The Final Project

Here it is! I hope you enjoy wathcing and can use this in your classroom too!

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Here is a link I found that has lyrics and you can listen to the famous song we all love, or use the YouTube video to play for your class as they sing along.

http://www.janbrett.com/piggybacks/song.htm

Put it to the test!

When it comes to assessment, there is more than just paper and pencil tests. I have found some great resources to use for assessing learning.

Write About It!
I found this page at http://www.kidzone.ws/. Print it out and have your students write about what they learned about Texas.








Pop Quiz!
This is an online quiz from Texas Senate Kids. There are 16 questions about Texas symbols. Click on your answer choice, then press Turn it in at the bottom and it immediately grades it for you and shows you which ones you got right and wrong.

Make a Texas Book!

Here is a symbols sheet from http://www.learningtreasures.com/. Print it out in color, and have your students make a book by cutting out each symbol, gluing it on the page and writing facts about the symbol, like name, when it was recognized, and any interesting facts about it.







Organize It!

This is a great graphic organizer to use while jotting down facts about Texas. It found it at http://www.enchantedlearning.com/. Put Texas in the middle, then on the outside bubbles write the state bird, flower, abbreviation, neighboring states, nickname, motto, etc. You have to be a member to print their worksheets, but you could create your own very easily using Microsoft Word or even on the computer using a program like Kidspiration.

Research Research Research

Here are some great websites kids can use to explore the symbols of Texas.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/about_texas/symbols/
Click on the picture of the symbols to read more. These pages can also be printed out for a coloring page.

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/usa-states/texas/facts/
Easy to read facts about Texas.

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/kids/KIDS.htm
Take a tour of the capital building, read a story about Lone Star Bob, or color symbols of Texas.

Texas Online Games for Kids

To go along with my digital story, I have found a few websites that are interactive games that could be used in the classroom, or at home. If your classroom has an interactive white board, such as SMART board or ENO board, these games could be fun to play with your entire class.

Lone Star State Games
This website has 13 games to choose from including matching, scrambles, wordsearches, and more. The games use Texas symbol names and vocabulary.

Symbols Matching Game
This website was created by Texas Senate Media Services. You must have Shockwave in order to access all the features. Review the symbols and then play the matching game trying to match the picture of the symbol to the name.

Texas Children's Book Library

There are some really great stories that should be included in any Texas Unit. Using these stories is a great way to incorporate language rich activities with social studies. I have listed some of my favorites below. Any Texas school library is sure to have some of these books, and if not you can check them out at the public library or purchase them online.

L is for Lone Star: A Texas Alphabet

by Carol Crane

Our Texas

by Jackie Mims Hopkins

The Legend of the Bluebonnet

by Tomie DePaola

This is Texas

by Miroslav Sasek

Texas, Our Texas

Final Project Video Coming Soon!!!!!

I am a graduate student at the University of Houston and am taking Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. I was given the project of creating a digital story about something that was personal and that I thought would be a good use of instruction formally and informally. I am a first grade teacher in East Houston and one thing that came to mind that I really enjoy teaching about is Texas symbols. Each spring my students explore their state and all the wonderful things about it that makes it so unique. I picked Texas as my topic because there is so much to discover about our home, and the kids really enjoy learning about it. I think this video will be a great way to show some iconic Texas symbols and spark a discussion on what are other great things kids love about their state. Although it is intended for a young audience, this video can accomodate a variety of audiences such as older students researching Texas, residents of other states learning about Texas, or even newcomers that want to learn a little about what Texas is all about.