival of the Republic; they defended the coastline, ensured Texas supply lines, and brought in much-needed revenue from prizes and captures. In this exhibit, adventure in the Gulf is paired with a political blood feud which brought the Navy crashing down amidst charges of piracy, mutiny, and murder.

Triumph and Tragedy: Presidents of the Republic of Texas

For the next ten years, four very different men led the Republic of Texas down a difficult and unknown path as an independent nation. Although these men were different--sawmill operator, soldier, poet, doctor--they were also much alike. To a man they had known crushing failure. Each had the heart and nerve to take the helm of a penniless, lawless land and dream of the mighty Texas it might one day become. Each of them, for good and for ill, shaped that destiny. This is their story.

Hard Road to Texas: Texas Annexation 1836-1845

At the time of the Texas Revolution, most Texans and Americans assumed that the Republic of Texas would be swiftly annexed to the United States. Instead, the process of annexation took nine long and bruising years. In hindsight, Texas annexation seems inevitable. But it all could have been so different.

To Love the Beautiful: The Story of Texas State Parks

Created in 1923, the State Parks Board struggled until the New Deal poured millions of federal dollars into creating state parks for Texas. In the decades to follow, Texans who loved the outdoors promoted state parks as a public good that provides fun and serenity to the public while preserving the natural beauty of Texas. But always the parks have competed with other state needs and priorities.

Under the Rebel Flag: Life in Civil War Texas

Though Texans had fought for many years to achieve annexation to the United States, they voted decisively to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy in 1861. From the embattled cotton port of Galveston to the besieged Indian frontier, from the Louisiana border to the Rio Grande, Texans would spend the next four bitter, desperate years learning the reality of war.

http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/annexation/index.html

Texas history curriculm - Bastrop

2009-05-07T00:46:00.001-05:00

Mrs. Cheshire, of Bastrop's Middle School, has posted her summary curriculm of Texas history online at

http://198.214.252.201/~kcheshire/Texas%20History%20Curriculum

Texas Curriculum - Galena Park ISD

2009-05-07T00:42:00.001-05:00

Galena Park ISD has posted its 35 weeks (59 pages) of Texas history curriculum with attention to TAKS and TEKS at

http://www.galenaparkisd.com/scopesequence/sstudies/Texas%20History%207th%20curriculum.pdf

Last Mango in Texas by Ray Blackston

2009-05-02T18:44:00.001-05:00

Sherrie at her Just Books reviews

the Last Mango in Texas by Ray Blackston. A splice from her comments include this "This is a very good book. Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, Kyle's pursuit of Gretchen takes him to the desert of Texas, the coast line of Alaska, a bed and breakfast in France and a small village in Africa. The whole time Kyle is chasing Gretchen he still has his oil wells and they are causing some trouble with his romance of Gretchen."

Texas History in the 1st grade

2009-05-02T10:06:00.001-05:00

Nat and Leslie show how its done one day. And the rewards.

http://paramountoutreach.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/teaching-texas-history-at-casis-elementary/

Mike Kearby and Hypocrisy of Culture

2009-05-02T08:16:00.001-05:00

Texana Mike Kearby, Spur winning novelist of the Free Parks trilogy, offers an insightful article on the "Hypocrisy of Culture" at Isnare. Kearby's novels' plots are set in Texas' multi-cultural frontier times after the Civil War.

http://www.isnare.com/?aid=373250&ca=Culture

Educational Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas

2009-04-24T21:31:00.001-05:00

Angela Valenzuela (based at UT) founded the "Educational Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas" blogsite. It is self-described as "This blog on Texas education contains posts on accountability, testing, dropouts, bilingual education, immigration, school finance, race, class, and gender issues with additional focus at the national level. This blog reflects the work and contributions of both University of Texas Professor Angela Valenzuela and UT Education, Policy and Planning graduate student, Patricia Lopez." Some recent posts include

Success Obscured by Controversy

Sacramento-area schools use race-based assemblies ...

Study Cites Dire Economic Impact of Poor School

Universities asked to establish more Center for Me...

