Highsmith, Carol M. The Cave Without a Name. That's not a description; it's the actual name of these caverns near Boerne, Texas. 2014. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015630267/.
Introduce the lesson by projecting the visual and ask what students notice, wonder, and infer. Students will be introduced to the natural Texas landmark to determine importance and to see how it has impacted the community. Students will guess what region of Texas the cave is located in and should explain why they have made that guess.
“Cave Without a Name” was named by a student in Boerne, Texas, in the 1940s. The cave has served several purposes such as a place for concerts.
Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2014632413/
Source: : https://www.loc.gov/item/2014632413/
- What mood or emotion does the view of the cave evoke?
- Who would have used this cave in the 1800s? The early 1900s?
- How could a military organization use this cave?
- How could families traveling across the country use this cave?
- What impact could this cave have on the surrounding community?
ELA Standard
7.5E. Comprehension. Make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society.
Social Studies Standard
7.8A. Geography. locate and compare the Mountains and Basins, Great Plains, North Central Plains, and Coastal Plains regions.
Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
- Engage
- What they notice (visual details: formations, lighting, space)
- What they wonder (questions about how the cave formed, its use, or name)
- What they can infer (how this place is valued or interpreted in Texas culture)
- Students will answer some of the following questions in their journal and discuss as a class. Think-Pair-Share is another option for answering questions.
- What does the lighting in the photo suggest about the atmosphere inside the cave?
- How does the title “Cave Without a Name” affect how you view this place?
- Why do you think the photographer chose this angle or composition?
- What do you think this photo was meant to show or communicate?
- What emotions or reactions does the photo create in you?
- How do photographs improve our understanding and appreciation of natural landmarks?
- In what ways can a natural landmark like the Cave Without a Name shape a community’s economy, culture, and identity over time?
- Students complete a Gallery Walk viewing other natural Texas landmarks to make and record observations at each stop. Students will leave sticky notes with their observations (Big Bend, Palo Duro Canyon, Enchanted Rock, etc.) and connect to one of the regions of Texas studies in their social studies class.
- Students create a travel brochure for the cave, including facts and descriptive language as well as current photos of these landmarks.
- Students could connect this visual and the other regions studied to a variety of novels that feature Texas geography including: Holes by Louis Sachar; Omega Morales and the Legend of La Lechuza by Laekan Zea Kemp; and Midnight on Strange Street by K. E. Ormsbee.
- Additional resources for this lesson include:
- The city of Boerne site has fun facts about the cave, along with the opportunity to listen to a narration by the sibling of the student who discovered the cave.
- https://www.texasspeleologicalsurvey.org/showcaves/tsscwan.php provides a map of the cave, along with its interesting history. It also has the size, discovery information, and life forms of the cave.
- https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/cave-without-a-name lists a brief description of the cave and discusses the types of formations found in the cave.
- https://www.up.edu/portlandmagazine/2025-winter/without-a-name.html Travelers from around the globe and country have written about the cave as well.
Highsmith, Carol M. Formations in the "Cave Without a Name," located near Boerne in Kendall County, Texas. 2014. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2014632413/.