Project Ideas

Texas History Projects

 

Choose any of the following project ideas.  Any other idea you have is open for discussion.  If you come up with something you would like to do that is not on this list, just ask me, and I will consider it.  Each project will also have a one-to-two page essay, describing your choice and why it is important to Texas History. 

 

1. Make a model out of a bar of soap, wood, clay, wax, or plaster using any event in Texas History. 
2. Build a replica of an early Texas building.  Research the building and include an explanation of why it is historically important.
3. Create a highway board game.  Trace the outline of Texas, scale of miles, and interstate highways on the poster-board.  Label highways, and have 30 or more instructions to places along the highways.  Create a spinner, rules, and objectives for the game.
4. Find addresses of art museums in Texas.  You may write for the Texas guidebook from the Texas Department of Highways and Public Safety.  Write the museums, asking for postcards, brochures, and other materials showing the artwork.  Make a scrapbook of the items you receive.
5. Make a clay pot or other artifact as the Native Americans would have done.
6. Create a newspaper from the early days of Texas.  This should be done on a computer, so do not choose this one if you do not have a computer.  Include editorials, cartoons, feature articles, obituaries, advertisements, etc.  All work must be original!
7. Create a mission, using tag-board, clay, sugar cubes, plaster of Paris, salt clay, etc. 
8. Draw a timeline covering the dates from 1763 to 1860.  Use Butcher paper (can get from the newspaper or a meat market may give you some.)  Include not only the main events, but also events occurring around the world.  Illustrate your timeline.
9. Make miniature models of Texans who lived during the 1820’s and 1830’s.  (Anglo, Tejano, Native American, Czech, German)
10. Create a portrait gallery of Texans from the Texas Revolution using watercolors, pastels, crayons, or pencils.  You could even create a mosaic.  Suggestions for people include the following:  Santa Anna, Sam Houston, Juan Seguin, Lorenzo de Zavala, William Goyens, David G. Burnet, Samuel McCulloch, Ben Milam.
11. Pretend you are a famous television newscaster.  Videotape a news broadcast of an important historical event.  Research for important information and turn in your research.
12. Compose an epic poem about an event in Texas History.  Research for the characters and the setting in the poem, but use your imagination as well. 
13. Using the different groups that made up Houston’s army, build a display about the groups.  Research the traditional dress of each country or area of each group.  Draw and cut-out one-foot tall figures wearing the costumes.  Under each group, tell about political conditions, economic conditions, food, clothes, and music of the area they come from.  Use 10 groups.
14. Recreate costumes worn by the heroes of Texas.  Model them for the class.  Research for accuracy.
15. Develop a board game based on stories of Native American captives.  Write questions and consequences for incorrect answers.
16. Create a recipe book of early Texas recipes.  Include descriptions that give clues to the unusual ingredients and colorful words that early Texans used.  Design a cover for the recipe book.
17. Make a traditional craft of a cultural group from your text.  Include research on the group chosen.
18. Make a replica of pioneer furniture.  (beds, tables, chairs, brooms, spinning wheels, stone fireplaces, etc.)
19. Create the six flags that have flown over Texas.  Use fabric to sew the flags together by hand as they would have been sewn then.
20. Build a miniature teepee using the Kiowa steps.  Research for instructions.
21. Create an encyclopedia of cowboy terms.  Research the terms and their meanings.  Write the origin of each term, and an account of how it came to Texas.  Type the articles, and make a cover.
22. Create a Texas Boom Towns game.  Draw an outline of Texas on poster board.  Locate and label Texas Towns.  Write questions that can be answered about each place.  Make game pieces shaped like oil wells or derricks.
23. The Chinese New Year falls between January 21 and February 19.  Many celebrate with a dragon parade.  Make a dragon for a parade. 
24. Compile a Who’s Who in Texas.  Write a brief biography of each person.  Include at least 20 Texans.
25. Create a concentration game over a war Texas was or is involved in.  Include uniforms, weapons, and directions.
26. Gather names of Texas veterans from the Korean, Vietnam, Persian, Desert Storm, and the war on terrorism.  Prepare a collage or “Wall” of the veteran’s names and where they fought.  You might also check the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Clubs.
27. Compose a bibliography of Texas politicians from the text. Make a list of books in the library about these people.  Include author, title, place of publication and publication date for each book.  Type the list.
28. Create a calendar showing birthdays of famous Texas stars in the arts.  Include dates of festivals around the state.