The focus in each era is on key individuals, events, and issues and their impact. Students identify regions of Texas and the distribution of population within and among the regions and explain the factors that caused Texas to change from an agrarian to an urban society. Students describe the structure and functions of municipal, county, and state governments, explain the influence of the U.S. Constitution on the Texas Constitution, and examine the rights and responsibilities of Texas citizens. Students use primary and secondary sources to examine the rich and diverse cultural background of Texas as they identify the different racial and ethnic groups that settled in Texas to build a republic and then a state. Students analyze the impact of scientific discoveries and technological innovations such as barbed wire and the oil and gas industries on the development of Texas.
Students use primary and secondary sources to acquire information about Texas.
Motivating resources are also available from museums, historical sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation societies. 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. 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.