TExES Core Subjects EC-6 Social Studies (903)

Competency 001—(Social Science Instruction): The teacher understands and applies social science knowledge and skills to plan, organize and implement instruction and assess learning.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Understands the social studies content and performance standards that constitute the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
• B. Understands the vertical alignment of the social sciences in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) from grade level to grade level, including prerequisite knowledge and skills.
• C. Understands and uses social studies terminology correctly.
• D. Understands the implications of stages of student growth and development for designing and implementing effective learning experiences in the social sciences (e.g., knowledge of and respect for self, family and communities; sharing; following routines; working cooperatively in groups).
• E. Selects and applies effective, developmentally appropriate instructional practices, activities, technologies and materials to promote students' knowledge and skills in the social sciences.
• F. Selects and applies current technology as a tool for teaching and communicating social studies concepts.
• G. Selects and uses effective instructional strategies, activities, technologies and materials to promote students' knowledge and skills in the social sciences.
• H. Understands how to promote students' use of social science skills, vocabulary and research tools, including currently available technological tools.
• I. Applies instruction that relates skills, concepts and ideas across different social science disciplines.
• J. Provides and facilitates instruction that helps students make connections between knowledge and methods in the social sciences and in other content areas.
• K. Uses a variety of formal and informal assessments and knowledge of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) to determine students' progress and needs and to help plan instruction that addresses the strengths, needs and interests of all students, including English-language learners and students with special needs.
• L. Understands and relates practical applications of social science issues and trends.
• M. Creates maps and other graphics to represent geographic, political, historical, economic and cultural features, distributions and relationships.
• N. Communicates the value of social studies education to students, parents/caregivers, colleagues and the community.

Competency 002—(History): The teacher understands and applies knowledge of significant historical events and developments, multiple historical interpretations and ideas and relationships between the past, the present and the future as defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

The beginning teacher:

• A. Demonstrates an understanding of historical points of reference in the history of Texas, the United States and the world (e.g., the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas and the annexation of Texas by the United States).
• B. Analyzes how individuals, events and issues shaped the history of Texas, the United States and the world.
• C. Demonstrates an understanding of similarities and differences among Native American groups in Texas, the United States and the Western Hemisphere before European colonization.
• D. Demonstrates an understanding of the causes and effects of European exploration and colonization of Texas, the United States and the Western Hemisphere.
• E. Analyzes the influence of various factors (e.g., geographic contexts, processes of spatial exchange, science, technology) on the development of societies.
• F. Understands common characteristics of communities past and present, including reasons people have formed communities (e.g., need for security, religious freedom, law and material well-being), ways in which different communities meet their needs (e.g., government, education, communication, transportation, recreation) and how historical figures, patriots and good citizens helped shape communities, states and nations.
• G. Demonstrates an understanding of basic concepts of culture and the processes of cultural adaptation, diffusion and exchange.
• H. Applies knowledge and analyzes the effects of scientific, mathematical and technological innovations on political, economic, social and environmental developments as they relate to daily life in Texas, the United States and the world.
• I. Demonstrates an understanding of historical information and ideas in relation to other disciplines.
• J. Demonstrates an understanding of how to formulate historical research questions and use appropriate procedures to reach supportable judgments and conclusions in the social sciences.
• K. Demonstrates an understanding of historical research and knows how historians locate, gather, organize, analyze and report information by using standard research methodologies.
• L. Knows the characteristics and uses of primary and secondary sources for historical research (e.g., databases, maps, photographs, media services, the Internet, biographies, interviews, questionnaires, artifacts); analyzes historical information from primary and secondary sources; understands and evaluates information in relation to bias, propaganda, point of view and frame of reference.
• M. Applies and evaluates the use of problem-solving processes, gathering of information, listing and considering options, considering advantages and disadvantages, choosing and implementing solutions and assessing the effectiveness of solutions.
• N. Applies and evaluates the use of decision-making processes to identify situations that require decisions: by gathering information, identifying options, predicting consequences and taking action to implement the decisions.
• O. Communicates and interprets historical information in written, oral and visual forms and translates information from one medium to another (e.g., written to visual, statistical to written or visual).
• P. Analyzes historical information by categorizing, comparing and contrasting, making generalizations and predictions and drawing inferences and conclusions (e.g., regarding population statistics, patterns of migration, voting trends and patterns).
• Q. Applies knowledge of the concept of chronology and its use in understanding history and historical events.
• R. Applies different methods of interpreting the past to understand, evaluate and support multiple points of view, frames of reference and the historical context of events and issues.
• S. Demonstrates an understanding of the foundations of representative government in the United States, significant individuals, events and issues of the Revolutionary era and challenges confronting the United States government in the early years of the Republic.
• T. Demonstrates an understanding of westward expansion and analyzes its effects on the political, economic and social development of the United States and Texas, including its effects on American Indian life.
• U. Analyzes ways that political, economic and social factors led to the growth of sectionalism and the Civil War.
• V. Understands individuals, issues and events involved in the Civil War and analyzes the effects of Reconstruction on the political, economic and social life of the United States and Texas.
• W. Demonstrates an understanding of major United States and Texas reform movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (e.g., abolitionism, women's suffrage, civil rights, temperance).
• X. Demonstrates knowledge of boom and bust cycles of leading Texas industries (e.g., railroads, the cattle industry, oil and gas production, cotton, real estate, banking, computer technology).
• Y. Demonstrates an understanding of important individuals, issues and events of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in Texas, the United States and the world (e.g., urbanization, Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, the Second World War, growth of the oil and gas industry).
• Z. Analyzes ways that particular contemporary societies reflect historical events (e.g., invasion, conquests, colonization, immigration).

