Education Commons^™

Who Is Texas? Exploring Dominant And Overlooked Stories About The Lone Star State, Zachary Wilson

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

The state of Texas has an image problem. For some reason, Hollywood and the news media are telling one dominant story about Texas, and leaving out other stories about our state -- important ones! In this 7th grade humanities unit, students will brush up on social studies skills, and develop in such areas as: reading maps, making graphs, detecting bias, analyzing primary sources, and identifying different perspectives. In order to answer the question, "Who is Texas, really?" students will engage in research and use an expository organizational structure of their choice (compare & contrast, problem-solution, etc.) to communicate their findings. …

Colonization: Evaluating The Right Of Groups To Settle Other Lands [8th Grade], Elizabeth A. Hunt

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

In this unit, students will briefly review geography, including vocabulary terms, reading maps and correctly labeling maps. They will learn and analyze motives for European exploration and settlement America in the 17^th century. They will learn about the French, Spanish, English, Puritans, Pilgrims, Catholics and Quakers (why each group came and where they settled). Activities include learning geography through the Zombie Apocalypse, comparing and contrasting the motives for current refugee groups and historical ones, evaluating the best push and pull factors of the 17^th-century Europeans and a competitive ‘Claim the Classroom’ simulation for colonization.

At the end …

Changing Times: The Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, And Reformation [6th Grade], Bethany Lorge

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit looks at the impact that the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and Reformation had on the world. It traces important people and ideas, and highlights the impact that each of these time periods had on the immediate and future world. For the Performance Task, the students create a newspaper, called "The Changing Times" that requires them to analyze the impact that inventions and ideas from these time periods had on the world, as well as look at futuristic inventions (to our time) and the possible impact they will have on our world.

Texas Regions [4th Grade], Hannah Rinn

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This is a unit on Texas Regions written for fourth graders. The unit covers the four Texas regions. While learning about the Texas regions, students will gain an understanding that regions are formed based on common characteristics that influence the human environment. Students will also be required to look at how technology has impacted the land that we live on. This unit helps students to think critically about- what is a region and how it is “formed” and how technology has changed our land.

Myself And Others [Pre-Kindergarten], Anne Peppers

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit addresses the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guideline “Child identifies similarities and differences in characteristics of people.” At the conclusion of this unit, students will know that people are different from one another, people share some characteristics, personal characteristics can be physical or behavioral, and we can describe or name characteristics of people. Students will be able to identify similarities and differences between self and others, identify physical similarities and differences between others, and identify unique characteristics about themselves.

Explorers [4th Grade], Carrie Sites, Melissa Cole

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Students will understand that people explore and settle or different purposes including riches, land, and the spread of religion. Students will also know the history or background of explorers and how that defines the cultures of Texas. At the end of this unit students will independently demonstrate their learning by summarizing an explorer’s accomplishments and reasons for exploring by creating and interacting with a Fakebook page.

The Times They Are A-Changin’: Civil War Through Reconstruction [7th Grade], Becky Orsini, Nick Thomason

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit was written as an in-depth look at the Civil War and Reconstruction. It is an attempt to provide enduring understandings of the changes that took place in the United States, specifically in the southern states, due to the impact of the Civil War and the provisions of Reconstruction. During the unit, students will have several opportunities to look at how changes have occurred in the past that influence them today. Students will do a self-examination of the changes that have taken place in their own lives and apply those understandings to the lessons of the Civil War and …

Culture And Identity In Your Community And The World [6th Grade], Stephany Weaver, Anne Daly

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

“Culture and Identity in your Community and the World” is an interdisciplinary unit designed to stimulate questions about identity and culture and how those two things relate. This unit is meant to be taught at the end of the first semester and the beginning of the second semester. Students have already established an understanding of literary elements in fiction and will now be searching for those same engaging elements in non-fiction.

