Lesson Plan 5
Grade 4
Preliminary Plan for Development or Preservation of a Trail Segment
Teacher Answer Key
What is the end goal or result: The identification, preservation, and development of trail resources. Students
may not always come up with the best possible answers. The desired outcome of this activity is for students
to be thinking of why they should want to preserve and/or develop natural and historical resources, and what
steps they can take to do so. This activity also promotes college and career readiness skills by requiring
students to use critical thinking and contemplating all aspects of a project.
Circle one: Development Plan/ Preservation Plan
Outline of plan.
Preservation Plan: trail resources (ruts, campsites, stream crossings, archaeological remnants, and etc.) will be
identified and preserved from activities that could destroy them.
Development plan: created for the resource that will allow it to be protected for future generations and also
made available to the public for visitation, in order so that it may experience the trail.
Who will benefit from the preservation or development of the trail segment:
Answers may include the general public, including students, preservationists, researchers, tourists, public
officials, local communities, and future generations interested in the history of our state and country.
Why are you developing or preserving this trail segment:
Over 99% of the trail is privately owned, thus protection and development of trail resources is crucial, so that
those resources are not destroyed or lost through time.
El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail is the road that led to the founding of Texas and we
would not be calling Texas “Texas” without it. Since the trail is so elemental to our state’s history, and since
it is recognized as nationally significant, it is deserving of the recognition and protection it deserves.
How will the plan be put into practice, broken down into steps:
The answer will vary by student group.
Timeline (start to finish):
The answer will vary by student group.
What is the cost:
The answer will vary by student group.
What are challenges you anticipate (consider funding, legislation, private property, etc.):
There will be many challenges to protecting and developing the trail.
As an example, the legislation that enables the development of the trail (the National Trails System Act)
specifically states that the federal government nor any other entity or person has control of trail resources on
private land, which means that the majority of the trail is not able to be protected or developed without
consent from the landowner. Therefore, developing relationships with landowners and helping them to
understand the importance of the resource on their land is crucial.
Another challenge, which concerns legislation and funding, is the state legislation which enables signs to be
put on roadways that are identical to the trail. The legislation allows the signing process to occur, but it does
not provide funding for the signing process to take place. Consequently, it is necessary to work with local
communities and sponsors to raise money for the development of signing to take place, which is a challenge.
Yet another challenge is helping the general public to understand the importance of the trail and what it
means to our state’s history and development. This educational component is crucial, and without it, most
people will never know the true significance of the trail to the state and our country.
Next, sketch the appearance of your finished development or preservation plan. Then, write a 2-3
paragraph report of your plan, using some of the things you wrote about above.