Texas: Revolution to Annexation"
(Flickr Slidshow)
Students will work in groups. Each group will create a slideshow using Flikr. They will include historical figures and events in their slideshow that will correspond to their topic in sequential order of their presentations.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Texas: From Revolution to Annexation
Texas History: 7th grade Social Studies
Learning Goals: In this unit, students will be able to explain, describe, and sequence events in Texas history events that occurred during and after the Texas Revolution.
Daily objectives will include Texas Essential Knowledge Skills for the following chapters: (Chapter 10)"The Alamo and Goliad"; (Chapter 11) "Independence Won"; and (Chapter 12) "The Lone Star Republic".
Student Interest, Prior Knowledge, and Misconceptions:
Prior to the lesson, I asked students to share with the class what they knew about the Texas Revolution. A few students mentioned the battle at the Alamo. However, many students were confusing the Texas Revolution with the American Civil War.
Technology and Resources used in this unit will include: Discovery Education United Streaming to watch and learn about the Texas Revolution. Students are highly interested in watching videos; but they will be required to write down notes as we watch these videos; some are video segments that are anywhere from about 10 minutes in length up to approximately 50 minutes.
Stuents will be working in groups of 3 or 4, depending on class size. Each group will create a blog about our topic: Texas: From Revolution to Annexation. They will access various sources such as wikipedia, YouTube, Portal of Texas, and other sources dealing with Texas history.
Order of activities:
1. We will be reading the district-assigned textbook,"Texas and Texans". From this textbook, students will read orally, participate in class discussions, and complete various activities from the book. Some of these activities include: Foldables, timelines, end-of-section and end-of-chapter assessments. We will also be reviewing study skills that will help them successfully complete all their assignments. One extension activity will be for students to create artwork that will illustrate the significant events that occurred throughout the Texas Revolution and proceeding to annexation of Texas to the United States.
2. Hands-on activities (mentioned above) will take place after some oral reading and discussion of the text. Access to computers is dependent on availability of the school's computer lab.
3. Lenght of time required for completion of this unit will range from 2 to 3 weeks.
4. Assessment is ongoing. This means that as students work on their project, I will be monitoring their progress by asking them critical-thinking questions to looking over the work they are engaged in accomplishing.
Curriculum:
The state-mandated curriculum will be followed as usual. The following is an example of our district's lesson plan template/format:
Social Studies: Grade 7
Learning Standards:
Identify individuals, events, and issues during the Texas Revolution and the annexation of Texas to the United States. Identify individuals including Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Maribeu Lamar, Anson Jones, and Chief Bowles;Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the Texas army; characterize the factors that led to the Texan defeats in their struggle for independence; exlain why Santa Anna stayed in Texas; summarize what occurred at the Battle of San Jacinto; explain why Texans wanted the United States to annex Texas;and to describe the annexation of Texas to the United States.
Texas Essential Knowledge Skills:
TEK 7.1 The student understands traditional historical points of reference in Texas history.
TEK 7.3 The student understands how individuals, events, and issues related to the Texas Revolution shaped the history of Texas.
TEK 7.4 The student understands how individuals, events, and issues shaped the history of the Republic of Texas and early Texas statehood.
Warm-up:
Academic Language (key terms)
Bell Ringer (beginning of class activity while teacher takes attendance)
Procedures:
a) Reading and discussion (textbook)
b) Students will form in groups
d) Students will work on assignment for the day
Materials:
Texas and Texans (textbook)
Computer (for research. This will take place in the school's computer lab).
Students will retrieve information from websites which will include: Portal of Texas; YouTube; www.aande.com (A&E Television); www.historychannel.com (The History Channel)They will create a 'group' blog using Blogger.
Materials for foldables and Thinking Maps
Interactive Student Notebooks
Resources and Materials
· Texas Primary Documents:
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/ssc/primary_resources/primary_sources.html
· Texas Revolution Article:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/qdt1.html
· Causes of the Texas Revolution: http://education.texashistory.unt.edu/lessons/notebook/Causes/
· Texas Declaration of Independence: http://education.texashistory.unt.edu/lessons/notebook/Declaration/
· Notable Texans of the Texas Revolution:
http://tides.sfasu.edu/Teachers/Tides/docs/LessonPlans/MiddleSchool/social/MurphreyNotable.html
· Who’s who in the Texas Revolution:
http://www.tshaonline.org/tools/lessonplans/grade7/revolution/index.html
· Texas Quarter Activity:
http://www.usmint.gov/Kids/teachers/lessonplans/50sq/2004/0406-3.pdf
· Texas Frontier Timeline Activity:
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/teach/images/Timeline-Frontier.pdf
· Texas Revolution Resources:
https://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=55138#132681
· Curriculum Corner (7th Grade TX History Resources)
http://www.georgetownisd.org/ccorner/socstudies/7th.asp
Evaluation:
Student responses to questions
Student work (progress) product
Notebook check
Weekly OER (Open Ended Response) quiz is mandated by the district. These evaluations will be taken from the district curriculum.