As the students read the memoir Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang in Reading, they will be studying the effects of culture and community on a single person’s identity …

Border Disorder – Cultures In Conflict Throughout The World, Bethany Lorge

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is designed to look at various cultures throughout the world and examine the reason for conflict in each of them. By looking at snapshots of information for various cultures and situations (e.g. Africa, Israel/Palestine, India/Pakistan, North/South Korea), students come to the understanding that conflict is due to many factors, but there is always a matter of different perspective for each situation. The students look at the history of each situation from a factual standpoint, but they also are stretched to investigate and explore the perspectives of each as well. The students’ performance task has them creating a news …

It’S A Small World After All: An Economic Experiment In Trade, Karen Morrison

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

‘It’s a Small World After All: An Economic Experiment in Trade’ is a social studies unit for 3rd grade with an emphasis on economics. Aligned with 3rd grade social studies TEKS, student gain a rich understanding of scarcity, free market, and interdependence within and among communities. This unit utilizes a variety of resources including: Scott Foresman’s Social Studies: Communities Basal Reader, various real-life application internet activities and journal writing reflection opportunities. Students will have several formative assessments to track understanding throughout the unit. The culminating project-based assessment invites students to engage in a free trade simulation. With the guidance of …

Our Families, Beth Morrow, Anne Peppers

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit addresses the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guideline “Child identifies similarities and differences in characteristics of families.” At the conclusion of this unit, students will know what a family is, that families can be different, and that changes occur in families and will be able to identify differences between families, identify similarities between families, and identify members of their own families.

“Who’S Coming To Dinner?” – Understanding The Middle East Culture [6th Grade], Bethany Lorge, Linda O'Connor

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

The goal of this unit is for students to understand the cultures and conflicts that result from these cultures in the Middle East. Students will begin by learning about the geography of this region of the world through various mapping activities. They will begin to learn how the culture of this region is influenced by its geography and climate. Students will be able to explain how the predominance of Christianity, Judaism and Islam has led to conflicts in this region of the world. Students will also learn about the major impact that oil has had in the Middle East and …

Citizenship [2nd Grade], Christy Custer

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is designed to be taught within the first few months of second grade. In this unit students learn the qualities of a good citizen. Through examples from literature, history, and daily life, students learn what it means to be a good citizen. They can then apply these good citizen traits such as respect, honesty, kindness, self-discipline, responsibility, and fairness to their role as citizens of a school. At the end of the unit students will be able to identify these good citizen traits and apply them to the classroomand school community. For the final project students will inform …

Ancient Egypt [6th Grade], Jeanine Capitani

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit on Ancient Egypt is one of five units I teach about ancient civilizations after completing a study of what culture is and how it defines us. This unit focuses on the geography, religion, and social structures of ancient Egypt. It also emphasizes an understanding of the different time periods of Egyptian society from 4,500 BC- the 18th Dynasty. At the end of this unit on Egypt, the students will demonstrate knowledge of the culture of Egypt by writing and illustrating a story where they go back in time and describe two aspects of Egyptian culture as well as …

Greece (Civilizations) [2nd Grade], Trinity University, Canyon Ridge Elementary School (San Antonio, Tex.)

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Students will understand that… • Civilizations’ governments, religion, geography, and theatre affect their development. • The Greek Civilization left a legacy.

Tell Me A Story! Tales From Africa & Other Cultures [4th Grade], Carrie Susong

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

No abstract provided.

Traders And Raiders : A Learning Journey Through Time [3rd Grade], Trinity University, Canyon Ridge Elementary School (San Antonio, Tex.)

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

No abstract provided.

Maps And Globes [Kindergarten], Trinity University, Canyon Ridge Elementary School (San Antonio, Tex.)

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Students will understand that… A map is a representation or drawing of a place. A globe is a three dimensional model of the earth. Any place can be depicted on a map. Features of land and water are shown on maps and globes. Maps and globes are smaller representations of places.

China (Civilizations) [2nd Grade], Trinity University, Canyon Ridge Elementary School (San Antonio, Tex.)

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Students will understand that… • The Ancient Chinese Civilization left a legacy.

Economics [3rd Grade], Jennifer Mahler

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

No abstract provided.