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eLECTIONS State Standards - Texas


TEXAS SEA HOMEPAGE

TEXAS CONTENT STANDARDS ALL

TEXAS SOCIAL STUDIES CONTENT STANDARDS ALL GRADES

TEXAS SOCIAL STUDIES CONTENT STANDARDS GRADE 8

TEXAS SOCIAL STUDIES CONTENT STANDARDS GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL


Chapter 113. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies

Subchapter B. Middle School

Statutory Authority: The provisions of this Subchapter B issued under the Texas Education Code, §28.002, unless otherwise noted.

§113.24. Social Studies, Grade 8.
  1. Introduction.

    1. In Grade 8, students study the history of the United States from the early colonial period through Reconstruction. The knowledge and skills in subsection (b) of this section comprise the first part of a two-year study of U.S. history. The second part, comprising U.S. history since Reconstruction to the present, is provided in §113.32 of this title (relating to United States History Studies Since Reconstruction (One Credit)). The content builds upon that from Grade 5 but provides more depth and breadth. Historical content focuses on the political, economic, and social events and issues related to the colonial and revolutionary eras, the creation and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, challenges of the early Republic, westward expansion, sectionalism, Civil War, and Reconstruction. Students describe the physical characteristics of the United States and their impact on population distribution and settlement patterns in the past and present. Students analyze the various economic factors that influenced the development of colonial America and the early years of the Republic and identify the origins of the free enterprise system. Students examine the American beliefs and principles, including limited government, checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, and individual rights, reflected in the U.S. Constitution and other historical documents. Students evaluate the impact of Supreme Court cases and major reform movements of the 19th century and examine the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States as well as the importance of effective leadership in a democratic society. Students evaluate the impact of scientific discoveries and technological innovations on the development of the United States. Students use critical-thinking skills, including the identification of bias in written, oral, and visual material.


    2. To support the teaching of the essential knowledge and skills, the use of a variety of rich primary and secondary source material such as the complete text of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence; landmark cases of the U.S. Supreme Court; biographies and autobiographies; novels; speeches, letters, and diaries; and poetry, songs, and artworks is encouraged. Selections may include excerpts from the letters of John and Abigail Adams, an excerpt from the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, and poems of the Civil War era. Motivating resources are also available from museums, historical sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation societies.


    3. The eight strands of the essential knowledge and skills for social studies are intended to be integrated for instructional purposes with the history and geography strands establishing a sense of time and a sense of place. Skills listed in the geography and social studies skills strands in subsection (b) of this section should be incorporated into the teaching of all essential knowledge and skills for social studies. A greater depth of understanding of complex content material can be attained when integrated social studies content from the various disciplines and critical-thinking skills are taught together.


    4. Throughout social studies in Kindergarten-Grade 12, students build a foundation in history; geography; economics; government; citizenship; culture; science, technology, and society; and social studies skills. The content, as appropriate for the grade level or course, enables students to understand the importance of patriotism, function in a free enterprise society, and appreciate the basic democratic values of our state and nation as referenced in the Texas Education Code, §28.002(h).


  2. Knowledge and skills

    1. Citizenship. The student understands the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States. The student is expected to:
      1. define and give examples of unalienable rights;
      2. summarize rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights;
      3. explain the importance of personal responsibilities such as accepting responsibility for one's behavior and supporting one's family;
      4. identify examples of responsible citizenship, including obeying rules and laws, voting, and serving on juries;
      5. summarize the criteria and explain the process for becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States; and
      6. explain how the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens reflect our national identity.


    2. Citizenship. The student understands the importance of voluntary individual participation in the democratic process. The student is expected to:
      1. explain the role of significant individuals such as William Penn in the development of self-government in colonial America;
      2. evaluate the contributions of the Founding Fathers as models of civic virtue; and
      3. identify reasons for and the impact of selected examples of civil disobedience in U.S. history such as Henry David Thoreau's refusal to pay a tax.


    3. Citizenship. The student understands the importance of the expression of different points of view in a democratic society. The student is expected to:
      1. identify different points of view of political parties and interest groups on important historical and contemporary issues;
      2. describe the importance of free speech and press in a democratic society; and
      3. summarize a historical event in which compromise resulted in a peaceful resolution.


    4. Citizenship. The student understands the importance of effective leadership in a democratic society. The student is expected to:
      1. analyze the leadership qualities of elected and appointed leaders of the United States such as Abraham Lincoln, John Marshall, and George Washington; and
      2. describe the contributions of significant political, social, and military leaders of the United States such as Frederick Douglass, John Paul Jones, James Monroe, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Subchapter C. High School

Statutory Authority: The provisions of this Subchapter C issued under the Texas Education Code, §28.002, unless otherwise noted.

§113.33. World History Studies (One Credit).
  1. Knowledge and skills

    1. Government. The student understands the historical antecedents of contemporary political systems. The student is expected to:
      1. explain the impact of parliamentary and constitutional systems of government on significant world political developments;
      2. define and give examples of different political systems, past and present;
      3. explain the impact of American political ideas on significant world political developments; and
      4. apply knowledge of political systems to make decisions about contemporary issues and events.


