To help your students understand the timeline of the Texas Revolution, you may want to walk through the events day by day from the beginning of the siege on the Alamo (February 24) until San Jacinto Day (April 21).
When the Texians flexed their muscles and seized control of the colonial capital, Santa Anna’s army marched into San Antonio on February 24, 1836 to take it back. They found the Texians encamped in the Alamo and laid siege.
William Barrett Travis sent out several couriers, informing Texas leaders of the situation and asking for help, but no help came. No new supplies.
Here are some activities that can help your students understand what it was like to live in those days:
Teaching Tip #1: To see how long the volunteer defenders of the Alamo held out against the much larger Mexican forces, mark this day on your calendar. I’ll let you know in another blog post when the Alamo finally fell.
Teaching Tip #2: 189 combatants ultimately died at the Alamo, but there were more people inside the walls. Who were they? What happened to them? Talk about how Texans might have felt when their own government attacked them.
Teaching Tip #3: Request our Texas Timeline game! It’s FREE!
