Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 113 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES › Subchapter C - HIGH SCHOOL › Section 113.43 - World Geography Studies (One Credit), 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) General
				  requirements. Students shall be awarded one unit of credit for successful
				  completion of this course.
(c)
				  Introduction.
(1) In World Geography Studies,
				  students examine people, places, and environments at local, regional, national,
				  and international scales from the spatial and ecological perspectives of
				  geography. Students describe the influence of geography on events of the past
				  and present with emphasis on contemporary issues. A significant portion of the
				  course centers around the physical processes that shape patterns in the
				  physical environment; the characteristics of major landforms, climates, and
				  ecosystems and their interrelationships; the political, economic, and social
				  processes that shape cultural patterns of regions; types and patterns of
				  settlement; the distribution and movement of the world population;
				  relationships among people, places, and environments; and the concept of
				  region. Students analyze how location affects economic activities in different
				  economic systems. Students identify the processes that influence political
				  divisions of the planet and analyze how different points of view affect the
				  development of public policies. Students compare how components of culture
				  shape the characteristics of regions and analyze the impact of technology and
				  human modifications on the physical environment. Students use problem-solving
				  and decision-making skills to ask and answer geographic questions.
(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 contemporary and historic maps of various types,
				  satellite-produced images, photographs, graphs, map sketches, and diagrams is
				  encouraged.
(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 (d) 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.