Library Connections
Grade 4, 2nd OI
Where in Texas is Big Tex? Regional Research and Presentation
TEKS (7) Geography. The student understands the concept of regions. The student is expected to: (A) describe a variety of
regions in Texas and the Western Hemisphere United States such as political, population, and economic regions that result from
patterns of human activity; (B) identify, locate, and compare the geographic regions of Texas (Mountains and Basins, Great
Plains, North Central Plains, Coastal Plains), including their describe a variety of regions in Texas and the Western Hemisphere
such as landforms, climate, and vegetation regions that result from physical characteristics; and (C) compare the geographic
regions of Texas (Mountains and Basins, Great Plains, North Central Plains, Coastal Plains) with regions of the United States and
other parts of the world. (8) Geography. The student understands the location and patterns of settlement and the geographic
factors that influence where people live. The student is expected to: ELA 24 (A) follow the research plan to collect information
from multiple sources of information both oral and written, including data from experts, reference texts, and online searches;
visual sources of information such as a maps. STAAR 4.11A summarize the main idea and supporting details in text in ways that
maintain meaning. 19E summarize information in text, maintaining meaning and logical order.
EQ: Where did early Texans live? How does the region in which people live affect the
community development /growth and lifestyle?
Organizing Idea / Activity Interactions: Don’t Mess With Texas
Learning Target I can locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present
ideas and information.
Materials / Resources
Flat Stanley (Brown, Jeff),
Website for State Fair of Texas: http://www.bigtex.com/sft/guestinfo/Tickets.asp
Region Clues, Pictures of Big Tex, GoogleEarth, Elmo
Engage
Introduce the character Flat Stanley (Brown) with a book to show as a source. Then connect
with Big Tex of the State Fair and discuss the State Fair of Texas with the students. Show them
photos and links of the fair. (http://www.bigtex.com/sft/). Divide students into teams and hand
out region clues, review the six regions of Texas from OI #1.
Explore
Students working in groups will use either Rand McNally on-line or a Texas atlas to locate their specific
region from the clues presented. Once students determine their region, they must choose to investigate
a city/town in the region. Investigations must include 3 unique and interesting facts. Once their facts are
written students will locate the city/town on a large State of TX map and place their Big Tex on the map. A
photo will be taken with Big Tex. (GoogleEarth may also be used to create a ‘Big Tex’ file of Texas cities)
Explain Students share their clues with the class and how they determined which region they identified.
Elaborate
Students will use Rand McNally on-line or a Texas Atlas to find facts about their region to share with the
class.
Evaluate
Students will successfully identify their region, discover three facts about a city/town in that
region, and place “Big Tex” in the appropriate city/town in that region.
Library Speak Shelter: where people live; type of dwelling. Region: geographic area where
people live.