Teacher created quizzes and tests will be given to students to either complete in class as time allows or as a take-home quiz/test.
Summary/Conclusion
When studying history, students need to appreciate the significance of the struggles and accompishments of our forefathers. In this geographical area (El Paso, Texas) we have diversity of cultures. In order to appreciate history, each student is capable of identifying with history due to the fact that they come from different cultures such as Mexico, other places in North America, and around the world. We have a number of families who are in the military; therefore, these students are exposed to many cultures; in turn, they can share their backgrounds and experiences with our local students who have never been to other cities, states, or countries.
My observations have proven time and again that after we complete a unit study such as the current topic (Texas: From Revolution to Annexation), students come away with a richer understanding of history. They are also better prepared for eighth-grade Social Studies and the other subjects they study in school.
Learning Goals: In this unit, students will be able to explain, describe, and sequence events in Texas history events that occurred during and after the Texas Revolution.
Daily objectives will include Texas Essential Knowledge Skills for the following chapters: (Chapter 10)"The Alamo and Goliad"; (Chapter 11) "Independence Won"; and (Chapter 12) "The Lone Star Republic".
Student Interest, Prior Knowledge, and Misconceptions:
Prior to the lesson, I asked students to share with the class what they knew about the Texas Revolution. A few students mentioned the battle at the Alamo. However, many students were confusing the Texas Revolution with the American Civil War.
Technology and Resources used in this unit will include: Discovery Education United Streaming to watch and learn about the Texas Revolution. Students are highly interested in watching videos; but they will be required to write down notes as we watch these videos; some are video segments that are anywhere from about 10 minutes in length up to approximately 50 minutes.
Stuents will be working in groups of 3 or 4, depending on class size. Each group will create a blog about our topic: Texas: From Revolution to Annexation. They will access various sources such as wikipedia, YouTube, Portal of Texas, and other sources dealing with Texas history.
Order of activities:
1. We will be reading the district-assigned textbook,"Texas and Texans". From this textbook, students will read orally, participate in class discussions, and complete various activities from the book. Some of these activities include: Foldables, timelines, end-of-section and end-of-chapter assessments. We will also be reviewing study skills that will help them successfully complete all their assignments. One extension activity will be for students to create artwork that will illustrate the significant events that occurred throughout the Texas Revolution and proceeding to annexation of Texas to the United States.
2. Hands-on activities (mentioned above) will take place after some oral reading and discussion of the text. Access to computers is dependent on availability of the school's computer lab.
3. Lenght of time required for completion of this unit will range from 2 to 3 weeks.
4. Assessment is ongoing. This means that as students work on their project, I will be monitoring their progress by asking them critical-thinking questions to looking over the work they are engaged in accomplishing.
Curriculum:
The state-mandated curriculum will be followed as usual. The following is an example of our district's lesson plan template/format:
Social Studies: Grade 7
Learning Standards:
Identify individuals, events, and issues during the Texas Revolution and the annexation of Texas to the United States. Identify individuals including Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Maribeu Lamar, Anson Jones, and Chief Bowles;Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the Texas army; characterize the factors that led to the Texan defeats in their struggle for independence; exlain why Santa Anna stayed in Texas; summarize what occurred at the Battle of San Jacinto; explain why Texans wanted the United States to annex Texas;and to describe the annexation of Texas to the United States.
Texas Essential Knowledge Skills:
TEK 7.1 The student understands traditional historical points of reference in Texas history.
TEK 7.3 The student understands how individuals, events, and issues related to the Texas Revolution shaped the history of Texas.
TEK 7.4 The student understands how individuals, events, and issues shaped the history of the Republic of Texas and early Texas statehood.
Warm-up:
Academic Language (key terms)
Bell Ringer (beginning of class activity while teacher takes attendance)
Procedures:
a) Reading and discussion (textbook)
b) Students will form in groups
d) Students will work on assignment for the day
Materials:
Texas and Texans (textbook)
Computer (for research. This will take place in the school's computer lab).
Students will retrieve information from websites which will include: Portal of Texas; YouTube; www.aande.com (A&E Television); www.historychannel.com (The History Channel)They will create a 'group' blog using Blogger.
