Problem-Based Learning units for Grade 4 Texas history. Each unit moves students from building knowledge (surface) to organizing it (deep) to solving a real, ill-structured problem as a stakeholder (transfer).
Vocabulary, key facts, jigsaw reading, map work.
Cause–effect concept map, primary sources, points of view, argument.
Meet the problem, take a role, investigate, propose a solution, debrief.
The year is 1835 and Texas is on the edge of revolution. Students become a colony family and their neighbors — Anglo colonists, Tejanos, and Mexican officials — and work the question of what the family should do, and why. 5–8 class periods.
Open the unit → Texas History · §113.15The year is 1883 in West Texas. Barbed wire, windmills, and the railroad are transforming the open range, and fights over land and water are breaking out. Students become ranchers, farmers, a small cattleman, the railroad, and a lawmaker to settle who can fence the range. 5–8 class periods.
Open the unit → Texas History · §113.15It is the early 1700s in Spanish Texas. Spain wants to build a mission and presidio to strengthen its claim and spread its faith — but where? Students become a friar, a presidio captain, a Spanish official, a farmer, a trader, and a leader of a local American Indian nation to decide where, and whether, the mission should stand. 5–8 class periods.
Open the unit →| TEKS SE | What students do |
|---|---|
| (c)(2)(A–C) | Explain European exploration and colonization, the Spanish missions, and the motivations for settlement in Texas. |
| (c)(3)(A) | Analyze the causes, major events, and effects of the Texas Revolution. |
| (c)(3)(B–C) | Summarize the contributions of individuals and founders, including Travis, Bowie, Crockett, José Antonio Navarro, Juan Seguín, and Lorenzo de Zavala. |
| (c)(6) · (c)(7) | Locate and describe the physical regions of Texas and patterns of settlement. |
| (c)(12)(B) | Compare Spanish colonial government with the early Mexican government of Texas. |
| (c)(13)(A) | Explain the purpose and importance of the Texas Declaration of Independence. |
| (c)(15) | Explain how individuals can participate in civic life and make a difference. |
| (c)(19)(A–B) | Analyze primary and secondary sources and points of view; develop and communicate a claim with evidence. |
| (c)(22)(B) | Use the problem-solving process: identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, weigh advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate its effectiveness. |
🧑🏫 Teacher supports: UDL · ELPS · PBL facilitation guide · Activity → TEKS correlation