In general, K-12 educators can use any of the Benson exhibits to fulfill TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) requirements.

Chapter 113 of TEKS

For instance, do a show and tell based on the exhibit. For a class size smaller than 15, or broken down into small groups within a large class. Students would look through the exhibit (or all the Latin American exhibits), look for something interesting to explore further, do preliminary research, and share with their class (or small group). The students would look at all various objects and identify a theme, person, place, thing, or system that interests them and do preliminary research beyond the exhibit. A student could pick out education and look into the history of education in Mexico, look at economic systems like trade or agricultural production and draw conclusions about industrialization, or see documents about slaves and research slavery across Latin America. After doing some research outside of our exhibit, they would return and share their process and findings with their class (or small group). This show-and-tell style project allows students to take ownership of their thought process and research, and sharing their process allows other students to understand how research can be conducted in many varied ways.

This kind of assignment encourages interest in history by allowing students to pick out their own historical subject, requires independent inquiry, and communication of history to peers. This would be a good project for History classes, English/Reading classes, AVID classes, and research classes.

§113.42.c.16.b-c. World History Studies (One Credit), Adopted 2018.

(16) Economics. The student understands the impact of the Neolithic and Industrial revolutions and globalization on humanity. The student is expected to:

(B) summarize the role of economics in driving political changes as related to the Industrial Revolution; and

(C) describe the economic impact of globalization.

How do these images of maps and agricultural production help you understand how the industrial revolution caused economic and national changes?

Use the images and captions of the below-listed exhibits to help you understand how the industrial revolution in Latin America fueled economic growth and political changes.

§113.19 TEK; 7th Grade Social Studies - (4)(c)

Identify individuals, events, and issues during early Texas statehood, including the U.S.-Mexican War, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, slavery, and the Compromise of 1850.

Lesson – In small groups, students will read the document captions while viewing the documents, discuss the similarities and differences between the perspectives of Texas, Mexico, and the United States, and then fill in a venn-diagram with the respective similarities and differences.

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to correctly identify the motives and perspectives of historical actors involved in the U.S.-Mexican war:

1.) Students should be able to identify the historical actors involved in the U.S.-Mexican War.

2.) Students should be able to summarize the motives of each group, and how they affected the objectives of other involved groups.

3.) Students should be able to construct motivations for historical actions of all sides in the U.S.-Mexican War.

§113.c.42.18.a-b. World History Studies (One Credit), Adopted 2018. (18) Government. The student understands the characteristics of major political systems throughout history. The student is expected to: (A) identify the characteristics of monarchies and theocracies as forms of government in early civilizations; and (B) identify the characteristics of the following political systems: theocracy, absolute monarchy, democracy, republic, oligarchy, limited monarchy, and totalitarianism.

Students will place themselves in the shoes of the stakeholders within the objects and try to understand the situation from those perspectives. This would help them gain a broader mindset, allowing them to empathize when dealing with political materials from the nineteenth century.

Have the students read the documents and write an essay answering the following questions:

1.) Who are the stakeholders?

2.) Would you, as a stakeholder, feel angry about the documents? Confused? Excited?

3.) If you were a Mexican citizen at the time, do you think your socioeconomic status would affect your opinion? Explain why.

§113.43. World Geography Studies (One Credit), Adopted 2018.(c) Knowledge and skills. (15) Citizenship. The student understands how different points of view influence the development of public policies and decision-making processes at national and international levels. The student is expected to: (A) identify and give examples of different points of view that influence the development of public policies and decision-making processes at national and international levels; and (B) explain how citizenship practices, public policies, and decision making may be influenced by cultural beliefs, including nationalism and patriotism.

Political socialization is the “process by which people develop their political knowledge, values, and ideologies.” Students will consider the following questions through discussion or writing assignments: In what ways do you and your peers receive political socialization? How may nationalism appear in these avenues? How do political socialization and nationalism appear in your school’s curriculum?

Exercise: Students will annotate the 1914 curriculum chart with English translations and then fill out a curriculum chart for their own high school). How much does your school teach about the history and culture of the US vs. the history and culture of other countries? Does your school celebrate any national holidays? How does the curriculum (or society) discuss the roles of women in history and government? Indigenous people? "Non-white" people? What aspects of history do the curriculum stress or skim over?

§113.46. Sociology (One-Half Credit), Beginning with School Year 2011-2012. (18) Changing world. The student understands how collective behavior, social movements, and modernization contribute to a changing social world. The student is expected to: (A) compare and contrast various types of collective behavior and social movements and how they affect society; (B) discuss theories that have been developed to explain collective behavior and social movements; and (C) illustrate three social processes that contribute to social change and discuss and evaluate how technology, population, natural environment, revolution, and war cause cultures to change.

What are some trends and social movements that have happened in the last 5 years? Similar to the way the newspapers, photographs, and school curriculum charts spread ideologies throughout Mexico, how do social media and/or news sources impact trends and social movements in the 21st century? Additionally, how have social media and news sources broadened the education of young people? Analyze secondary sources provided to better contextualize these nationalistic and social movements that may help inspire this pamphlet.

Exercise: Create a pamphlet to reflect social movements and/or trends from the past 5 years. Include photos, artistic designs, important figures, titles, quotes, etc. Think about your target audience and consider how these inclusions are meant to educate your audience.