Materials for foldables and Thinking Maps
Interactive Student Notebooks
Resources and Materials
· Texas Primary Documents:
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/ssc/primary_resources/primary_sources.html
· Texas Revolution Article:
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/qdt1.html
· Causes of the Texas Revolution: http://education.texashistory.unt.edu/lessons/notebook/Causes/
· Texas Declaration of Independence: http://education.texashistory.unt.edu/lessons/notebook/Declaration/
· Notable Texans of the Texas Revolution:
http://tides.sfasu.edu/Teachers/Tides/docs/LessonPlans/MiddleSchool/social/MurphreyNotable.html
· Who’s who in the Texas Revolution:
http://www.tshaonline.org/tools/lessonplans/grade7/revolution/index.html
· Texas Quarter Activity:
http://www.usmint.gov/Kids/teachers/lessonplans/50sq/2004/0406-3.pdf
· Texas Frontier Timeline Activity:
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/teach/images/Timeline-Frontier.pdf
· Texas Revolution Resources:
https://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=55138#132681
· Curriculum Corner (7th Grade TX History Resources)
http://www.georgetownisd.org/ccorner/socstudies/7th.asp
Evaluation:
Student responses to questions
Student work (progress) product
Notebook check
Weekly OER (Open Ended Response) quiz is mandated by the district. These evaluations will be taken from the district curriculum.
Teacher created quizzes and tests will be given to students to either complete in class as time allows or as a take-home quiz/test.
Summary/Conclusion
When studying history, students need to appreciate the significance of the struggles and accompishments of our forefathers. In this geographical area (El Paso, Texas) we have diversity of cultures. In order to appreciate history, each student is capable of identifying with history due to the fact that they come from different cultures such as Mexico, other places in North America, and around the world. We have a number of families who are in the military; therefore, these students are exposed to many cultures; in turn, they can share their backgrounds and experiences with our local students who have never been to other cities, states, or countries.
My observations have proven time and again that after we complete a unit study such as the current topic (Texas: From Revolution to Annexation), students come away with a richer understanding of history. They are also better prepared for eighth-grade Social Studies and the other subjects they study in school.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Using Podcast In My Classroom
Teaching seventh-grade Social Studies will interest my students more by learning how to use podcast. Students comprehend better when they are actively engaged on a hands-on project. Especially using a computer to create their own podcast. When I taught ESL, I would sometimes use a tape recorder during oral readings or discussions. When my students heard their own voice, they were surprised at how their voice sounded. The reason our own voice sounds different to us than to other people, is that when other people listen to us speak, they are hearing our voice through sound waves. On the other hand, when we hear ourselves speaking, we are hearing our own voice through our brains and inner auditory system (also known as bone conduction). This is why podcast will enhance student learning; they get to hear themselves as others hear them.
I will continue my topic in Texas history about the Texas Revolution and its aftermath; how Texas became part of the United States (annexation) and the problems encountered along the way. My plan will begin by having my students listen to my instructions via podcast. Then, they will create a podcast that will include narratives about the Texas Revolution, its annexation into the United States, and also, songs they will download that were sung during the era we are studying.
Studens will go to YouTube to find videos about the Texas Revolution. Some of the videos will show re-enactments of battle scenes during the war. There are also interviews with historians explaining the details during this era. Some of my favorite videos are on YouTube, but we can also go to other resources provided in our textbook,"Texas and Texans" (Glencoe Publishing). These resources include A&E Television: www.aande.com and The History Channel: www.historychannel.com.
As we continue into the 21st century, I see a great need for our education system to make technology a high priority. It is imperative that the decision makers realize that without sufficient technology in our schools, we are short-changing our youth. Youngsters need to learn how to use technology in a responsible way throughout their years in school (public, private, and higher education).
I will continue my topic in Texas history about the Texas Revolution and its aftermath; how Texas became part of the United States (annexation) and the problems encountered along the way. My plan will begin by having my students listen to my instructions via podcast. Then, they will create a podcast that will include narratives about the Texas Revolution, its annexation into the United States, and also, songs they will download that were sung during the era we are studying.
Studens will go to YouTube to find videos about the Texas Revolution. Some of the videos will show re-enactments of battle scenes during the war. There are also interviews with historians explaining the details during this era. Some of my favorite videos are on YouTube, but we can also go to other resources provided in our textbook,"Texas and Texans" (Glencoe Publishing). These resources include A&E Television: www.aande.com and The History Channel: www.historychannel.com.
As we continue into the 21st century, I see a great need for our education system to make technology a high priority. It is imperative that the decision makers realize that without sufficient technology in our schools, we are short-changing our youth. Youngsters need to learn how to use technology in a responsible way throughout their years in school (public, private, and higher education).
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