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Description
OVERVIEW
In this lesson, students will make observations, inferences, and predictions about the next unit based on the four primary source materials used in the lesson.
LESSON TIME
This lesson will take approximately 45 - 60 minutes.
Exact times may vary based on the specific needs of individual classes.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
- What significant events and major defining themes will we see in the next unit: Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads?
Teacher Tools
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Lesson Plan, Teacher Guide, Sources
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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This ready-to-use classroom slideshow contains the warm-up exercise, the daily objective, the “We will / I will” statements, and the essential question 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.
Student Activities
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Warm-up & Exit Ticket
In this printable warm-up / bell-ringer activity, students will make observations and inferences about a primary source image of railroad construction and westward expansion across the Great Plains.
In this exit ticket, students will answer a paper-adapted version of the 8th grade social studies STAAR question type, “Drag and Drop,” to identify three statements that accurately describe the major themes of the next unit.
The Warm-up and Exit Ticket document includes two warm-ups on the front of the page and two exit tickets on the back of the page. This formatting reduces the number of copies needed, as teachers will cut each printed page in half. Each student will receive a half-page with the warm-up on the front and the exit on the back.
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Primary Source Excerpts
This printable materials provides four excerpts from Texas newspapers from the Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads era of Texas history. The excerpts discuss major topics of the era including cotton farming, the expansion of railroads, Anglo settlement of west Texas, and the growth of cattle drives.
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Grade Level Work
In this printable assignment, students will use the primary source excerpt materials that accompany the lesson to make inferences and predictions about the unit and to summarize the main idea of each excerpt using a sentence stem for their summary.
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In this printable assignment, students will use the primary source excerpt materials that accompany the lesson to make inferences about the unit and complete a sentence stem about the main idea of each excerpt by choosing from 3 available response options.
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In this printable assignment, students will use the primary source excerpt materials that accompany the lesson to formulate a question about the material, and to summarize the main idea of each excerpt.
Sources
Previews and links to sources referenced in this lesson.
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The Comanche Chief. (Comanche, Tex.) Saturday, May 14, 1881
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The Fort Worth Daily Democrat-Advance. (Fort Worth, Tex.) Saturday, December 31, 1881
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Fort Worth Weekly Gazette. (Fort Worth, Texas) Thursday, September 5, 1889
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The Galveston Daily News. (Galveston, Tex.) 1 Saturday, January 17, 1880
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Photograph of a Cowboy Herding Cattle
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Cowhands guiding a herd of cattle, 1910
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Building the East Track of Railroad on Congress Street, Austin.
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Austin Cotton Gin, 1900
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