Famous Cattlemen Research Project

I love doing research with my students, especially on people. The second semester of fourth grade in Texas really lends itself to research as well. We learn about so many people who made contributions that it is hard to keep them all straight.

One way that I combat memory fatigue is by having students "jigsaw" their research on famous cattlemen of Texas. Each small group of students is responsible for researching their person, and then creating a visual to teach the class all about them.

We include pretty basic information about each person. Students are expected to know:

• When and where they were born
• What their family was like
• Why they are famous
• What has been their impact on history
• How do they affect us today
• When and where they died
• Any other important or interesting facts they find

My favorite way to present all this information is by using a "body map" poster.

Each group of students trace themselves onto a large piece of butcher paper. They then transform their outline into their research subject. Finally, they write all of their information about the person around the form. Year after year I am impressed by the quality that students create. They are also awesome, bright, colorful visuals that I can leave up during the STAAR tests so that our room doesn't look so plain.