'Pathways' option for dropouts

Court weighs state's duty to English learners

African Texas - Children, Young Adults

2009-04-15T09:59:00.001-05:00

Skywriting: African Texana for Children and Young Adults

http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/WillHoward48/lists

Your Assistance Is Requested

Skywriting, a bibliography for young readers is being developed on the topic of the Texas African experience – non-fiction and fiction– in-print and out-of-print - with very few adult titles included. The preliminary stage numbers about 300 titles. About a third includes modern athletes and singers. About a third relates to the 19^th century. The large number of titles mandates a classification scheme.

Art and Dance – 2

Astronauts – 34

Barbara Jordan – 15

Bessie Coleman – 29

Beyonce and Destiny's Child – 13

Buffalo Soldiers – 23

Colonial to Reconstruction – 20

Cowboy and Western Life – 15

Cowboy and Western Life – Bill Picket – 7

Cowboy and Western Life – Fiction – 10

Estevanico – 9

Folklore (mostly adult) – 7

General – 5

Juneteenth – 17

Modern Life – 15

Modern Life – Fiction – 33

Music (including Scott Joplin) – 15

Sports – 62

The list is quite preliminary. Please contact Will Howard with any suggestions or offers to help in the editorial phase. Skywriting should be finished by December. If you wish to peruse a Word document copy of the list, as it stands now, request it by email.

SFA Tides Blog

2009-04-13T16:48:00.001-05:00

Stephen F. Austin State University's successful TIDES program to assist teachers and students now has its own blog at http://tidessfasu.blogspot.com/ in addition to its regular site http://tides.sfasu.edu/

TIDES: Teaching, Images, & Digital Experiences

Its self-description : "Providing a free database of primary source documents, lesson plans for educators, and virtual expeditions while building community partnerships and preserving the history and culture of East Texas and beyond."

David Davis Youtube Channel

2009-04-13T14:17:00.001-05:00

David Davis, Texana children's author of several books, e.g., Texas Aesop's Fables, Texas Mother Goose, Texas Zeke, etc. has gone and gotten himself a chanel on Youtube where librarians and his other favorite folks will find a enjoyable visit. The Channel is called Tomftwain - http://www.youtube.com/user/tomftwain

Rivera Book Award

2009-04-13T10:14:00.001-05:00

The Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award which originated in 1995 in San Marcos at Texas State University has a website at http://www.riverabookaward.info/ . Its purpose is

To recognize and honor authors and illustrators that create quality children's literature depicting the Mexican American experience.

To enhance awareness among librarians, teachers, parents and children of this literature so it will take its place in libraries, classrooms and homes to educate, inspire, and entertain all children.

Soon the 2009 winners will be posted to augment their site. This year it was a tie. Both Benjamin Alire Sáenz, author of He Forgot to Say Goodbye, and Carmen Tafolla, author of The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans received the award.

Tafolla's website http://www.carmentafolla.com/ says of the author "One of the most anthologized of Latina writers, Carmen Tafolla has published work for both children and adults in more than two hundred anthologies, magazines, journals, textbooks, and readers. Long considered one of the madrinas of Chicana Literature and a master of bilingual code-switching, Tafolla is the author of more than fifteen books, seven screenplays, and numerous articles and essays."

Saenz's website http://www.benjaminaliresaenz.com/ where his biographical sketch begins "Benjamin Alire Sáenz was born in 1954 in his grandmother's house in Old Picacho, a small farming village on the outskirts of Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was the fourth of seven children and was raised on a small farm near Mesilla.

