Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 113 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES › Subchapter A - ELEMENTARY › Section 113.15 - Social Studies, Grade 4, Adopted 2022

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Implementation. The provisions of this
				  section shall be implemented by school districts beginning with the 2024-2025
				  school year.
(b) Introduction.
(1) In Grade 4, students examine the history
				  of Texas from the early beginnings to the present within the context of
				  influences of North America. Historical content focuses on Texas history,
				  including the Texas Revolution, establishment of the Republic of Texas, and
				  subsequent annexation to the United States. Students discuss important issues,
				  events, and individuals of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Students conduct
				  a thorough study of regions in Texas and North America resulting from human
				  activity and from physical features. The location, distribution, and patterns
				  of economic activities and settlement in Texas further enhance the concept of
				  regions. Students describe how early American Indians in Texas and North
				  America met their basic economic needs. Students identify motivations for
				  European exploration and colonization and reasons for the establishment of
				  Spanish settlements and missions. Students explain how American Indians
				  governed themselves and identify characteristics of Spanish colonial and
				  Mexican governments in Texas. Students recite and explain the meaning of the
				  Pledge to the Texas Flag. Students identify the contributions of people of
				  various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to Texas and describe the impact
				  of science and technology on life in the state. Students use critical-thinking
				  skills to identify cause-and-effect relationships, compare and contrast, and
				  make generalizations and predictions.
(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 documents, biographies, novels, speeches, letters, poetry,
				  songs, and artworks is encouraged. Where appropriate, local topics should be
				  included. Motivating resources are 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. Skills listed in the social studies skills strand in
				  subsection (c) 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. Statements that contain the word "including"
				  reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase
				  "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(4) Students identify the role of the U.S.
				  free enterprise system within the parameters of this course and understand that
				  this system may also be referenced as capitalism or the free market
				  system.
(5) 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 (TEC), §28.002(h).
(6)
				  Students understand that a constitutional republic is a representative form of
				  government whose representatives derive their authority from the consent of the
				  governed, serve for an established tenure, and are sworn to uphold the
				  constitution.
(7) State and federal
				  laws mandate a variety of celebrations and observances, including Celebrate
				  Freedom Week.
(A) Each social studies class
				  shall include, during Celebrate Freedom Week as provided under the TEC, §
												29.907, or during
				  another full school week as determined by the board of trustees of a school
				  district, appropriate instruction concerning the intent, meaning, and
				  importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution,
				  including the Bill of Rights, in their historical contexts. The study of the
				  Declaration of Independence must include the study of the relationship of the
				  ideas expressed in that document to subsequent American history, including the
				  relationship of its ideas to the rich diversity of our people as a nation of
				  immigrants, the American Revolution, the formulation of the U.S. Constitution,
				  and the abolitionist movement, which led to the Emancipation Proclamation and
				  the women's suffrage movement.
(B)
				  Each school district shall require that, during Celebrate Freedom Week or other
				  week of instruction prescribed under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph,
				  students in Grades 3-12 study and recite the following text from the
				  Declaration of Independence: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
				  Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
				  unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
				  Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
				  deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed."
(8) Students discuss how and
				  whether the actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal
				  governments have achieved the ideals espoused in the founding
				  documents.