Educator Resources

• An iconic Texas landscape
• The view from my window
• Favorite Texas food
• Animals/Insects/Flowers/Trees of Texas
• Texas through the eyes of my grandparents/ parents/ myself
• How I fit / do not fit into the idea of what it means to be a Texan
• Tiny Texas
• A Texas hero
• The forgotten Texan
• Texas of the past, present, or future
• A fresh look on a common Texas symbol
• Texas in my dreams

Writing Prompts

Provide students with an authentic and creative way to tell a story through one of the following prompts – or create your own prompt that encourages your students to tell their Texas story while hitting the necessary TEKS.

Creative Nonfiction / Personal Narrative

• Rewrite an event from Texas history using nothing but dialogue or using a fractured timeline.
• Write about what foods are important to your family and why or tell a story from your past that focuses on food.
• Describe a special family celebration or your best Texas vacation.
• Recreate the story of how your family got to Texas in the first place (whether it was five generations ago or five months ago).
• Create a written guide for a visitor about the Texas they don’t know (or make it specific to your city or region of the state).
• Write a true (or embellished) version of your best/worst hiking, canoeing, bicycling, camping, hunting, swimming, or tubing trip in Texas.

Fiction

• Write a contemporary short story featuring a character with Texas roots or set in Texas.
• Write a fictionalized account of a story from your own childhood.
• Write historical fiction by basing your story on events that really happened in Texas.
• Write a modern story set in an iconic Texas location such as the Davis Mountains, Galveston Island, Palo Duro Canyon, Enchanted Rock, or the Texas-Mexico border.
• Write a dramatic monologue from the point of view of a witness to history.

Research

• Research a person from Texas history and write a narrative of one specific moment in that person’s life.
• Research a Texas first and explain why that “first” was important. Topics to consider: the first suspension bridge in the country, the first words spoken on the moon, or the first black woman elected to the state senate.
• Research a specific region in Texas such as the South Texas Plains, the Piney Woods or the Panhandle and set your story there.
• Research a famous Texas event and use the information for an “eyewitness” account. Visit Get Inspired! – I AM TEXAS (iamtx.org) for ideas.
• Research the lives and customs of early Texas immigrants (Texans One and All | UTSA Institute Of Texan Cultures ) and combine it with what you know about your own family’s history.

Poetry

• Write an ode to a Texas icon, Texas place, or even a Texas food. The poem can be heartfelt, silly, or ironic.
• Write a ballad to a forgotten Texas hero.
• Write an “I Am” poem from your point of view or that of a famous Texan.
• Write a descriptive poem of your favorite place in the state.
• Write a list poem about Texas – the possibilities are endless!
• Instead of 6 Flags Over Texas, write a poem about 6 _________ in Texas (activities, festivals, sights, heroes, celebrations, cities, symbols, myths, types of people, animals, truths, etc.)

ELA TEKS - Grade 3: 3.7,3.11, 3.11(E), 3.12(A), 3.13; Grade 4: 4.7,4.11, 4.11(E), 4.12(A), 4.13; Grade 5: 5.7,5.11, 5.11(E), 5.12(A), 5.13; Grade 6: 6:10, 6.10(E), 6.11(A), 6.12; Grade 7: 7:10, 7.10(E), 7.11(A), 7.12; Grade 8: 8:10, 8.10(E), 8.11(A), 8.12; English I: E1.9, E1.9(E), E1.10(A), E1.10B, E1.11; English II: E2.9, E2.9(E), E2.10(A), E2.10(B), E2.11; English III: E3.9, E3.9(E), E3.10(A), E3.10B, E3.11; English IV: E4.9, E4.9(E), E4.10(A), E4.10B, E4.11