Topic:

Mission System of Texas

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Grade/Subject

4th/Texas

Author:

Lisa DeLand

Essential Questions:

Is it fair for one group of people to tell another group of people how to live?

Unit Opener :

Introduce the unit with the following idiom, asking them to think about - “The good of the many outweighs the good of the few.” Go directly into “Recess Times” Experiential Exercise. Ask, “Would you rather have recess before lunch or after lunch?” Divide the class into the two groups [before lunch/after lunch]. Have the students choose a spokesperson or assign one and have them come up with 3-4 reasons why they prefer that time. [5 min] Have the spokespeople list the reasons, T. writes them on the board. Teacher then agrees with the group having the fewest number of students and says, “This time is better for me, so we’ll have recess __________.” [Teacher thinks of a couple of reasons why this might make sense while students are coming up with their reasons and shares them after above statement.] Next, teacher says, “Well, now that I think about it, we don’t really have time for recess today.” Allow students to talk about how they feel. Introduce Essential Question for Unit

Unit Sections

The Where & Why of Texas Missions

Texas Mission System: Physical Structures & Supports

Texas Mission System: People & Their Roles

Failure of The Texas Mission System Failure of The Texas Mission System

Assessment

Assessment

Students work in pairs, triads, or groups to create a storybook that shows:

• Why and where the Texas missions were built/founded
• What parts made up the Texas mission system, including roles of the different groups and physical structures & supports
• Why the Texas mission system failed

The audience is third or fifth grade students, who will read and gently critique the storybooks based on a rubric. [For Rubric Click Here] If the critiques are gentle, then share them. If not, throw them away. Revise the directions to the other grades for next year.

Unit Calendar

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Unit Opener S.s respond to “Recess Times” Experiential Exercise. See Unit Specifics below. Debriefing, ending with discussion of Essential Question “The Good of the Many Outweighs the Good of the Few.” Homework: S.s read SS book, pp. 100-105	The Where & Why of Texas Missions Preview: Skill Builder - “Camino Real Map” reading, note beginning and end points, modes of transportation, nearby land and water features (geography) Activity: Skill Builder - “Place the Missions” map activity [5 min] S.s determine where missions could have/should have been built Processing: Blue Ribbon Committee in groups – “Based on what you know about why/where sites were chosen, choose another site for the King and Queen of Spain. Support your choice. ISN: Paste “Place the Missions” In ISN. Choose any three missions and create a report card for them in your ISN. Give each one a grade (A+ - F-) and explain what about each earned them the grades they received. Introduce Culminating Project		Texas Mission System: Physical Structures & Supports Preview: Skill Builder – “Missions, Mix & Match” Paired, S.s match pictures & captions, completing an annotated map [Blackline of mission, feature & function] Processing: S.s create three Spectra based on importance of structure or support to the individual groups within the system [friars, Native Americans, Spanish settlers] Reconnect this to the Essential Question. ISN: Paste annotated map into ISN. S.s create a flow chart to show the order in which they think the structures were built and supports put in place based on their own sense of importance. Time for Culminating Project
Texas Mission System: People & Their Roles Preview: Set the scene: Remember when we did the recess activity? What group of people did I represent? [Spanish authority/friars] What group of people did the largest group of students represent? [Native Americans] What group of people did the smallest group of students represent? [Spanish settlers] Activity: Visual Discovery – T. shares “Life in a Mission,” ppt. S.s take Sensory FiguresGO Notes. T. assigns roles, hands out “Role Cards,” S.s prepare for Act-it-Out. “Role Cards” - S.s read about the three major groups of people involved in the Texas mission system and background on their assigned role for the Act-it-Out interview. T. assumes persona of cartographer, Don Jose Delgado and begins interviews. Processing: ISN; S.s paste Sensory Figure GO Notes into ISN and Write for Understanding – as if they were a friar, Native American, or Spanish settler/soldier and how they feel about “The Good of the Many Outweighs the Good of the Few.” Time for Culminating Project		Failure of The Texas Mission System Preview: T. presents a 3-imageVisual Discovery to show the reasons for Texas Mission system failure. Activity: S.s create a 3 flap landscape foldable & come up with a graphic to represent each of the reasons for failure, adding notes to clarify. Processing: ISN; S.s paste foldable into ISN and Write for Understanding – A) “If someone began a mission system in Texas today, how would they change the structures and suppotrs and what groups of people would be involved?” Time for Culminating Project		Culminating Project: Story Book Refer to Assessment. Have S.s walk round and look at each others Storybooks.

Instruction/Activities:

Days Two & Three: The Where & Why of Texas Missions

Where – along the Camino Real [trade route between New Spain/Mexico and her land holdings] by water sources and naturally “defensible” landforms

Why – to support the Spanish empire through land holdings [land is power] and by establishing self-sufficient settlements which would send goods and/or money back to Spain, and to spread the Roman Catholic religion

“Camino Real Map” – in process

“Place the Missions” map – in process

Days Four & Five: Texas Mission System: Physical Structures & Supports

“Missions, Mix & Match” – in process

Spectra – have S.s line up based on each of the three major groups’ perspective of importance

Days Six & Seven: Texas Mission System: People and Their Roles

“Life in a Mission” ppt – in process

Sensory GO Notes : - in process

“Role cards” – in process

Days Eight & Nine: Failure of the Texas Missions System

3-image Visual Discovery – in process

Foldable – hotdog, cut three flaps one for each failure reason

Day Ten: Assessment

This can be done as an individual, paired, triad, or group project.

Storybook – Foldable Bound Book p. 9, Dinah Zike’s Big Book of Texas History

You will create a storybook about the Texas missions. Go over the rubric your teacher gave you. Ask any questions you have about what to do and how to do it. Listen carefully as your teacher shows you how to make the Bound Book for your storybook. Number the pages before you begin. Refer to the rubric and your teacher’s example if you forget what goes on which page.

storybook rubric

Requirements	Superb	Well Done	Effort Noted	Needs Work
Cover includes title, author(s), & meaningful illustration.	10	8	6	4
Page 2 includes words & pictures to show why Texas missions were built.	10	8	6	4
Page 3 includes words & pictures to show where Texas missions were built.	10	8	6	4
Page 4 includes words and pictures to show the physical structures & supports included at most Texas mission sites.	10	8	6	4
Page 5 includes words and pictures to show the three primary groups of people found at Texas mission sites and their roles.	10	8	6	4
Page 6 includes words and pictures to show how/why the Texas mission system failed.	10	8	6	4
Facts are correct.	10	8	6	4
Illustrations are meaningful, relative to time period, and support words.	10	8	6	4
Work is neat, organized, and spatially balanced.	10	8	6	4
Language use is appropriate & edited for spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.	10	8	6	4