② Deep · Connect & organize

Phase 2 — Connect & organize

Now students take the facts from Phase 1 and relate them: mapping causes and effects, questioning real 1901 sources, and building an argument from evidence. Deep learning is where knowledge becomes usable — the bridge to the problem.

🎯 By the end of Phase 2 students can trace how the oil strike caused a chain of effects, read a primary source for its point of view and reliability, and defend a claim with evidence — the exact moves the problem will demand.

Concept mapping · d 0.64§113.19(c)(9), (c)(11)

1 · Cause → effect concept map

Build a class concept map with “The oil strike at Spindletop” at the center. Draw arrows outward to the effects it set off, then keep going — many effects become causes of the next thing. This rehearses the agrarian-to-industrial shift as a chain, not a single event.

Cause (the strike)	Direct effects	Ripple effects
oil gushes at Spindletop	people rush in (migration)	housing shortage, crowding, disorder
cheap, plentiful oil	land prices & speculation explode	fortunes made and lost; some farmers pushed out
demand for wells & refining	derricks, refineries, new jobs	agrarian → industrial economy; new cities
heavy water & land use	strain on water and the land	human–environment conflict over resources

Talk move: draw an arrow from any cause to an effect and say the cause-and-effect sentence aloud, then ask “and what did that cause?” This rehearses §113.19(c)(11) and (c)(9).

📚 Sources: Handbook of Texas · Oil and Gas Industry ↗ · Handbook of Texas · Urbanization ↗

Elaboration & organization · d 0.72§113.19(c)(16), (c)(20)

2 · Primary-source analysis — read for point of view & reliability

Give pairs one or two real (district-approved) primary sources — for example a 1901 photograph of the Lucas Gusher or a Beaumont boomtown street, and a short 1901 newspaper excerpt about the strike. Use a four-question source routine:

Source: Who made this, when, and why?
Observe: What do you actually see or read? (facts only)
Point of view: Whose story does it tell — and whose is missing?
Reliability: Is this a first-hand record or someone's later opinion? How do we know — and what might it exaggerate?

Why reliability matters here: boomtown newspapers had reasons to make Spindletop sound even bigger — land was being sold. Students should weigh that when they use a source.

📚 Primary sources & analysis tools: Portal to Texas History · Spindletop ↗ · Portal to Texas History · Beaumont oil ↗ · LoC · Getting Started with Primary Sources ↗ · LoC · Analyzing Photographs & Prints (PDF) ↗

Argumentation · d 0.86§113.19(c)(20)

3 · Structured argument — a warm-up claim

A low-stakes rehearsal of the reasoning the problem needs. Pose a focused question and have students take a side with evidence, using a claim–evidence–reasoning frame. Then have them state the other side's strongest point (civil discourse).

Warm-up question: When a town strikes it rich fast, should it grow as quickly as possible — or slow down and plan first? Give your claim, one piece of evidence from Phase 1 or the sources, and your reasoning.

Sentence stems (ELPS support): “My claim is ______.” · “My evidence is ______.” · “This matters because ______.” · “Someone who disagrees might say ______, but ______.”

Note: keep this a practice argument about the general idea. The specific decision for our 1901 town belongs in Phase 3, where students hold stakeholder roles.

📚 Sources: Handbook of Texas · Spindletop ↗ · Texas State Library · Oil exhibit ↗

✅ Deep check before the problem: can students name a cause and an effect of the boom, read one source for its point of view and reliability, and state a claim with evidence? Those three abilities are exactly what Phase 3 will ask them to transfer.

‹ Phase 1 — Surface Phase 3 — Transfer ›

Aligned to (not reproduced from) 19 TAC Ch.113 §113.19; effect sizes from Visible Learning MetaX. This scenario dramatizes real events from the 1901 Spindletop oil boom.