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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Texans - a little help?
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 09/21/2005 01:07:31 PM · #1
This spring, my 1st grade daughter is doing a Social Studies project on Texas to be presented in a 'State Fair' with other homeschoolers (kinda like a science fair).
She was wondering if any of you Texans had suggestions on things she should research that might not be the "typical" sort of things to present on TX. Everybody has heard about the Alamo, but what else do you consider to be representative of Texas?
Also, if any of you would consider mailing her a small memento of your state (a dried wildflower, a small rock, a Texas refrigerator magnet, or something), please PM me and I will contact you with address info.

Thanks in advance!
Sara
 09/21/2005 01:38:25 PM · #2
The Cadillac Ranch is something to write about. She can write about the man who did it. It is outside of Amarillo Texas.
Here is a web site about it. //www.texasoutside.com/amarilloframes/cadillacranchframes.htm


Message edited by author 2005-09-21 13:48:25.
 09/21/2005 02:34:48 PM · #3
i will give $2 to the first person who fedex's her a flattened armadillo from the side of the road. :) :)
 09/21/2005 02:40:46 PM · #4
Originally posted by muckpond:
i will give $2 to the first person who fedex's her a flattened armadillo from the side of the road. :) :)


make it $5 and I will go run one over now :) (j/K)

Nasa Johnson Space Center
Dell computers is based out of Austin and I beleive AMD is as well.

Also there are a lot of windmill farms for Green Mountain Energy out in West texas.

James
 09/21/2005 02:41:11 PM · #5
I'll mail you some bluebonnet seeds...they are our state flower and the Legend of the Bluebonnet is a great little story that she can discuss. There is a children's book called "Legend of the Bluebonnet" by wonderful and reknowned children's author Tomie DePaola. PM me your mailing address and I'll send them off today! :)

edit: Here's the legend //www.dorpexpress.com/Arney/Blue_Bonnets_o.html

The children's book is beautifully illustrated and since it's about a little girl I think it might be perfect for your daughter. :)

Message edited by author 2005-09-21 14:45:35.
 09/21/2005 02:43:03 PM · #6
How about an flattened armadillo and a tumble weed for the heck of it.
 09/21/2005 02:49:10 PM · #7
I think FedEx might get upset about a flattened armadillo (especially a fresh one!), but a tumbleweed would be really cool. Or pics of armadillos (armadilloes? armadillii?) would be cool too.

Oh- almost forgot! Laurie, I pm'd you and thanks for the link. Very neat stuff.


Message edited by author 2005-09-21 14:51:29.
 09/21/2005 02:56:53 PM · #8
How about the Texas Rangers and the Hall of Fame they have for them in Waco.
 09/21/2005 02:59:28 PM · #9
I live 15 minutes from the Cadillac Ranch. Stanley Marsh is the man who made this crazy roadside stop that people from all over the world stop to see. I can take some oics for you if you would like. The kids should get a kick out of doing research on this. Let me know.

P.s. I have a 9 & 6 year old and it is one of their favorite places to go. Companies would not be interesting. I can email the files to you so that you can get them printed up to 36"x48" for a backdrop, and I bet I can pull a tumbleweed or two out of the fence row to send to you too. I also live 5 minutes from the second largest canyon in the North America, Palo Duro Canyon State Park. I can send you dirt from there and some pics too. These kids are going to blow the fair away!!!! Anyways, let me know.
 09/21/2005 02:59:43 PM · #10
PM'd you back...

One other idea - Dr Pepper!

It was born right here in TX, and the bottling plant in Dublin TX still makes it with real cane sugar and has a fascinating history on it's website.

//www.dublindrpepper.com
09/21/2005 02:59:56 PM · #11
I think of a big white covertable cadillac with long steer horns mounted on the front, oil wells, Dallas Cowboys, Lone Star beer, the Alamo of course, texmex food, Rio Grande and John Wayne.

This makes me think of a state/country-representitive photo challenge, with your state's/country's most famous icons/themes/landmarks etc.
 09/21/2005 03:28:01 PM · #12
don't forget the chicken ranch! woot woot!

maybe she could do an episode review of "who shot JR?"

what else, what else... ooh ooh! executions! she could have a debate about capital punishment!

:P i'm just teasin'. i can make fun of y'all 'cause i lived there once too.
 09/21/2005 03:30:12 PM · #13
Don't forget the states most populous creature, although only on a passing through basis, ILLEGAL ALIENS!!

