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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Atrial Cross at Acolman

For Students 9th - 10th
The Atrial Cross at Acolman offers a fascinating look into the interactions between Spanish friars and Nahua converts in the years directly following the conquest of Mexico. View pictures and descriptions of the cross and the Augustinian...
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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Mission Church, San Esteban Del Rey, Acoma Pueblo

For Students 9th - 10th
Acoma Pueblo is home to one of the best-preserved early mission churches in the United States - San Esteban del Rey. View pictures of this church and read about the history in this essay.
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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Mission Churches as Theaters of Conversion in New Spain

For Students 9th - 10th
Mission churches, which followed a similar architectural plan but varied in terms of decoration, are among the earliest examples of colonial architecture. View pictures and read the history of these mission churches, or conventos, in New...
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Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: St. Michael the Archangel in Huejotzingo

For Students 9th - 10th
The Franciscan monastery of Huejotzingo is a landmark in the development of sixteenth-century art in central Mexico. View pictures of this mission and read details about the architectural elements in this essay.
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Handout
Lone Star Junction

Lone Star Junction: The Five Spanish Missions of Old San Antonio

For Students 3rd - 8th
A brief look at each of five Spanish missions established in the 1700s along the San Antonio River in California.
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Website
Other

California Missions Interactive

For Students 9th - 10th
Follow behind the wheels of two bicyclists who rode from mission to mission and documented their journey. They kept in contact with fourth graders in Palo Alto, California who have been studying California Missions.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Postal Museum: Spanish Settlement of the Southwest Issue

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the Camino Real and the first European settlement west of the Mississippi, San Gabriel, from this captioned exhibit of a stamp issued in 1998 to commemorate Spanish settlement of the U.S. Southwest.
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Article
Scholastic

Scholastic: Junipero Serra

For Students 9th - 10th
Junipero Serra (1713-1789) was a missionary who worked in Mexico and later California, mainly among the native people. He was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1988. This is a short profile of his life.
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Handout
New Advent

Catholic Encyclopedia: Fray Alonzo Benavides

For Students 9th - 10th
A short description of the missionary work of Fray Alonzo Benavides is presented. Please note that ?The Catholic Encyclopedia? is a historic reference source and should be viewed in the context of resource material dated around 1910.
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Interactive
Mission Tour

Mission Tour: Virtual Tour of California Missions: Secularization

For Students 9th - 10th
This website tells about the emergence of secularization of Spanish California, which resulted in the decline of the missions.
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Handout
Other

California Missions Virtual Tour

For Students 9th - 10th
Be sure to play the beautiful Mission Music as you explore this colorful journey into the history of the California missions.