Texas Heroes: Deaf Smith and Emily West (app)

  • Download Lesson Plan

    Activity 1: Class Discussion

    app screenshot

    Visit the Apple App Store to find Texas Heroes app. 

    Present the app to students and discuss the following questions:

    • What do you think this app will be about?
    • Have you ever heard of Deaf Smith? What do you know about him?
    • Have you ever heard of Emily West? What do you know about her?
    • What do you know about the Texas Revolution?

    Activity 2: Learn and Discuss

    app home page

    Visit the Apple App Store to find Texas Heroes app. 

    Students may use the app individually, in groups, or as a class. Students should explore the app in preparation for learning.

    Activity 3: Texas Revolution KWL

    KWL Chart

    Tell students they will be studying history in poetic form! They will learn about the Texas Revolution, Texas history figures, and how poetry is created in English and ASL.

    Distribute the KWL chart or create one on the board for a whole class activity. Before viewing the app, ask students what they:

    • Know about the topic: Texas Revolution, Mexico, Deaf Smith and Emily West
    • Wonder about the topic


    After viewing the app, ask students what they: 

    • Learned about the topic.

    Activity 4: Vocabulary

    Vocabulary Activity 1: Review and Flipgrid

    Review the vocabulary introduced in the app. Have students make a list of signs they didn't know before watching, then re-watch the vocabulary portion of the app to practice the words.

    Using Flipgrid, students create a video to teach other students at least three of the vocabulary words they learned. (The teacher may want to assign the words, so there is no repetition.)

    Vocabulary Activity 2: Quizlet

    Students go to quizlet.com to practice vocabulary words from the videos. Teachers who have an account can copy the quiz to their classroom set. To sign up for a free account, visit the Quizlet website.

    Vocabulary Activity 3: Puzzles

    Download and distribute the Crossword Puzzle and the Word Search. 

    crossword   word search

    Crossword Key     Word Search Key