He graduated from Las Cruces High School in 1972. That fall, he entered St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado where he received a B.A. degree in Humanities and Philosophy in 1977. He studied theology at the University of Louvain in Louvain, Belgium from 1977 to 1981. Living in the Belgium rain made him desperate to return to the desert—but he also fell in love with Paris and Spain and Italy. During those years, he spent a summer working in a home for the homeless in Kilburn (in what was, at that time, the Irish slums of North London). The home was operated by the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Theresa. He also spent another summer living in Tanzania. It was during that summer that he discovered the meaning of the word, "colonialism." "

Republic and Statehood Lessons Plans 4th grade

2009-03-26T07:27:00.001-05:00

Cary-Anne Koenig teaching portfolio offers 4th graders guidance

http://ckoenig1.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/texas-history.doc

Mrs. Rogers Projects

2009-03-26T07:21:00.001-05:00

Mrs. Rogers offers over two dozen Texas history projects for students.

http://mdrogers61.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/project-ideas/

Lone Ranger - Graphic Novel

2009-03-26T07:05:00.001-05:00

The students at Dominican University's Library School offer a review of the re-prinited, melodramtic version of the Lone Ranger, 2 vols.Author: Matthews, Brett (writer) and Cariello, Sergio (illustrator). Their commentary includes: "Readers who turn to this incarnation of The Lone Ranger because of a childhood affection for the 1950s TV series will be pleased with the detail and care given to the characters but may be surprised by the graphic violence portrayed. The Lone Ranger's no-kill code does not entirely prevent him from committing other acts of violence, and most of the other characters have no qualms about killing. This is a comic meant for teens and adults, not children. The series won the 2006 Eisner Award winner for Best New Series and Best Cover Artist, and True West magazine's awarded the series the "Best Western Comic Book of the Year" in their 2009 Best of the West Source Book." Read more at

http://ra763.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/the-lone-ranger-volumes-1-and-2/

or see more at Comic Book Resources at

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=10351

Texas Beyond History Lesson Plans

2009-03-16T15:22:00.001-05:00

Texas Beyond History, as well as being an excellent site for general purposes, also has lesson plans, keyed to TEKS from the categories

Language Arts | Social Studies | Math/Science | Art

Samples include

A Day in the Life
Students explore the roles of a variety of people who lived or worked at a nineteenth-century Texas frontier fort or in a nearby frontier town. By writing about a character in his/her own voice, students reach a greater understanding of life on the Texas frontier. Suggested for grade levels 4-7. View TEKS and download page.

Archeology 2500: Texano Weapons
Students work in small groups to write a creative, descriptive report about a "mystery" artifact. Hypothesis building and creative writing suitable for upper elementary and above. Suggested for grade level 7. View TEKS and download page.

Making a Caddo Circle Book
Students write, draw, and use mathematics to create a short booklet about the Caddo Indians. This interdisciplinary lesson is suitable for grades 4 and 7. View TEKS and download page.

Aldridge Sawmill - The Story in Numbers
This lesson plan provides 7th-grade students an opportunity to practice math skills while becoming familiar with Texas' "Boom & Bust" economy and the natural history and geography of the east Texas Piney Woods. The student handout is illustrated with historic photos of logging in East Texas. View TEKS and download page.

More at http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/teach/lessons.html#social

Texas Council for the Social Studies

2009-03-16T13:38:00.001-05:00

The Texas Council for the Social Studies has a website of interest to teachers and other folks. It's navigational options include Home | Awards | Conference | Membership | Opportunities | Publications | Resources . The TCSS dues are only $15 a year and the benefits are extensive. It's interests are broadly based, but occasional attention is paid to Texana. The Resources pays attention to the Portal to Texas History (UNT), Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, and Beyond Texas History (UT), The George Ranch and other resources and applicable links.

The Social Studies Texan is self-described as

"The Texan is the official publication of the Texas Council for the Social Studies, an affiliate of the National Council for the Social Studies. The Social Studies Texan is published three times per year and is available as a benefit to all members of TCSS.

The Social Studies Texan publishes articles of interest to social studies educators at all levels. This juried journal includes professional articles relating to social studies education and lesson plans, teaching ideas, or teaching activities that have been used successfully in the classrooms of Texas. It contains information about opportunities for professional growth and the latest resources available for use in the classroom. The journal provides up to date information about the Texas Council for the Social Studies and pertinent social studies information important to social studies teachers."

TCSS encourages the submission of lesson plans as part of their service.

Women in Texas History Lesson Plans

2009-03-14T13:44:00.001-05:00

Self description: "Welcome to the portal for all things historical about women in Texas. Students, teachers, researchers, and Texas history lovers will discover stories about all kinds of women, and find links to many sites for more information related to Texas women's history.

