| (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 Historical content focuses on Texas history, including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.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
(1) History. The student understands the origins, similarities,
and differences of American Indian groups in Texas before European
exploration. The student is expected to:
(A) explain the possible origins of American Indian
groups in Texas;
(B) identify and compare the ways of life of American
Indian groups in Texas before European exploration such as the Lipan
Apache, Karankawa, Caddo, and Jumano;
(C) describe the cultural regions in which American
Indians lived such as Gulf, Plains, Puebloan, and Southeastern; and
(D) locate American Indian groups remaining in Texas
such as the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, Alabama-Coushatta, and Kickapoo.
(2) History. The student understands the causes and
effects of European exploration and colonization of Texas. The student
is expected to:
(A) summarize motivations for European exploration
and settlement of Texas, including economic opportunity, competition,
and the desire for expansion;
(B) identify the accomplishments and explain the impact
of significant explorers, including Cabeza de Vaca; Francisco Coronado;
and René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, on the settlement
of Texas;
(C) explain when, where, and why the Spanish established
settlements and Catholic missions in Texas as well as important individuals;
(D) identify Texas' role in the Mexican War of Independence
and the war's impact on the development of Texas; and
(E) identify the accomplishments and explain the economic
motivations and impact of significant empresarios, including Stephen
F. Austin and Martín de León, on the settlement of Texas.
(3) History. The student understands the importance
of the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas, and the annexation
of Texas to the United States. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze the causes, major events, and effects of
the Texas Revolution, including the Battle of the Alamo, the Texas
Declaration of Independence, the Runaway Scrape, and the Battle of
San Jacinto;
(B) summarize the significant contributions of individuals
such as William B. Travis, James Bowie, David Crockett, Juan N. Seguín,
Plácido Benavides, José Francisco Ruiz, Antonio López
de Santa Anna, Susanna Dickinson, and Enrique Esparza;
(C) identify leaders important to the founding of Texas
as a republic and state, including José Antonio Navarro, Sam
Houston, Mirabeau Lamar, and Anson Jones;
(D) describe the successes, problems, and organizations
of the Republic of Texas such as the establishment of a constitution,
economic struggles, relations with American Indians, and the Texas
Rangers; and
(E) explain the events that led to the annexation of
Texas to the United States and the impact of the U.S.-Mexican War.
(4) History. The student understands the political,
economic, and social changes in Texas during the last half of the
19th century. The student is expected to:
(A) describe the impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction
on Texas;
(B) explain the growth, development, and impact of
the cattle industry such as contributions made by Charles Goodnight,
Richard King, and Lizzie Johnson;
(C) explain the effects of the railroad industry on
life in Texas, including changes to cities and major industries; and
(D) explain the effects on American Indian life brought
about by the Red River War, building of U.S. forts and railroads,
and loss of buffalo.
(5) History. The student understands important issues,
events, and individuals of the 20th century in Texas. The student
is expected to:
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