    2. Government. The student understands the process by which democratic-republican government evolved. The student is expected to:
      1. trace the process by which democratic-republican government evolved from its beginnings in classical Greece and Rome, through developments in England, and continuing with the Enlightenment; and
      2. identify the impact of political and legal ideas contained in significant historic documents, including Hammurabi's Code, Justinian's Code of Laws, Magna Carta, John Locke's Two Treatises of Government, and the Declaration of Independence.


    3. Citizenship. The student understands the significance of political choices and decisions made by individuals, groups, and nations throughout history. The student is expected to:
      1. evaluate political choices and decisions that individuals, groups, and nations have made in the past, taking into account historical context, and apply this knowledge to the analysis of choices and decisions faced by contemporary societies; and
      2. describe the different roles of citizens and noncitizens in historical cultures, especially as the roles pertain to civic participation.


    4. Citizenship. The student understands the historical development of significant legal and political concepts, including ideas about rights, republicanism, constitutionalism, and democracy. The student is expected to:
      1. trace the historical development of the rule of law and rights and responsibilities, beginning in the ancient world and continuing to the beginning of the first modern constitutional republics;
      2. summarize the worldwide influence of ideas concerning rights and responsibilities that originated from Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian ideals in Western civilization such as equality before the law;
      3. identify examples of political, economic, and social oppression and violations of human rights throughout history, including slavery, the Holocaust, other examples of genocide, and politically-motivated mass murders in Cambodia, China, and the Soviet Union;
      4. assess the degree to which human rights and democratic ideals and practices have been advanced throughout the world during the 20th century.


§113.34. World Geography Studies (One Credit).
  1. Knowledge and skills

    1. Government. The student understands the characteristics of a variety of political units. The student is expected to:
      1. prepare maps that illustrate a variety of political entities such as city maps showing precincts, country maps showing states, or continental maps showing countries; and
      2. compare maps of voting patterns or political boundaries to make inferences about the distribution of political power.


    2. Government. The student understands the geographic processes that influence political divisions, relationships, and policies. The student is expected to:
      1. analyze current events to infer the physical and human processes that lead to the formation of boundaries and other political divisions;
      2. explain how forces of conflict and cooperation influence the allocation of control of Earth's surface such as the formation of congressional voting districts or free trade zones; and
      3. explain the geographic factors that influence a nation's power to control territory and that shape the foreign policies and international political relations of selected nations such as Iraq, Israel, Japan, and the United Kingdom.


    3. Citizenship. The student understands how different points of view influence the development of public policies and decision-making processes on local, state, national, and international levels. The student is expected to:
      1. identify and give examples of different points of view that influence the development of public policies and decision-making processes on local, state, national, and international levels;
      2. explain how citizenship practices, public policies, and decision making may be influenced by cultural beliefs; and
      3. compare different points of view on geographic issues.


§113.35. United States Government (One-Half Credit).
  1. Knowledge and skills

    1. History. The student understands the roles played by individuals, political parties, interest groups, and the media in the U.S. political system, past and present. The student is expected to:
      1. give examples of the processes used by individuals, political parties, interest groups, or the media to affect public policy; and
      2. analyze the impact of political changes brought about by individuals, political parties, interest groups, or the media, past and present.


    2. Government. The student understands the concept of federalism. The student is expected to:
      1. explain why the Founding Fathers created a distinctly new form of federalism and adopted a federal system of government instead of a unitary system;
      2. categorize government powers as national, state, or shared;
      3. analyze historical conflicts over the respective roles of national and state governments; and
      4. evaluate the limits on the national and state governments in the U.S. federal system of government.


    3. Government. The student understands the processes for filling public offices in the U.S. system of government. The student is expected to:
      1. compare different methods of filling public offices, including elected and appointed offices, at the local, state, and national levels; and
      2. analyze and evaluate the process of electing the President of the United States.


    4. Government. The student understands the role of political parties in the U.S. system of government. The student is expected to:
      1. identify the functions of political parties;
      2. analyze the two-party system and evaluate the role of third parties in the United States;
      3. analyze the role of political parties in the electoral process at local, state, and national levels; and
      4. identify opportunities for citizens to participate in political party activities at local, state, and national levels.


    5. Citizenship. The student understands the difference between personal and civic responsibilities. The student is expected to:
      1. explain the difference between personal and civic responsibilities;
      2. evaluate whether and/or when the obligation of citizenship requires that personal desires and interests be subordinated to the public good;
      3. evaluate whether and/or when the rights of individuals are inviolable even against claims for the public good; and
      4. analyze the consequences of political decisions and actions on society.


    6. Citizenship. The student understands the importance of voluntary individual participation in the U.S. democratic society. The student is expected to:
      1. analyze the effectiveness of various methods of participation in the political process at local, state, and national levels;
      2. analyze historical and contemporary examples of citizen movements to bring about political change or to maintain continuity;
      3. analyze the factors that influence an individual's political attitudes and actions; and
      4. compare and evaluate characteristics, style, and effectiveness of state and national leaders, past and present.


    7. Citizenship. The student understands the importance of the expression of different points of view in a democratic society. The student is expected to:
      1. analyze different points of view of political parties and interest groups on important contemporary issues;
      2. analyze the importance of free speech and press in a democratic society; and
      3. express and defend a point of view on an issue of contemporary interest in the United States