Influences of Diverse Cultures on Texas

Discover Texas's vibrant cultural tapestry! Explore immigrant festivals, learn about assimilation, and preserve heritage.

In this experience, students learn how the diversity of Texas is reflected in a variety of cultural activities, celebrations, and performances. You will research a festival that celebrates an immigrant group’s native culture. Then you will define assimilation and give an example. Finally, you will write a letter to a friend in the “old country” explaining how you preserve your cultural heritage in Texas.Each group will research one of five festivals: Charro Days Fiesta in Brownsville, Wurstfest in New Braunfels, Westfest in West, St. Patrick’s Day in Austin, or Bayou City Cajun Festival. Can you guess what the third most common language is in Texas homes—after English and Spanish? Texas is a land of many different cultures. According to an article in the Texas Tribune, about eight million Texans over the age of five years speak a language other than English at home. A large majority of those—almost 85 percent—speak Spanish. As Texas Population Grows, More Languages are Spoken at Home Directions: Read the article to answer the question, what is the third most common language spoken in Texas. Languages Spoken in the home, other than English in Texas. After reading the article, which is the third most spoken language in Texas? English Spanish Vietnamese While it is important for the many different groups in Texas to work together, it is equally important for each Texas family to maintain its own cultural heritage. Many ethnic, racial, and religious groups share their heritage through special festivals, celebrations, and performances. Share any holidays that express your family’s heritage (the values, traditions, culture, and artifacts handed down by previous generations). Have you ever attended a celebration for a different culture? Write them here. It is your turn to learn about another culture in Texas! You will now research an ethnic festival in Texas. Be ready to share your research with the rest of the class.Using the Internet, research the topic. You can start your research by going to articles below. Then create a report on your findings, using the directions below.Slide 1: Background about the festival: When is it held? For how many years has it been held? What is the origin of the celebration?Slide 2: A map of Texas showing where the festival takes placeSlide 3: A map showing the location of the country of originSlide 4: An image and description of food eaten at the festivalSlide 5: An image and description of clothing worn by people at the festival, and an image or link to a video of music or dancing at the festivalPrepare it in Google Slides and post a link to it below. Charro Days Fiesta Charro Days Fiesta Westfest West Fest Home page Wurstfest! St. Patrick's Day Austin St. Patrick's Day The 23rd Bayou City Cajun Festival Comes to Traders Village April 6-7 Bayou City Cajun Fest Paste the link to your presentation here. When immigrants arrive in a new country, they bring their old culture and tradition with them, while they learn to live in a new culture. The process of adapting to the new culture and becoming a part of it is called assimilation. Define assimilation in your own words. Add an example of assimilation. Define assimilation, and give an example of it: Imagine that you are an immigrant to Texas. If you really are an immigrant, you can use your own personal experiences.Write a letter to a friend from your country of origin describing how you and your family celebrate your old culture and traditions in your new home.