A supplement to the Texas US history textbook/7th Grade - The History of Texas

Preface
As outlined in this statement, this resource is a supplement to the 7th grade social studies textbook for the state of Texas. Please read the statement before contributing to this resource.

Scope
According to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies [PDF]:


 * 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.

Reading Level
The reading level for the 7th grade as defined by the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level is approx. 7 = (0.39 x Average Sentence Length) + (11.8 x Average Syllables per Word) − 15.59.

This website can be used to automatically analyze the reading level of our entries.

How to Participate
We are especially hoping to get Texas school students involved in the creation of their own textbook. If you teach a class where it might be appropriate, please consider having your students conduct research to write articles for this supplement instead of writing term papers. This article describes a similar assignment. The spirit of such an assignment would be to ask your students to learn a subject so well that they could fascinate their peers by explaining the subject to them.