Mike
//www.mikefairbanks.com

09/21/2005 04:00:19 PM · #14
Wow! Ya'll are great! Thanks so much for the quick responses. We really appreciate it.

Oh, and, Muckpond, Mary really didn't think the armadillo idea was a good one!
:) (What do you expect from a 6 yr old Princess?)

Thanks again,
Sara
 09/21/2005 04:44:34 PM · #15
What about the River Walk in San Antonio? I'm sure there's some interesting stuff there.
09/21/2005 05:04:16 PM · #16
Originally posted by briantammy:
I think of a big white covertable cadillac with long steer horns mounted on the front, oil wells, Dallas Cowboys, Lone Star beer, the Alamo of course, texmex food, Rio Grande and John Wayne.



Wouldn't want to rain on anyone's parade, but unless I am very much mistaken.... John Wayne was born in Iowa.
 09/21/2005 05:13:16 PM · #17
As an educator, I'm interested - will a six year old really be able to "research " this material? Seems this could be something parents will do most of the work on.

Saracat what is the brief on this project? Who has set it and how is it to be displayed? Why has it been set? What is the purpose and what aspect of the curriculum is being taught here? Can your daughter read and write? How long has she been in school?

Not trying to be awkward but I think there could be more suitable ways of working on this!!
And I am always interested in how other countries approach teaching especially in the younger years.
P
 09/21/2005 05:39:20 PM · #18
O man Rita hit Cat 5...... May not need to run anything over in Texas.
 09/21/2005 05:57:00 PM · #19
There's a lot of horse racing: Lonestar Park, Retama, Sam Houston Park. You could probably find some stuff on George Bush originating in Texas.

PS- MPEMBERTON.. thanks to Rita the game here at A&M has been moved to tomorrow night and school has been canceled for Friday. I had a very big, very intimidating chemistry exam scheduled for friday but thanks to Rita I don't have to panic about it until next week! Huzza for natural disasters!
 09/21/2005 06:15:03 PM · #20
Originally posted by Riponlady:
As an educator, I'm interested - will a six year old really be able to "research " this material? Seems this could be something parents will do most of the work on.

Saracat what is the brief on this project? Who has set it and how is it to be displayed? Why has it been set? What is the purpose and what aspect of the curriculum is being taught here? Can your daughter read and write? How long has she been in school?

Not trying to be awkward but I think there could be more suitable ways of working on this!!
And I am always interested in how other countries approach teaching especially in the younger years.
P


The first graders in my school district are required to read for at least 20 minutes a night. Students typically begin reading and writing in Head Start/Pre Kindergarten, and continue learning in Kindergarten. My two youngest (one in K, one in 1st grade) both have computer lab twice a week, where they learn the basics of keyboarding and the inputting of information through various educational games and websites. At the end of first grade, all students must be able to read FLUENTLY (with no pauses) a list of about 60-80 words, and they must be able to read 60 words per minute. Our district was awarded a reading initiative grant that has really helped our teachers to build important pre-reading and reading strategies. Our state also requires that the students in grades 3, 5, and 7 pass the state exam in both reading and math in order to advance to the next grade, and in grade 11, they must pass exit-level tests in all core subjects to graduate.

I'm sure we're behind some places in the world, but we're miles ahead of others. Our statewide elementary curriculum is found here if you'd like to look at it. I know a lot of people think badly of Texas for whatever reasons, and the same about No Child Left Behind for whatever reasons, but I know for a fact that there are some wonderful things happening in our classrooms here. I'm very proud to be a Texas educator. :)
 09/21/2005 06:19:50 PM · #21
Originally posted by laurielblack:
Originally posted by Riponlady:
As an educator, I'm interested - will a six year old really be able to "research " this material? Seems this could be something parents will do most of the work on.

Saracat what is the brief on this project? Who has set it and how is it to be displayed? Why has it been set? What is the purpose and what aspect of the curriculum is being taught here? Can your daughter read and write? How long has she been in school?

Not trying to be awkward but I think there could be more suitable ways of working on this!!
And I am always interested in how other countries approach teaching especially in the younger years.
P


in K, one in 1st grade) both have computer lab twice a week, where they learn the basics of keyboarding and the inputting of information through various educational games and websites. At the end of first grade, all students must be able to read FLUENTLY (with no pauses) a list of about 60-80 words, and they must be able to read 60 words per minute. Our district was awarded a reading initiative grant that has really helped our teachers to build important pre-reading and reading strategies. Our state also requires that the students in grades 3, 5, and 7 pass the state exam in both reading and math in order to advance to the next grade, and in grade 11, they must pass exit-level tests in all core subjects to graduate.

