Social Studies – Texas History
Unit of Study: Geography Skills and the Regions of Texas
First Grading Period – Week 1 CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
Enduring Understandings (Big Ideas) / Unit Rationale· The regions of Texas reflect its diversity in landforms vegetation, and climate
· Knowing how to use maps, graphs, and charts are essential skills necessary to communicate information. / The regions of Texas reflect its diversity in landforms, vegetation, and climate. These differences have affected the history of Texas from the time of the Native American to the present. The skills necessary to discover and convey this information is developed in an understanding of the uses and interpretations of maps, charts, and globes.
Lessons for this Unit
Lesson 1: Tools of the Texas Geographer
Lesson 2: Regions of Texas
Essential Questions / Guiding Questions
· What factors make a place unique?
· How do we choose where to live?
· Why do we change our surroundings?
· What are the effects of changing our surroundings?
· How does nature affect the way we live?
· How do we use maps, globes, and charts to give directions, find where we live, and to gather facts about our surroundings? / · What is a region?
· How are the regions of Texas identified?
· How does geography affect where people live?
· What role does geography play in the economy of Texas?
· How does geography impact the basic needs and wants of Texans?
· What are the physical features and natural resources in the Texas landscape?
· How have Texans modified the physical landscape of Texas?
· What conclusions can you deduce about Texas weather?
· What are the significant places and regions of 19th and 20th century Texas?
TEKS (Standards) / TEKS Specificity - Intended Outcome
Concepts & Skills / TEKS 7.9 Geography
A. locate places and regions of importance in Texas during the 19th and 20th centuries;
B. compare places and regions of Texas in terms of physical and human characteristics; and
C. analyze the effects of physical and human factors such as climate, weather, landforms, irrigation, transportation, and communication on major events in Texas.
TEKS 7.10 Geography
A. identify ways in which Texans have adapted to and modified the environment and analyze the consequences of the modifications.
B. explain ways in which geographic factors have affected the political, economic, and social development of Texas. / I can
· tell how the natural features, climate, and plants are different in the four regions of Texas and explain how these geographic factors have effected the political, economic and social development of Texas. (7.9B, 7.10B)
· Iocate and compare the physical and human characteristics and factors of the regions of Texas, including the climate, weather, landforms, immigration, transportation, and communication. (7.9 A/B/C)
· identify and explain ways people have adapted to, modified their environment, and analyze the consequences of their actions. (7.10A)
TEKS (Standards) / TEKS Specificity - Intended Outcome
Concepts & Skills / TEKS 7.21 Social Studies Skills (8.30)
B. analyze information by categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, summarizing, making generalizations
C. organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals including graphs, charts, timelines and maps.
H. use appropriate mathematical skills to interpret social studies information such as maps and graphs.
TEKS 7.22 Social Studies Skills
A. use social studies terminology correctly.
C. transfer information from one medium to another, including written to visual and statistical to written or visual, using computer software as appropriate. / I can use my social studies skills to find and interpret primary and secondary sources to better understand historical information. I can also find the main idea, summarize, draw inferences and conclusions. Finally, I can communicate in written, oral, and visual forms. (7.21B/C/H; 7.22 A/C)
ELPS Student Expectations / ELPS Specificity - Intended Outcome
· ELPS 1a - use prior knowledge and experiences to understand meanings in English.
· ELPS 3g - express opinions, ideas, and feelings ranging from communicating single words and short phrases to participating in extended discussions on a variety of social and grade-appropriate academic topic.
· ELPS 4e - read linguistically accommodated content area material with a decreasing need for linguistic accommodations as more English is learned. / · Express opinions and ideas and feelings about the effects of geography on a Texas region using words and phrases such as climate, natural features, and immigration.
· What I know about the area I live to predict what characteristics a region of Texas may possess.
· Use reading materials about the regions of Texas with the support of simplified texts/visuals/word banks as needed.
College Readiness Student Expectations / College Readiness - Intended Outcome
Social Studies Standards
· I – C2: Evaluate changes in the functions and structures of government across time.
· IV – A2: Situate an informational source in its appropriate contexts (contemporary, historical, cultural).
Cross-Curricular Standards
· I – E2: Work collaboratively
· II – C5 Synthesize and organize information effectively. / · Evaluate changes in the environment of a Texas region across time.
· Work collaboratively with others.
· Synthesize and organize information found in the various sources.
Evidence of Learning (Summative Assessment)
· Given a variety of Texas maps, the student will interpret and analyze different types of geographical data with 80% accuracy.
· Given various descriptions of areas of Texas, students will determine which region of Texas is described with 80% accuracy.
· Given a blank map of Texas, students will be able to construct the essential parts of a map with 80% accuracy.
· Given the essential questions for this unit, the student will be able to reflect and articulate correct responses in written or verbal form with 90% accuracy.
Social Studies – U.S. History Since 1877
Lesson 1: Tools of the Texas Geographers
First Grading Period – Week 1
Guiding Questions / Essential Pre-requisite Skills· Why do we use maps, globes, and charts? / · Regions (4th grade)
· Mapping skills (K-6th grade)
· Absolute/relative location (1-6th grade)
· Reading and interpreting graphs, charts, maps (2nd-6th grade)
The Teaching Plan
Instructional Model & Teacher Directions
The teacher will… / So students can….
Use the History Alive framework, resources from the SAISD social studies website, and the Social Studies framework to conduct daily classroom instruction:
Hook
On the back of each of the 3 copies of Student Handout 1A: Gold Deposits, write any number from 1 to 20. On each of the17 copies of Student Handout 1B: Dirt, write the remaining numbers from 1 to 20. Use each number only once.
