Texas History

 

The way I teach history is to allow the students to construct their knowledge regarding the topic using available resources. As their teacher, I am more of a facilitator, using scaffolding, modeling, and creating rubrics to guide them. I like to integrate as much technology as possible into the projects that students are working on using as many options as available for students to obtain the necessary information. I would rather have students create their PowerPoint presentations than to sit in their seat and watch the one that I created. When students are motivated, the teacher has less discipline problems, and learning is accomplished.

Below are a few examples of projects that I have guided students in the past.

The first activity that I have chosen comes from my 7th grade Texas history class. The activity concerns the arrival of Spanish conquistadors to Texas who were seeking wealth, adventure, and to expand Spain’s empire. The purpose of this activity was to explain why the Spanish conquistadors and friars explored Texas, and determine whether the expeditions to Texas succeeded or failed. This activity was selected from Course number 6711, Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction and Technology and was completed in October of 2012. The professional standards tagged with this activity was

  1. 2a. Teachers will design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporates digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity:
  2. 2b. Teachers will develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.

In this activity, the students’ prior knowledge was activated using a K-W-L chart. Most students already knew what a conquistador and friar were. Students were put in groups of three and each group had a conquistador to research on the Internet. Each member of each group was assigned a specific item to research, either background material on the conquistador, his travels in Texas, or what he accomplished in Texas. One group of students did research on the friars and their success in Texas. A rubric was provided for the students, as well as a model of what their presentation should look like.

This project took several class periods as students were busy constructing their own knowledge using resources from the Internet. Each group had its own name, the name of the conquistador they were working on. The information that was gleamed from the Internet was used in a PowerPoint presentation. Many of my students did not know how to use this software application in the beginning but after this project most of them felt comfortable about using PowerPoint. The students constructed a four slide PowerPoint presentation using images of conquistadors, friars, missions and Native Americans in Texas.

An activity that I present to both 7th and 8th grade classes is using the Internet as a valuable research tool. What are the questions that determined whether a website is useful or not?

  1. Are the facts documented on the website?

  2. Are there more than one source used for information gathered on the site?

  3. Are the hyperlinks linked to proper sites and are up-to-date?

  4. Is the author identified with a complete bibliography?

  5. How in-depth does the website explore the topic?

  6. Does the site contain links to other resources?

  7. Who is sponsoring the site?

I have students compare two websites, one at http://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/richmedia/0/195/project/j1.html and the other at https://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/  using the questions above. The students work in groups of three and normally take two classes.      Jeopardy must have PowerPoint software on computer (works best in internet explorer).

Another activity that I present to both 7th and 8th grade classes is understanding physical maps and creating charts. In the past, students generally have created their physical map using tracing paper, color pencil, and a teacher-created model. Now, more students are using the draw software that come with their chrome books to do a free-hand sketch of the state of Texas and its different regions. The students draw the Guadalupe Mountains, High Plains, Stockton and Edwards Plateau, Palo Duro Canyon, Balcones Escarpment and the rivers in Texas. The student's physical map should also have a scale, compass rose, and a map key which explains the colors on the different regions of the map. This activity can take 2-3 class periods.

Charts are a visual aid that will help students to understand information not only in social studies but in other discipline as well. The activity I used for charts  is one that I have used many times. It involves the choice of soda for 6th, 7th and 8th graders over a two-day period. The first day, I collect all the soda cans for each grade level, (Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper) and create a chart using graph paper for 7th and 8th graders. I give each student a step-by-step instruction on how this chart was created. The students work in pairs, sometimes in a group of three. The third day of collection, the students are on their own to create their own charts. Generally, this activity could take three-four class periods.

An activity that I have had success with is to have the students create a Roadmap to the Texas Revolution. Students create a "Roadmap to the Revolution" visual presentation on white butcher paper. First they draw a simple road. Students may use pencils, crayons, or markers to draw the road, but it should be light enough to add other information on top of it.

Students add to the road by drawing signs to announce historical events that led up to the Texas Revolution. By creating the signs and placing them in the appropriate places on the road, students are actually sequencing the events that led to the Texas Revolution. For example, the first large road sign might read, "The Difficulties Begin." Smaller signs would be Differences Arise between settlers and Mexican officials, another one would be "Trouble Begins in East Texas."

Students should write summaries for each road sign or an explanation of the event on each road sign. Some road signs may need to be on 3 x 5 index cards. Since the process is lengthy, different classes or groups of students may "take ownership" of a certain portion of the road.

When students have completed their road map, have them discuss the process of creating it. Most students will have enjoyed this activity. I always ask questions like "What problems did you encounter on this project?" How did you resolve this problem? How did you resolve what events to include on the road?

Teaching vocabulary is strongly related to reading comprehension (Anderson & Freebody, 1981). Because of this, the activities that I have chosen for teaching vocabulary are Kahoots and Jeopardy. The students love these games. They are competitive with each other. A prize is always appreciated. Texas History TEKS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back