Students and teachers will find:

Lesson Plans – Texas Women's History

4th Grade Social Studies

7th Grade Texas History

8th Grade U.S. History

8th Grade U.S. History Through Reconstruction

High School U.S. History

High School U.S. History Since Reconstruction

Read more of this excellent website's offerings at http://www.womenintexashistory.org/

Battle Report Newsletter & This Week in Texas History

2009-03-14T11:40:00.001-05:00

The State Parks & Wildlife folks over at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site offer a weekly email newsletter, rather well done. The Battle Report focuses on current events happening there, it's a lot - the Monument, the Battleship, and the grounds. Occasional strategic affairs are addressed. Public, volunteer, and staff activities are covered. Conservation and public service are the principal elements. Remember that it also includes the Battleship Texas. Archeological notes are included from time to time.

The Battle Report bills itself as: ""The purpose of this newsletter is to communicate the site's day-to-day natural and cultural resource management activities. Our goal is to inform and educate our staff, partners, and friends – and those we have yet to meet – Welcome!"

I can't see the Monument from my window so its nice of Russ Kuykendall, Park Complex Superintendent, to have added me to their mailing list. He can add you too! Just ask him. Call 281/479-2431 .

One of the regular columns is "This Week in Texas History." The photography is good! Visit their websites at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/san_jacinto_battleground/

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/battleship_texas/

Heart of Texas Literature Center - Brownwood

2009-03-13T13:04:00.001-05:00

The Heart of Texas Literature Center in Brownwood describes itself as "The Heart of Texas Literature Center is a combination review/examination center. Books sent by publishers are kept on display at the Center, and reviews are published in our quarterly journal, the Lorgnette. Our reviews can also be found on the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD). Our facility is part of the Walker Memorial Library on the campus of Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas."

and "The Heart of Texas Literature Center is dedicated to making current children's and teenagers' literature available for public viewing and informing the public of the literature through providing evaluative reviews. The current collection consists of books and book related media that are published and/or made available for sale for the first time in the United States during 2006.

Professionals read and evaluate books and write reviews. We publish the reviews in our quarterly journal, the Lorgnette."

It's a remarkable endeavor. They collect children and young adult books from across the nation and review dozens in each issue of their online Lorgnette periodical. Their dozens of reviewers from the region are teachers, librarians, university professors, and the sort who've have genuine experience with the kids. Carrie Harding is Director; Blanche Byrd is Assistant Director; Patsy Weeks is Director of Outreach; and Marsha Harper is editor of the Lorgnette. Their interests are very wide, and there is some Texana in each issue.

Read more at http://ww1.hputx.edu/Hotlit/

Young Readers at TCU Press

2009-03-12T10:27:00.001-05:00

Texas Christian University Press has several titles for its series "Chaparral Books for Young Readers."

See http://www.prs.tcu.edu/series_titles.html

War Pony

Luke and the Van Zandt County War

Tame the Wild Stallion

Lone Hunter's Gray Pony

Lone Hunter and the Cheyennes

Duster

Muddy Banks

Stay Put, Robbie McAmis

Letters to Oma

Have Gun--Need Bullets

Josefna and the Hanging Tree

You're an Orphan, Mollie Brown!

High School students - YA at TCU

2009-03-12T10:20:00.001-05:00

Texas Christian University Press has an extensive list of volumes. Many of those have been gathered and categorized as suggestions for classroom adoptions for college students. High school librarians may wish to view their list for titles applicable to enrich their collections. Their Texana appears in several categories other than those specified by "History" and "Literature."

See http://www.prs.tcu.edu/classroom%20adoptions.html

The categories are

African American Studies, Civil Rights Studies
Studies of Aging
Border Studies, Mexican History, and Mexican-American History
Civil War Studies
Drama
Economics and Labor Relations
Education
German-American Studies
History, American West
History, Texas
Hydropolitics
Literature, Texas
Native American Studies
Philosophy
Women's Studies

Trail Riding Kids

2009-03-11T14:52:00.001-05:00

The Westerner brings news of children on a special trail ride.

