How to run Spindletop, 1901 as Problem-Based Learning: your role, the pre-planning maps, pacing, role cards, sources, and debrief prompts. The golden rule — guide, don't tell. In PBL the students should feel they, not you, planned the investigation.
| Phase | What you do | What you resist |
|---|---|---|
| ① Surface | Teach vocabulary and facts efficiently; run the jigsaw; check acquisition. | Rushing to the problem before facts are secure. |
| ② Deep | Facilitate the cause–effect map and source routine; model claim + evidence. | Giving your own interpretation of the sources. |
| ③ Transfer | Read the problem well; hold the KWHL chart; answer questions with questions; point to sources. | Answering the “Need to know” questions yourself. |
The Surface phase uses a four-topic jigsaw (Texas before & after Spindletop) — a high-leverage move (d ≈ 0.92) because every student must teach. The flow: expert groups each study one topic and take notes → students re-mix into home groups with one expert per topic → each expert teaches → an individual check for understanding holds everyone accountable.
The per-expert-group source links (articles) live on the Surface page, one set per topic. Confirm access through your district before class.
Before teaching, brainstorm every direction the boom-town problem could branch — so you can steer discussion and decide, in advance, which threads are productive and which are too sensitive or off-topic for your class and community.
| If students investigate… | They are working toward… |
|---|---|
| the oil strike and late-19th / early-20th-century Texas history | §113.19(c)(5)–(c)(6) |
| water, land, and resource strain during the boom | §113.19(c)(9) |
| how many people moved and where they settled | §113.19(c)(10) |
| the shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy; geography & transportation | §113.19(c)(11)(A–D) |
| using and questioning sources; points of view; claim + evidence; geographic tools | §113.19(c)(16), (c)(20), (c)(21) |
| defining the problem, weighing options, choosing & evaluating a solution | §113.19(c)(23)(B) |
Confirm access through your district's approved catalog before class. Vetted, free, Texas-focused starting points:
Aligned to (not reproduced from) 19 TAC Ch.113 §113.19.