Deep in the Heart of Texas

Rationale: The purpose of this lesson

is to teach the students about Texas geography including landmarks and symbols.

Submitted by: Christine Gatlin, Anya Stroup, Desiree Delape Grade Level: 4th grade Subject/Topic: Social Studies

Materials/Equipment:

-6 poster boards of the Texas map, 6 toy cars, Smartboard, Pictionary cards, 6 decks of Texas Cities cards, Dr. Seusss Oh the places you will go Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_2m uj6fxpc, Texas Tourism Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qn5J2lHKw, Texas symbols video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6f N56M7vz4, Prezi of Texas Pledge: http://prezi.com/oqps5ladjc1e/texasstateflag/?utm_campaign=share&utm_mediu m=copy

Objectives:
The student will demonstrate their understanding of various patriotic symbols. The student will explain meaning of the Texas pledge. The student will identify major cities, landmarks, and regions in Texas using a map of Texas.

Lesson Plan:
Introduction (Anticipatory Set/Motivation):
(Write what CREATIVE, COMPELLING thing you will say or do to immediately grab the childrens attention and interest.)

TEKS Achieved: Social Studies

113.15-(b): (7B), (16A), (16C), (21C)

-Identify & locate the geographic regions of Texas. -Explain the meaning of various patriotic symbols and landmarks of Texas. -Recite and explain the meaning of Pledge of Texas. -Organize and interpret information in visuals and maps.

Open Prezi presentation on flag and pledge. Ask students if they know what the flag represents (Texas), what the colors represent. Process: (Plan how you will teach the lesson and follow the lesson plan cycle:

Information Giving, Modeling, Check for Understanding, Guided Practice, Independent Practice, Closure/Culminating Activity)

Information Giving:

Blooms Taxonomy:
Knowledge Application Comprehension

Respectively tell students that the red, white, and blue on the Texas flag represent courage, strength, and loyalty. Discuss what these words mean. Courage enables you to face difficulty, danger, etc. without fear. Strength your ability to withstand or exert immense force, stress, or pressure. Loyalty being faithful or adhering to a person, commitment, or obligation.

Modeling:

Differentiated Learning:
Auditory Kinesthetic Verbal/Linguistic Intrapersonal Visual/Spatial

Texas Pledge: Honor the Texas Flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible. Recite the pledge as a class. Define Vocabulary from pledge. Honor to treat with or hold in high respects. Pledge a solemn promise or agreement to do or refrain from doing something. Allegiance loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause, etc. Indivisible incapable of being divided.

Check for Understanding:

Geography game Lecture Whole-group

Classroom Strategies:
Technology Simulation Charts/Graphs/Maps Problem Solving Pairing

Discuss what the pledge means. Recite pledge again.

Guided Practice:

Curriculum Integration:
Social Studies Technology Reading

Play Youtube video of Oh! The Places You Will Go. Ask, Have any of you ever been to (name a city in Texas) Introduce the Geography Travel Game. Now lets take a road trip traveling around the state of Texas. Give each table group a Texas map poster board, a deck of Texas Cities cards and a toy car. Explain to the class the game rules: One student will start the game by drawing a card from the deck and then reading it out loud to their group. Using the hint provided on the

card, the student will determine which city the card is describing and then place their car on this city using the Texas map (this city is where the car will start). In order to move or drive the car to the next city, another student will draw a different card from the deck and do the same process described above (reading the card out loud, determining city, and then moving their car to the city described). Students will take turns repeating this process until every major city has been visited or all the cards have been used. -While students are playing this game play the Texas Tourism video, which the students can refer to if they cannot determine which city the card is describing.

Independent Practice:
In table groups students play the Geography travel game and independently determine which city in Texas the card is describing. Give students 10-15 minutes.

Closure / Culminating Activity:

Play Symbols Video. Discuss the symbols of Texas. Play Pictionary using State Symbols on the Smartboard. Give students 20 minutes. Pictionary instructions: Split class in half as teams. (Blue team and Red team) Teacher begins the activity by drawing a symbol that was covered in the presentation. The team that answers first correctly will go first. Students will draw a card without looking and draw the symbol on the Smartboard. Their team must guess the symbol correctly for a point. Students may be asked to explain the meaning of the symbol for Texas when guessed correctly. The team with the most points wins.

Accommodations:
1. 2.

(what YOU will do to modify your lesson)

(for a child with special needs) Appoint a student that will assist child with activities. (for a student that is an ELL) Check understanding one-on-one and offer assistance. Utilize students that speak
the same language for help.

Enrichment/Extension: Try to list or find other cities and landmarks not listed on the map. Assessment/Evaluation: (State your method of evaluating whether or not the students learned the
concepts or skills listed in your objectives above. State WHAT you will assess and HOW you will assess. BE SPECIFIC) Self-Assessment on how the lesson was presented by you and perceived by the students.

Informal assessment done with Pictionary Symbols game and observing students involvement: during map game observe that students can identify geographic regions on the map of Texas, during Texas Pledge discussion determine that all students understand the meaning of the pledge and require all students to recite the pledge, and during Pictionary ask students to explain what the symbols in the game mean as a patriotic symbol after guessing the symbol correctly. Formal assessment using worksheets to evaluate students understanding: Students will complete the State Stuff Jumbles, The Scenic Route and pledge worksheets to demonstrate their understanding of the objectives and concepts covered throughout the lesson. The State Stuff Jumbles assesses students memory of Texas Symbols, The Scenic Route tests the students geographic knowledge and ability to interpret the map, and the Pledge worksheet requires the students to remember and complete the Texas Pledge.

Pledge to the Texas Flag

Honor Texas

Honor the Texas flag,

I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas , one state under God,

allegiance One
state indivisible

one and indivisible .