The posting begins "Thirty youngsters from three north and west Texas school districts will spend their Spring Break rolling through the rugged expanses of West Texas in covered wagons to get a taste of what their pioneering forebears experienced some 150 years ago. The youth outreach trail ride, sponsored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas Equestrian Trail Riders Association, will cover roughly 75 miles from Marfa to Big Bend Ranch State Park outside Presidio. "

Sam Houston - Wade

2009-03-10T13:59:00.001-05:00

Sam Houston: Standing Firm by Mary Dodson Wade and illustrated by Joy Fisher Hein. Albany and Houston: Bright Sky Press, 2009. 24 pages. http://brightskypress.com/ Large picture book, colored drawings. ISBN 978-1-933979-3-7. $16.95 Hardback. Reading level ages 5-7, grades k-2.

Mary Wade, author of many children's books, inaugurates Bright Sky's new series, Texas Heroes for Young Readers. Joy Fisher has also illustrated Miss Ladybird's Wildflowers.

Here's the life of Houston in a hundred sentences, most quite short, spread over the two dozen pages, each of which is illustrated in four color form.

The work steadily develops Sam's trait of standing firm, aka aloofness or stubbornness or arrogance or blindness, as may have been alleged over time by Sam's non-supporters. But for the youngest kids Mary gracefully tends toward the positive adjective "firm." Houston leaves school, home, traditional culture for the Cherokee ways, etc. He goes into teaching, soldiering, and politics. In Texas he signs the Declaration of Independence (although unnamed in the book), retreats from the Alamo trap, and wins at San Jacinto. The presidency prepares him for another try at matrimony. Then it's the Senate and the Governor's chair which is taken from him for his "refusal to be loyal to a new country." He dies after moving into his Huntsville Steamboat House. Most of the illustrations depict the out-of-doors, and most of the sentences use active verbs. Pronunciation aids follow some words.

http://www.wadeco.com/author.htm http://www.joyfisherhein.com/

http://www.prbythebook.com

Last Renegade - Kearby

2009-03-10T13:54:00.001-05:00

The Last Renegade. By Mike Kearby. Austin: Trail's End Books, 2008. paperback, illus, 180 pages. ISBN 9780978842291 $14.95. Ages 14 and up. http://www.mikekearby.us/

Mike Kearby brings young readers another well- paced Western novel set in South Texas 1877. Codified retributive justice is first found in Hammurabi's Code from the ancient Mesopotamia river valleys – "an eye for an eye." But here the story involves a couple of young boys and a girl and a dog.

Young-Man-Listens, a nine-year old Comanche, is captured by slavers and sold to a travelling circus where the nefarious Shelly McDuff cages him and bills him to gawkers as "The Last Renegade – Chief Raging Bull" for two years. Then the show rolls into Sheriff Miller's Territory. Miller's eleven-year-old son, Jake, immediately sees through the injustice of the imprisonment and sets the young Comanche free whereupon the two plus Marty scat on a trail of hiding, hunting, capture, a fight (partially aided by Walter the dog), and ultimate salvation by Jake's father. Young-Man-Listens eventually relents on the impulse of worst vengeance and rides off toward home in Oklahoma. A side plot that finally weaves it way in is about the scarcity of water and a new spring on the Miller's land that triggers a greedy plot of multiple murders.

Mack White's illustrations seem influenced by Nast cartoons and Hank the Cowdog.