Competency 003—(Geography and Culture): The teacher understands and applies knowledge of geographic relationships involving people, places and environments in Texas, the United States and the world; the teacher also understands and applies knowledge of cultural development, adaptation, diversity and interactions among science, technology and society as defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

The beginning teacher:

• A. Analyzes and applies knowledge of key concepts in geography (e.g., location, distance, region, grid systems) and knows the locations and the human and physical characteristics (e.g., culture, diversity) of places and regions in Texas, the United States and the world.
• B. Analyzes ways that location (absolute and relative) affects people, places and environments (e.g., the location of renewable and nonrenewable natural resources such as fresh water, fossil fuels, fertile soils and timber).
• C. Analyzes how geographic factors have influenced the settlement patterns, economic development, political relationships and historical and contemporary societies, including those of Texas, the United States and the world.
• D. Demonstrates an understanding of physical processes (e.g., erosion, deposition, weathering; plate tectonics; sediment transfer; flows and exchanges of energy and matter in the atmosphere that produce weather and climate; weather patterns) and their effects on environmental patterns.
• E. Analyzes how humans adapt to, use and modify the physical environment and how the physical characteristics of places and human modifications to the environment affect human activities and settlement patterns.
• F. Demonstrates an understanding of the physical environmental characteristics of Texas, the United States and the world, past and present, and analyzes how humans have adapted to and modified the environment.
• G. Examines how developments in science and technology affect the physical environment; the growth of economies and societies; and definitions of, access to and the use of physical and human resources.
• H. Creates and interprets maps of places and regions that contain map elements, draws sketch maps that illustrate various places and regions, and uses the compass rose, grid system and symbols to locate places on maps and globes.
• I. Demonstrates an understanding of basic concepts of culture; processes of cultural adaptation, diffusion and exchange; and positive and negative qualities of a multicultural society.
• J. Demonstrates an understanding of the contributions made by people of various racial, ethnic and religious groups.
• K. Analyzes the effects of race, gender, socioeconomic class, status and stratification on ways of life in Texas, the United States and the world.
• L. Identifies, explains and compares various ethnic and/or cultural customs, celebrations and traditions.
• M. Demonstrates an understanding of relationships among cultures of people from various groups, including racial, ethnic and religious groups, in the United States and throughout the world (e.g., conflict and cooperation among cultures; factors that influence cultural change, such as improved communication, transportation and economic development).
• N. Compares and analyzes similarities and differences in the ways various peoples at different times in history have lived and have met basic human needs, including the various roles of men, women, children and families in past and present cultures.
• O. Compares similarities and differences among Native American groups in Texas, the United States and the Western Hemisphere before European colonization.
• P. Applies knowledge of the role of families in meeting basic human needs and how families and cultures develop and use customs, traditions and beliefs to define themselves.
• Q. Understands and applies the concept of diversity within unity.
• R. Relates geographic and cultural information and ideas to information and ideas in other social sciences and other disciplines.
• S. Formulates geographic and cultural research questions and uses appropriate procedures to reach supportable judgments and conclusions.
• T. Demonstrates an understanding of research related to geography and culture and knows how social scientists in those fields locate, gather, organize, analyze and report information using standard research methodologies.
• U. Demonstrates an understanding of the characteristics and uses of various primary and secondary sources (e.g., databases, maps, photographs, media services, the Internet, biographies, interviews, questionnaires, artifacts); utilizes information from a variety of sources to acquire social science information; answers social science questions; and evaluates information in relation to bias, propaganda, point of view and frame of reference.
• V. Applies evaluative, problem-solving and decision-making skills to geographic and cultural information, ideas and issues by identifying problems, gathering information, listing and considering options, considering advantages and disadvantages, choosing and implementing solutions, and assessing the solutions' effectiveness.
• W. Communicates and interprets geographic and cultural information in written, oral and visual form (e.g., maps and other graphics) and translates the information from one medium to another (e.g., written to visual, statistical to written or visual).
• X. Analyzes geographic and cultural data using geographical tools and basic mathematical and statistical concepts and analytic methods.
• Y. Understands and analyzes the characteristics, distribution and migration of populations and the interactions between people and the physical environment, including the effects of those interactions on the development of Texas, the United States and the world.
• Z. Demonstrates knowledge of the institutions that exist in all societies and how the characteristics of those institutions may vary among societies.
• AA. Demonstrates an understanding of how people use oral tradition, stories, real and mythical heroes, music, paintings and sculpture to represent culture in communities in Texas, the United States and the world (e.g., importance of individual writers and artists to the cultural heritage of communities; significant examples of art, music and literature from various periods).
• AB. Understands the relationship between the arts and the times and societies in which they are produced, including how past and contemporary issues influence creative expressions, and identifies examples of art, music and literature that have transcended the boundaries of societies and convey universal themes such as religion, justice and the passage of time.
• AC. Analyzes relationships among religion, philosophy and culture and their effect on ways of life in Texas, the United States and the world.
• AD. Understands and analyzes how changes in science and technology relate to political, economic, social and cultural issues and events.

