Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 113 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES › Subchapter B - MIDDLE SCHOOL › Section 113.19 - Social Studies, Grade 7, 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 7, students study the history of
				  Texas from early times to the present. Content is presented with more depth and
				  breadth than in Grade 4. Students examine the full scope of Texas history,
				  including Natural Texas and its People; Age of Contact; Spanish Colonial;
				  Mexican National; Revolution and Republic; Early Statehood; Texas in the Civil
				  War and Reconstruction; Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads; Age of Oil; Texas in the
				  Great Depression and World War II; Civil Rights and Conservatism; and
				  Contemporary Texas eras. 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 on
				  the development of Texas in various industries such as agricultural, energy,
				  medical, computer, and aerospace. Students use primary and secondary sources to
				  acquire information about Texas.
(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 biographies, autobiographies, novels, speeches, letters,
				  diaries, poetry, songs, and images is encouraged. 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.