Alamo Lesson Plans

2009-03-06T12:26:00.001-06:00

4th and 7th grade lesson plans for the Alamo are available from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, each about 40 pages long.

http://www.thealamo.org/lesson.html

Other uninspected Alamo lesson plans are

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/battleofthealamo/

http://texashistory.unt.edu/young/educators/alamo/lp8.shtml

http://texashistory.unt.edu/young/educators/alamo/lp7.shtml

http://texashistory.unt.edu/young/educators/alamo/lp4.shtml

http://www.readinga-z.com/newfiles/levels/lesson_plans/t/thealamo/thealamo_print.html

http://www.historynow.org/03_2007/lp4.html

Lessonplan.com has over a hundred connected plans

El Paso History Day

2009-03-05T12:49:00.001-06:00

Dr. Keith A. Erekson, Assistant Professor of History and Director of the Teaching Social Studies in El Paso Initiative , UTEP, directs you to the UTEP History Department hosting of a website on "El Paso History Day." At the moment it includes a wonderful list of its contest winners from the local schools. YTR hopes this list will be archived on the same site next year as the 2010 winners are announced. The many titles of the projects themselves are inspiring. The local sponsor is Dr. Charles H. Martin.

El Paso History Day

Self-described as: "El Paso History Day is a yearly event sponsored by the Department of History. It serves as the local (regional) qualifying event for Texas History Day and National History Day. National History Day is an educational program devoted to improving the teaching and learning of history in American schools. It is designed to provide a meaningful way for middle and high school students to study historical issues, ideas, people, and events by engaging in project based learning and research. The theme for this year's contest is "The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies."

The twelfth annual El Paso History Day contest will be held on Saturday, February 21, 2009, on the UTEP campus. Last year some 224 middle school and high school students registered for the event. Approximately 260 students from 24 schools are expected to participate in 2009. The categories in which students may enter are:

Exhibits—individual and group entries

Documentaries—individual and group entries

Performances—individual and group entries

Interpretive Web Sites—combined entries

Papers—individual entries only "

See the winning projects at http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=55305

Teaching of Texas History Award

2009-03-05T11:58:00.001-06:00

Humanities Texas offers Teaching awards, one is the

Linden Heck Howell Outstanding Teaching of Texas History Award

Self described as "The Linden Heck Howell Outstanding Teaching of Texas History Award was established in memory of Ms. Howell, former chair of the Humanities Texas Board of Directors, as a lasting tribute to her service to the organization and her commitment to the study of Texas history. The winning teacher receives a $5,000 cash award, with an additional $500 for his or her school for the purchase of instructional materials supporting Texas history." Read more at http://www.humanitiestexas.org/education/awards/

Texas Stories website

2009-03-05T11:45:00.001-06:00

Texas Stories has an admirable variety of useful options for teachers of Texas history.

http://www.texasstories.com/

Self-description: "TEXAS STORIES is a Texas History Audio Series, Web Site and Weekly e-Newsletter about the Lone Star State. Hosted by Timothy Patrick Miller, TEXAS STORIES will present 30- to 90-second audio programs and interviews about people, places and events in Texas History using music, sound effects, actualities and the art of storytelling.

OUR TOWN: Audio Postcards and Audio Snapshots from the Past will feature 30- to 90-second stories about local and regional history for web site and e-Newsletter presentation.

TEXAS STORIES Weekly Audio Series will be podcast, available online and distributed via the Weekly e-Newsletter.

The Web Site will feature story and interview audio clips, transcripts, historical images and links to online Texas History resources. Expanded City and County web pages are in development and will showcase the OUR TOWN programming.

A free, subscriber-based, email Newsletter -- TEXAS STORIES WEEKLY -- will present the Project's weekly audio feature, a weekly audio contest called What's My Story?, audio interviews and fascinating facts about Texas History. A Story Forum and Classroom Activities for Grades 4 and 7 are also in development."

Audio Shows

Podcasts

Audio Postcards

Audio Snapshots

Weekly
e-Newsletter

Classroom Activities

Texas History
Resources

Stories

Music

Adventure

Texas History Teachers Bulletin 1912

2009-03-05T11:33:00.001-06:00

The Texas History Teachers Bulletin . This digital volume begins with volume 1, number 1, November 1912 (UT Dept. of History) and includes several subsequent issues into 1914. It is available full-text online through Google. All 135 pages. It's almost a centennial piece.

Most of the content regards broader American and European history, but some Texana is included, some being reports from local teachers (from Austin, Cleburne, Wichita Falls, Galveston, Cuero, etc.), an occasional history of Texas bibliography, etc. Barker and Raines figure in the contributors. Teachers are also guided in the use of the blackboard, notebooks, maps, and other pedagogial devices. Some industrious person could make a great historical inquiry into Texana pedagogy. You can also download it as a pdf file for convenience.

