Activities from Home: The One-Room School

BY ALLISON HARRELL
Texian Time Machine & Outreach Coordinator

With school canceled for several weeks, why not have your kids learn about the one-room school of days gone by? The following post has been adapted from one of our most popular field trip programs here at the Museum. Click here to download a tablet-friendly PDF of an 1830s primer (textbook), and let's get started!

The Home School

In 1821, when the early pioneers were making their way to Texas, school was a bit different than it is today. Many children were taught by their parents at home until enough people moved to the area that a one-room school could be built.

One-Room Schools

These early pioneer schools were typically one room (either by itself or attached to another building, like the blacksmith shop) and they were very basic. They would have a few windows (sometimes with glass), a stove in the corner (for heating and warming up food) and a door.

These schools had very limited supplies that were usually supplied by the parents. Parents paid the teacher directly -- sometimes with money, but sometimes with room and board or perhaps a chicken. With such limited resources available in early Texas, supplies had to cover a wide range of topics and grades. Enter the primer.

The Primer

This single book book was designed to get children through eighth grade (after eighth grade, they were considered adults). The primers featured a number of subjects, including reading, writing and arithmetic. Use the following questions (in bold) to start your one-room school lesson!

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What Subjects Were Taught in a One-Room School?

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic were the three main subjects (these were also called the "Three Rs" – Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic). Sometimes, the lessons would also include recitation and geography; however, science and history were typically not taught as they are today.

Since paper was a rare commodity in pioneer times, memorization was frequently used to teach lessons. Children would begin the school day reciting their homework to the class. It was called "toeing the line."

• HOMEWORK: Have your children practice recitation! Choose a few lines from a poem or another passage from the book and have your child recite it from memory the next day. 

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Questions to Ask While Looking through the Primer

• There are nine word definitions scattered throughout the primer. Which word definition surprised you the most?
• Aesop's Fables are included to demonstrate moral stories that were common in primers/readers. Consider these questions as you read the fables:
  • What lesson is the fable teaching?
  • Which character is teaching the lesson?
  • What is the outcome for the character who is learning a lesson?
• The primer includes two poems, both written by early Texas writers, that describe how they felt about Texas. Have your child read each poem and answer these questions:
  • How did the writer feel about Texas? Is there a positive or negative tone?
  • What sort of description of Texas does the writer provide? What did the landscape look like?  What sort of animals were described?
  • In Eduard Ludecus’ poem: What is a nopal? What is a savanna? What is a wigwam?
  • In Texian Hunter: What happened to the Texian Hunter? Which real character from Texas history is poem describing? (Captain Albert Martin)
• Have your children look at the two maps in the back of the primer. They show the United States in 1820 and 1830.
  • How many states were in the United States in 1820? (23) What about in 1830? (24)