Texas State Capitol, Post-Visit Lesson Plan, 4 Grade

Texas State Capitol,
Post-Visit Lesson Plan, 4 th Grade
I. Objectives
A. Students will review historic figures discussed on the Capitol tour.
B. Students will use a variety of secondary sources to acquire additional
information about important Texans.
C. Students will create a report about the historic figure they researched.
II. TEKS Covered in this Lesson
A. Students identify the accomplishments of significant empresarios
including Stephen F. Austin.
B. Students identify leaders important to the founding of Texas as a republic
and a state, including Sam Houston.
C. Students identify the importance of historical figures such as Barbara Jordan
and Lorenzo de Zavala.
D. Students identify the accomplishments of notable individuals such as Audie
Murphy.
E. Students use secondary sources such as computer software, biographies and
print materials.
F. Students express ideas orally based on research.
III. Materials
A. “Capitol Portraits” handout (print pages 3 and 4).
B. “Biography Bits” worksheet (print pages 5 and 6).
IV. Procedures/Activities
A. Warm up Activity
1. Provide each student with a copy of “Capitol Portraits.”
2. Explain to the class they will be reviewing some of the
items they observed during their State Capitol tour.
3. Allow the students adequate time to match the name of
the historical figure with their proper painting.
4. The correct answers are as follows:
a. Page 3 (Zavala, Hogg, Crockett, Murphy)
b. Page 4 (Austin, Johnson, Jordan, Houston)
B. Group Project
1. Divide the class into groups of three. Assign each group an
historic Texas figure (one of the six from the “Capitol Portraits”
worksheet) and provide a biography worksheet.
2. Explain to the students they will have to compile a biography
about their person by answering the questions on the sheet.
3. Ask each group to designate a recorder (the student who writes
the information on the sheet), a researcher (the student who lists
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the different resources they used) and a reporter (who presents the
material to the rest of the class).
4. The groups should use at least three different sources to answer the
questions on the sheet. Explain to the students they can use books,
encyclopedias, magazines, almanacs or websites to research their
figure.
5. The following websites are excellent resources for Texas history. You
may suggest to your students to access these sites or use a search
engine to locate these sites.
a. The Handbook of Texas Online
www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/
b. Lone Star Junction
www.lsjunction.com/
c. Texas Studies Information and Instructional Service,
Texas History and Social Studies
www.rice.edu/armadillo/Texas/history.html
d. LBJ Library and Museum
www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/lbjforkids/main.htm
e. Audie Murphy Foundation
www.audiemurphy.com
6. Ask the students to fill-out the biography sheet.
C. Group Presentation
1. Each group should select a reporter to present the group’s
findings to the rest of the class.
2. After the groups have completed their reports, collect
the biography sheets.
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Capitol Portraits
Under each painting write the correct name of the Texas hero. The names of the heroes
are: Stephen F. Austin, Davy Crockett, James Hogg, Sam Houston, Lyndon B. Johnson,
Barbara Jordan, Audie Murphy and Lorenzo de Zavala.
________________________
__________________________
___________________________
___________________________________
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__________________________________
_______________________
_______________________________
__________________________________
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Biography Bits I
Research the following questions about your assigned Texas hero. There is space for
answering the questions on the following page.
1. What is the name of your subject
2. When was his/her birthday (month,
date and year)
3. List the person’s job(s).
4. Did he/she have a nickname What
was it
5. Was he/she married To whom
6. Did they have any children What
were their names
7. List three of the person’s
accomplishments.
8. How old was he/she when he/she died
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Biography Bits II
1. Name:
2. Birth date:
3. Job(s):
4. Nickname:
5. Married:
6. Children:
7. Three accomplishments:
8. Age at death:
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