The introductory quotation begins, Lamar as expected. "The cultivated mind is the guardian genuis of democracy...." Its "Purpose" statement includes a precedent from the American Historical Association's The History Teacher's Magazine.

The first issue has an essay on "Charles the Great."

http://books.google.com/books?id=kQACAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage

The copy comes from the Harvard Univesity Library of the Graduate School of Education, digitized only last May.

DRT Elaine Davis Award

2009-03-04T19:39:00.001-06:00

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas begin a new award honoring Elaine B. Davis. The first award goes to Debra Winegarten who plans a juvenile book on Clara Driscoll.

http://drtlibrary.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/elaine-b-davis-research-award-winner-announced/

This inaugural award is self-described as

"The Elaine B. Davis Research Award, endowed by the 2007-2009 Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library Committee chaired by Connie Impelman and sponsored by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, is awarded to bring scholars to San Antonio, Texas, to work with the unique materials housed at the DRT Library. Mrs. Davis served as Director of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library from 1998-2008."

Declaration of Independence

2009-03-03T10:41:00.001-06:00

March 2, 1836 - Texas Declaration of Independence from the Convention of 1836. Take a digital tour, chase a few rabbits, learn a little.

Texas State Library

http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/republic/declare-01.html

Handbook of Texas Online

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/mjtce.html

Texas Almanac

http://www.texasalmanac.com/history/declaration/

UT Tarleton Law Library

http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/text/1836dindex.html

Yale University's Avalon Project

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/texdec.asp

Humanities Texas traveling and online exhibit

http://www.humanitiestexas.org/exhibits/list/signers/overview.php

Portal to Texas History lesson plan

http://texashistory.unt.edu/young/educators/notebook/Declaration/index.shtml

Dawn Bishop's lesson plan

http://texashistory.unt.edu/young/educators/notebook/Declaration/lesson.doc

Texas Tides lesson plan

http://tides.sfasu.edu/Teachers/Tides/docs/LessonPlans/MiddleSchool/social/MurphreyIndependence.html

Texas State Cemetery

http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/signers.asp

Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library Weblog

http://drtlibrary.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/texas-independence-day-march-2/

Lone Star Junction commentary

http://www.lsjunction.com/docs/tdoi.htm

Wkipedia, of all places

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Declaration_of_Independence

Books

Greatness to Spare: The Heroic Sacrifices of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence by T.R. Fehrenbach

Lives of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence by Benson J. Lossing

The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence by Louis Kemp

The Texas Declaration of Indepedence in Exact Facsimile by Anson Jones Press

Articles

Greer, James K. "The Committee on the Texas Declaration of Independence," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 30 and 31 (April and July 1927), 239-251, 33-49.

Shuffler, R. Henderson. "The Ark of the Covenant of the Texas Declaration of Independence." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 65 (July 1961), 87-100.

Shuffler, R. Henderson. "The Signing of Texas' Declaration of Independence: Myth and Record." Southwestern Historical Quarterly 65 (Jan. 1962), 310-332.

Heritage Society Trunk Shows

2009-03-02T18:46:00.001-06:00

The Heritage Society (Houston) outreaches with offers a "Trunk Show" for children's groups, self-described as below:
http://www.heritagesociety.org/
"Traveling Trunk Shows
The Heritage Society offers two traveling trunk shows as part of our Community Outreach Program. These programs are popular with schoolchildren and scout groups. Each trunk shows lasts about 50 minutes and costs $50.00 per show. Mileage fees may apply. Shows are presented by our dedicated volunteers.
Pioneer Trunk Show
Texas history comes to life with The Heritage Society's Pioneer Trunk Show. Our frontier-clad presenter brings the show to your location. Children learn about the past through three-dimensional historical objects, such as early candle molds and corn husk dolls. This unique learning experience is suited for children ages 8-12 and ties in perfectly with the Texas history curriculum."