Problem-Based Learning units for Grade 7 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.
January 1901. The Lucas Gusher near Beaumont has struck oil — more than anyone has ever seen. Students become stakeholders in a booming town and decide how the community should handle the rush so it lasts. 5–8 class periods.
Open the unit → Texas History · §113.191935 on the Texas High Plains. Drought, dust storms, and Depression debt are failing your family's farm. Students become stakeholders and decide what the family — and the community and government — should do about the Dust Bowl. 5–8 class periods.
Open the unit → Texas History · §113.191845. The Republic of Texas is independent but deep in debt and unsure of its future. Students become stakeholders and decide whether Texas should accept annexation and join the United States. 5–8 class periods.
Open the unit →| TEKS SE | What students do |
|---|---|
| (c)(5)–(c)(6) | Explain the history of Texas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the discovery of oil. |
| (c)(9) | Analyze how humans adapt to and modify the Texas environment. |
| (c)(10) | Analyze the distribution and movement of population in Texas. |
| (c)(11)(A–D) | Explain the shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy and the geographic and transportation factors behind it. |
| (c)(16) | Explain the importance of understanding different points of view on historical events. |
| (c)(20) | Analyze primary and secondary sources and points of view; develop a claim supported by evidence. |
| (c)(21) | Use geographic tools to gather, organize, and interpret information. |
| (c)(23)(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