Expedition To The Texas Coast: Exploring The Wreck Of The French Ship La Belle
• an integrated curriculum for 4th and 7th grade students offering Texas history content with opportunities for processes and skills development and is clearly connected to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
• a unit of study about the French in 17th century Texas and the French explorer Robert Rene Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
• about the discovery and recovery of the frigate, La Belle, which sank in 1686, on the Texas coast at Matagorda Bay in the Gulf of Mexico.
Click on the links below to download the lesson plans, student activity sheets, and see the accompanying
images for each of the eight La Belle Online lessons.
This lesson examines artifacts found on La Belle to make predictions about why the expedition came to North
America and what they brought with them. Students will also review the concepts of primary and secondary sources.
This lesson illustrates how one artifact, a cannon with an inscription, solves a mystery and verifies the authenticity of the historical ship, La Belle. It presents the recovery of the first artifact found in 1996 on La Belle after being buried on the Gulf floor for more than 300 years. Students will also have an opportunity to create their personal crest that could one day be a missing link of history.
This character study lesson introduces the key players of the French expedition to the Texas coast in the seventeeth century. Social, political, and economic implications of exploration and colonization attempts are presented in the research and the oral presentation. Use of the computer lab is required for this lesson which may be taught in either social studies or language arts.
This lesson explores the Fort St. Louis archeological site in relation to the concepts of how location and place affect history. The lesson may be taught in either social studies or science class.
This inquiry lesson chronicles the history of La Belle as students conduct research to learn why its recovery significantly adds to our understanding of Texas history. The lesson also explores the unique recovery and conservation process. Students will conduct online and print research to collect data to analyze and synthesize then create a product for others.
This inquiry lesson provides opportunities for students to learn key facts of La Salle’s expedition to colonize North America as they create a database of historical information on six wall reference boards.
Establishing colonies following land claim was essential in the race for control of the North American continent. In the seventeeth century, England, France, and Spain risked lives and fortunes when they planned and began settlements across the Atlantic. This lesson teaches the concept of colony by looking at the French plan for Mississippi River colonization and the first European settlement in what is Texas today, Fort St. Louis. Through simulation, students will propose a plan of colonization based upon the critical attributes of a colony.
This geography lesson provides an opportunity for students to read an essay and examine maps to compare and contrast three regions of seventeeth century French exploration and settlement in North America: the Northeast, the Mississippi River, and the Texas Gulf Coast.
Each of the eight lessons in Expedition To The Texas Coast: Exploring The Wreck Of The French Ship La Belle is supported by the following resources. Click on each link below to download a PDF version of the resource to your desktop.
• Teacher's Desk
• Unit Matrix
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Websites
• Evaluation