I'm sure we're behind some places in the world, but we're miles ahead of others. Our statewide elementary curriculum is found here if you'd like to look at it. I know a lot of people think badly of Texas for whatever reasons, and the same about No Child Left Behind for whatever reasons, but I know for a fact that there are some wonderful things happening in our classrooms here. I'm very proud to be a Texas educator. :)


Thanks Laurie, this is great, just the sort of info I wanted. It certainly sounds good and I am going to look at the link. Can I come back to you or pm you for more info if necessary?

Pauline
 09/21/2005 06:27:55 PM · #22
Originally posted by Riponlady:
Thanks Laurie, this is great, just the sort of info I wanted. It certainly sounds good and I am going to look at the link. Can I come back to you or pm you for more info if necessary?

Pauline


Absolutely! :)
 09/21/2005 08:47:52 PM · #23
Pauline,
In addition to what Laurie has said (thanks again!), I'll give you a little background on the project.
As homeschoolers, we are part of a larger support group that sponsors outings, get-togethers, educational fairs, missionary trips, etc., as a way to give group members access to additional socialization opportunities in order to help the homeschooled kids gain some of the same opportunities that public and private school students are given. All of these opportunities are extra-curricular. They're completely optional.
The State Fair (coming up in the spring) will be organized like a science fair - individuals (or families or teams) will bring their project displays to a designated location and each student will present some (or all) of the information they have learned about their chosen state. Each participant will choose their own layout and presentation format. After all projects have been presented, awards will be handed out for 'Best in Show' and other merits.
The purpose of the project is two-fold: to expose the students to facts about the states in their nation that they may not run across in 'normal' studies in a fun and (hopefully) interesting manner, and to provide the students (and other family members) the opportunity to learn from each other, network, and develop their socialization skills.

To answer another of your questions, no, I do not expect my 6 year old (or any other child that age) to actually 'research' the project. She will require a lot of help on my part. I will be the one to offer her direction as to what she wants to incorporate into her project (such as does she want to include the San Antonio Riverwalk, the Cadillac Ranch, or both). I will be the one to gather the materials, read aloud the information, etc. For students in this age range, the parents do the bulk of the work.
However, along the way, she will have opportunities to practice her phonics, reading/decoding skills, listening skills, writing skills, and artistic skills. She will learn about history, geography, culture, peoples, math (distances, time zones, graphs), science, and very probably other things I haven't thought of yet. She will learn about public speaking (she has to be the one to present her project if she wants to get a ribbon).

Mary isn't yet an independent reader. She went to 1/2 day K5 last year, and is only twenty-two days into her first grade year. She has a good foundation in letter recognition and beginning phonics. This year we are continuing the use of phonics as well as introducing a sight-word vocabulary. She is a very prolific and creative writer - as long as I spell each of the words! (Although she is starting to write quite a few of them correctly without help.)

To give you a little more info about us, here's a couple of links:
We base our curriculum off of the World Book Typical Course of Study.
This is a brief overview of the laws for homeschoolers in South Carolina. We are operating under Option 3.
Our 3rd Option Association is Insights on Education. Click on the little blue dots to enter the site; Click on the phrases for a brief description. This site has a more thorough work-up of the homeschooling and attendance laws in S.C.

I hope this has answered your questions a little more specifically than Laurie could. If you have any more questions, please feel free to post here or PM me.
Sara
 09/21/2005 09:03:11 PM · #24
Not from Texas but worked there for a very short time in Bonham. Small town, lots of history:

//www.bonhamchamber.com/attractions.htm

Deannda
I won't say anything else beyond that, don't want to insult anyone ;)
 09/21/2005 10:20:40 PM · #25
Originally posted by RayEthier:
Originally posted by briantammy:
I think of a big white covertable cadillac with long steer horns mounted on the front, oil wells, Dallas Cowboys, Lone Star beer, the Alamo of course, texmex food, Rio Grande and John Wayne.



Wouldn't want to rain on anyone's parade, but unless I am very much mistaken.... John Wayne was born in Iowa.


Yeah, but he died at the Alamo.
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