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Description
Overview
In this two-day lesson, students will be able to identify, describe, and compare the distinct characteristics of each region of Texas.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
- What are the significant environmental characteristics of each region of Texas?
- How might the distinct characteristics of each region affect early American Indians who settled there?
Teacher Tools
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Lesson Plan, Teacher Guide, Primary Sources Used
Downloadable/editable versions of this lesson plan, including a step-by-step guide through the lesson. When applicable, a list of primary sources used in the lesson is also included.
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Slideshow
This ready-to-use classroom slideshow presentation contains the warm-up exercise (above), the daily objective, the “We will / I will” statements, and the essential questions for the lesson.
It guides the class through the assignment providing larger versions of images, visual representations of the directions, and supports for reading and answering questions including sentence stems for in-class responses. It concludes with the exit ticket.
This slideshow provides the reading passages that students will use to complete their student work.
Student Activities
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Warm-up Day 1 – Exit Ticket Day 1
In this printable Warm-up / bell-ringer activity, students make observations about the area of Texas they live in, including information about typical climate, landforms, and plants and animals.
In this Exit Ticket, students will refer to their warm-up observations about their own region. They identify what they were right about, what they were not quite right about, and what new information they learned. Share what they wrote with the class.
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Warm-up Day 2 – Exit Ticket Day 2
In this printable Warm-up / bell-ringer activity, Students choose two regions they took notes on yesterday to compare and contrast characteristics using a graphic organizer.
In this Exit Ticket, students will complete a short, constructed response comparing two regions they studied. Share what they wrote with the class.
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Grade Level Student Work
For this printable assignment students use the reading passages in the slideshow presentation to complete their chart for each region. Students record information about the climate, landforms, plant and animal life, and natural resources for each region. This assignment should take approximately two class periods.
Grade Level combines requires students to write three to five notes from the readings on each of the following categories for each region: climate, landforms, plant and animal life, and natural resources of each region. Students will answer multiple-choice questions about significant information from each region. They will make a prediction which region they believe early people would be more likely to inhabit and support their claim with evidence from their notes.
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Foundation Student
Foundations Level requires students to complete their regions chart by circling or highlighting from a list of characteristics provided in each category for each region. This allows for a reduction in writing and gives answer options to choose from. Students answer multiple-choice questions about significant characteristics of each region, with one answer choice eliminated. They make a prediction about where they believe most people in Texas would live based on their notes.
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Advanced Student
Advanced Level requires students to write three to five notes from the readings on each of the following categories for each region: climate, landforms, plant and animal life, and natural resources of each region. Students will also write a one sentence summary describing the three most significant defining characteristics of the region above. At the end, students will write an essay comparing two regions of their choice from the lesson.
Sources
Previews and links to sources referenced in this lesson.
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Texas Official Travel Map
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Photo Relief Map of North America
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Lake Travis
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Dust Storm, Wheeler Texas
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[A view at the Palo Duro Canyon]
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Fort Taylor Breastworks, (Looking Southeast)
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Healthy Prickly Pear Cactus
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Photograph of Buffalo Grazing
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[Wooden Derrick and Rig]
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Looking Northwest of Little Elm Creek
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[Tornado Approaching Wichita Falls],
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Photograph of Inspiration Point
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[Indian paintbrush and bluebonnet flowers]
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White-tailed Deer
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[Limestone Erosion at Guadalupe River]
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Rocky Shoreline within Matagorda Bay
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[Man in Rain]
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Serene Sunset in the Enchanted Forest
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Enchanting Sunset Amidst the Piney Woods
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[Alligator in zoo],
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Majestic Bald Cypress Trees of Caddo Lake State Park
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Chisos Mountains and Alluvial Fans
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Road From Marathon and Chisos Mountains
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Rio Grande River in Santa Elena Canyon 2
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Eroded Chisos Mountains
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Belden, Dreanna L. [Yucca Plant]
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[Cattle on a Ranch]
- Annual Average Precipitation Map of Texas Wikimedia Commons. Translated
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