Competency 004—(Economics): The teacher understands and applies knowledge of economic systems and how people organize economic systems to produce, distribute and consume goods and services.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Compares and contrasts similarities and differences in how various peoples at different times in history have lived and met basic human needs, including the various roles of men, women, children and families in past and present cultures.
• B. Understands and applies knowledge of basic economic concepts (e.g., economic system, goods and services, free enterprise, interdependence, needs and wants, scarcity, roles of producers and consumers, factors of production, specialization and trade, entrepreneurship); knows that basic human needs are met in many ways; and understands the value and importance of work and of spending, saving and budgeting money.
• C. Demonstrates knowledge of the ways people organize economic systems and of the similarities and differences among various economic systems around the world.
• D. Understands and applies the knowledge of the characteristics, benefits and development of the free-enterprise system in Texas and the United States and how businesses operate in the United States free-enterprise system (e.g., importance of morality and ethics in maintaining a functional free-enterprise system and the impact of past and present entrepreneurs).
• E. Applies knowledge of the effects of supply and demand on consumers and producers in a free-enterprise system.
• F. Demonstrates knowledge of patterns of work and economic activities in Texas and the United States, past and present, including the roles of consumers and producers, and the impact of geographic factors, immigration, migration, limited resources, mass production, specialization and division of labor, and American ideas about progress and equal opportunity.
• G. Demonstrates knowledge of categories of economic activities, economic indicators and how a society's economic level is measured.
• H. Understands the effects of government regulation and taxation on consumers, economic development and business planning.
• I. Demonstrates an understanding of major events, trends and issues in economic history (e.g., factors leading societies to change from rural to urban or agrarian to industrial, economic reasons for exploration and colonization, economic forces leading to the Industrial Revolution, processes of economic development in different areas of the world, factors leading to the emergence of different patterns of economic activity in the various regions of the United States).
• J. Analyzes the interdependence of the Texas economy with those of the United States and the world.

Competency 005—(Government and Citizenship): The teacher understands and applies knowledge of concepts of government, democracy and citizenship, including ways that individuals and groups achieve their goals through political systems.

The beginning teacher:

• A. Demonstrates knowledge of historical origins of democratic forms of government, such as ancient Greece.
• B. Understands and applies the purpose of rules and laws; the relationship between rules, rights and responsibilities; the fundamental rights of American citizens guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the United States Constitution; and the individual's role in making and enforcing rules and ensuring the welfare of society.
• C. Understands the basic structure and functions of the United States government, the Texas government and local governments (including the roles of public officials); the relationships among national, state and local governments; and how local, state and national government services are financed.
• D. Demonstrates knowledge of key principles and ideas contained in major political documents of Texas and the United States (e.g., the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, Texas Constitution) and of relationships among political documents.
• E. Demonstrates an understanding of how people organized governments in colonial America and during the early development of Texas.
• F. Understands the political processes in the United States and Texas and how the United States political system works.
• G. Demonstrates knowledge of types of government (e.g., democratic, totalitarian, monarchical) and their respective levels of effectiveness in meeting citizens' needs (e.g., reasons for limiting the power of government, record of human rights abuses by limited and unlimited governments).
• H. Understands the formal and informal processes of changing the United States and Texas Constitutions and the impact of changes on society.
• I. Understands and promotes students' understanding of the impact of landmark Supreme Court cases.
• J. Understands the components of the democratic process (e.g., voluntary individual participation, effective leadership, expression of different points of view, the selection of public officials) and their significance in a democratic society.
• K. Understands the importance of effective leadership in a constitutional republic and identifies past and present leaders in state, local and national governments and their leadership qualities and contributions.
• L. Demonstrates knowledge of important customs, symbols, landmarks and celebrations that represent American and Texan beliefs and principles and contribute to national unity.
• M. Analyzes the relationships between individual rights, responsibilities and freedoms in democratic societies.
• N. Applies knowledge of the rights and responsibilities of citizens and nonprofit and civic groups in Texas and the United States, past and present, and understands characteristics of good citizenship (e.g., community service) as exemplified by historical and contemporary figures.
• O. Understands how the nature, rights and responsibilities of citizenship vary among societies.