· Create a grid in the classroom by evenly spacing one set of coordinates Student Handout 1C; Latitude Coordinates in order along the right wall and the second set along the left wall. Then evenly space the coordinates cut from Student Handout 1D: Longitude Coordinates in order along the front and back walls. It is important that the coordinates can be seen by, but are not necessarily obvious to, the students. When students enter the room, do not point them out. (7.21B, C, H)
· Tape each copy of Student Handout 1A, face up, to the floor at three exact coordinates of your choice. Tell students that you have found a lost treasure map of Francisco Cordonado’s quest for the seven cities of gold and they must practice certain skills if they are to go on that treasure hunt. Meet with students outside the classroom and divide them into mixed ability pairs. / / Create a visuals, cartographer enters the room and on a blank sheet of paper maps out the room for the Geologists. After 5 minutes, Cartographers stop drawing and exit the classroom. Students record their name and their partner’s names on their maps. Maps are collected. Cartographer begins reading Student Handout 1E and do not talk with their partners.
Read and interpret a map, Geologists enter the room to search for gold using the map the Cartographer has drawn. The geologists has one minute to explore the site by walking around the classroom but they cannot touch the sheets of paper as they are “covered by dirt.” When they enter the site, they will use their maps to select and write down the three numbers that they think represent the gold deposits. After one minute, the geologists stops searching and the Cartographer is invited to rejoin their partner.
· Designate a Cartographer and a Geologist. Explain that the classroom has been transformed into a “Texas desert” that contains valuable deposits of gold that Cordonado believed were in the area he explored. The students will enter the site at different times. Cartographers will enter first and have 5 minutes to map the site for the Geologists. / / Include the following on your map: An appropriate title, a legend with symbols that represent the furniture and other objects in the room, a compass rose, a grid, an accurate scale.
· While the Cartographer is mapping the room, the Geologist must read and take notes on the handout, which contain the important hints that could help them locate the gold.
· Rearrange the classroom. Move some of the desks and chairs to look like a windstorm has hit the site. Turn each copy of Student Handout 1A over, retaping them to the floor at the same coordinates. Place several copies of Student Handout 1B face down and clustered nearby. Arrange the remaining copies of Student Handout 1B face down throughout the classroom. Tape the sheets to the floor so that students cannot lift them up. Suggestion: move desks or chairs over some of the papers.
· Reveal where the gold was located and debrief the activity.
Guided Practice
· Have students examine the Physical Map of Texas found in A1 of the textbook. Ask the students: What do you see? How did the maker of this map choose to draw the state? Why do you think the mapmaker would draw Texas in this way? What components does this map have? What other components make maps useful?
· Have students read Section 1 of the text and answer the essential question, What areas do each of the six essential elements of geography address.
· Read remaining sections and working in pairs or individually complete Geoterms 1. / / Respond orally or in their interactive journals. Read the text and construct a graphic organizer to detail each element of geography.
Share their completed answers in pairs or share their answers with the class.
Independent Practice
· Introduce activity which will have three phases covering three topics: basic map components, latitude and longitude, scale. Prepare materials and arrange the classroom. Before class, cut apart two copies of Student Handouts 1F-1H. Place the cards in 3 piles, one for each phase of the activity.
· Divide students into mixed ability pairs and distribute copy of Reading Notes 1. Project map transparency of basic map components. Phase 1: Explain that students will now learn the basic components of a map, which you will introduce by asking a series of questions: 1) Which map components tells us the subject of the map? 2) Which map component tells us the pieces of information we can learn from the map? 3) Put your pencil on your map so that it points southeast, northeast, southwest, and then northwest. What do we call these 4 points? 4) What map component indicates direction? 5) After pointing to the grid lines, ask “What do we call this map component? 6) How do we use the map grid to give the location of the Gold Discovery? 7) How can you tell someone to get to the Gold Discovery Museum from the Sawmill Replica without using a map grid? How can you tell someone to get to the Gold Discovery Museum from the Thomas House without using the map grid? Why are these directions different if the location of the Gold Discovery Museum has not changed? Why is the map grid helpful? (7.21 B, C, H)
· Distribute activity cards from Student Handout 1F: Phase 1 Cards. Give one card to each pair.
· Phase 2: Tell students they will now learn how to use latitude and longitude to determine absolute location. Project Grid Transparency of Texas. Introduce the skill by asking this series of questions: 1) What are these lines that circle the state called? How do we measure parallels of latitude? What are the lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole called? How do we measure meridians of longitude?
· Distribute Texas map and activity cards from Student Handout 1G: Phase 2 Cards.
· Phase 3: Tell students they will now learn how to measure distance using scales. Project a physical map of Texas on a wall. Introduce the skill by asking this series of questions: 1) What does the scale tell us? 2) What does this scale represent? 3) Procedure: demonstrate how to use a straightedge, such as an index card, to measure distance. Align the straightedge to the scale, and mark the scale on the card with a pencil. Use your marking to measure the distance between two locations. What is the distance between Corpus Christi and El Paso?
· Distribute Texas map and activity cards from Student Handout 1H: Phase 3 Cards. (7.9 A, B, C) / Volunteer to respond to questions or may write responses in an interactive journal.
Respond to the cards by labeling the map in their Reading Notes 1 in the correct locations with (1) the number of the card and (2) the answer.
Complete the activity and label the map.
Respond to the cards by labeling the map in the correct locations with the (1) the number of the card and (2) the answer.
· respond to the cards by labeling the map in the correct locations with the (1) the number of the card and (2) the answer.
Processing
· Instruct students to create a map of your classroom/neighborhood block/school. (7.21, 7.22) / / Include the following on your map: An appropriate title, a legend with symbols that represent the furniture and other objects in the room, a compass rose, a grid, an accurate scale.