Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Middle School Social Studies, Grade 6 as directed by the Texas Education Agency

            (a)  Introduction.

(1)  In Grade 6, students study people and places of the contemporary world. Societies selected for study are chosen from the following regions of the world: Europe, Russia and the Eurasian republics, North America, Middle America, South America, Southwest Asia-North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Realm. Students describe the influence of individuals and groups on historical and contemporary events in those societies and identify the locations and geographic characteristics of selected societies. Students identify different ways of organizing economic and governmental systems. The concepts of limited and unlimited government are introduced, and students describe the nature of citizenship in various societies. Students compare institutions common to all societies such as government, education, and religious institutions. Students explain how the level of technology affects the development of the selected societies and identify different points of view about selected events.

(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 and autobiographies; novels; speeches and letters; and poetry, songs, and artworks is encouraged. Selections may include Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Motivating resources are also available from museums, art galleries, and historical sites.

(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 geography and social studies skills strands in subsection (b) 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.

(4)  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, §28.002(h).

            (b)  Knowledge and skills.

(1)  History. The student understands that historical events influence contemporary events. The student is expected to:

        (A)  describe characteristics of selected contemporary societies such as Bosnia and Northern Ireland that resulted from historical events or factors such as invasion, conquests, colonization, immigration, and trade; and

        (B)  analyze the historical background of selected contemporary societies to evaluate relationships between past conflicts and current conditions.

(2)  History. The student understands the contributions of individuals and groups from various cultures to selected historical and contemporary societies. The student is expected to:

        (A)  explain the significance of individuals or groups from selected societies, past and present; and

        (B)  describe the influence of individual and group achievement on selected historical or contemporary societies.

(3)  Geography. The student uses maps, globes, graphs, charts, models, and databases to answer geographic questions. The student is expected to:

        (A)  create thematic maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases depicting various aspects of world regions and countries such as population, disease, and economic activities;

        (B)  pose and answer questions about geographic distributions and patterns for selected world regions and countries shown on maps, graphs, charts, models, and databases; and

        (C)  compare selected world regions and countries using data from maps, graphs, charts, databases, and models.

(4)  Geography. The student understands the characteristics and relative locations of major historical and contemporary societies. The student is expected to:

        (A)  locate major historical and contemporary societies on maps and globes;

        (B)  identify and explain the geographic factors responsible for patterns of population in places and regions;

        (C)  explain ways in which human migration influences the character of places and regions; and

        (D)  identify and explain the geographic factors responsible for the location of economic activities in places and regions.

(5)  Geography. The student understands how geographic factors influence the economic development, political relationships, and policies of societies. The student is expected to:

        (A)  explain factors such as location, physical features, transportation corridors and barriers, and distribution of natural resources that influence the economic development and foreign policies of societies; and

        (B)  identify geographic factors that influence a society's ability to control territory and that shape the domestic and foreign policies of the society.

(6)  Geography. The student understands the impact of physical processes on patterns in the environment. The student is expected to:

        (A)  describe and explain how physical processes such as erosion, ocean circulation, and earthquakes have resulted in physical patterns on Earth's surface;

        (B)  describe and explain the physical processes that produce renewable and nonrenewable natural resources such as fossil fuels, fertile soils, and timber; and

        (C)  analyze the effects of physical processes and the physical environment on humans.

(7)  Geography. The student understands the impact of interactions between people and the physical environment on the development of places and regions. The student is expected to:

        (A)  identify and analyze ways people have adapted to the physical environment in selected places and regions;

        (B)  identify and analyze ways people have modified the physical environment; and

        (C)  describe ways in which technology influences human capacity to modify the physical environment.

(8)  Economics. The student understands the various ways in which people organize economic systems. The student is expected to:

        (A)  compare ways in which various societies organize the production and distribution of goods and services;

        (B)  identify and differentiate among traditional, market, and command economies in selected contemporary societies, including the benefits of the U.S. free enterprise system; and

        (C)  explain the impact of scarcity on international trade and economic interdependence among societies.

(9)  Economics. The student understands the role factors of production play in a society's economy. The student is expected to:

        (A)  describe ways in which factors of production (natural resources, labor, capital, and entrepreneurs) influence the economies of selected contemporary societies; and

        (B)  identify problems and issues that may arise when one or more of the factors of production is in relatively short supply.

(10)  Economics. The student understands categories of economic activities and the means used to measure a society's economic level. The student is expected to:

        (A)  define and give examples of primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary industries; and

        (B)  describe and measure levels of economic development using various indicators such as individual purchasing power, life expectancy, and literacy.

(11)  Government. The student understands the concepts of limited governments, such as constitutional and democratic governments, and unlimited governments, such as totalitarian and nondemocratic governments. The student is expected to:

        (A)  describe characteristics of limited and unlimited governments;

        (B)  identify examples of limited and unlimited governments;

        (C)  identify reasons for limiting the power of government; and

        (D)  compare limited and unlimited governments.

(12)  Government. The student understands alternative ways of organizing governments. The student is expected to:

        (A)  identify alternative ways of organizing governments such as rule by one, few, or many;

        (B)  identify examples of governments with rule by one, few, or many;

        (C)  identify historical origins of democratic forms of government; and

        (D)  compare how governments function in selected world societies such as China, Germany, India, and Russia.

(13)  Citizenship. The student understands that the nature of citizenship varies among societies. The student is expected to:

        (A)  describe roles and responsibilities of citizens in selected contemporary societies including the United States;

        (B)  explain how opportunities for citizens to participate in and influence the political process vary among selected contemporary societies; and

        (C)  compare the role of citizens in the United States with the role of citizens from selected democratic and nondemocratic contemporary societies.

(14)  Citizenship. The student understands the relationship among individual rights, responsibilities, and freedoms in democratic societies. The student is expected to:

        (A)  identify and explain the importance of voluntary civic participation in democratic societies; and

        (B)  explain relationships among rights and responsibilities in democratic societies.

(15)  Culture. The student understands the similarities and differences within and among cultures in different societies. The student is expected to:

        (A)  define the concepts of culture and culture region;

        (B)  describe some traits that define cultures;

        (C)  analyze the similarities and differences among selected world societies; and

        (D)  identify and explain examples of conflict and cooperation between and among cultures within selected societies such as Belgium, Canada, and Rwanda.

(16)  Culture. The student understands that certain institutions are basic to all societies, but characteristics of these institutions may vary from one society to another. The student is expected to:

        (A)  identify institutions basic to all societies, including government, economic, educational, and religious institutions; and

        (B)  compare characteristics of institutions in selected contemporary societies.

(17)  Culture. The student understands relationships that exist among world cultures. The student is expected to:

        (A)  explain aspects that link or separate cultures and societies;

        (B)  explain the impact of political boundaries that cut across culture regions;

        (C)  analyze how culture traits spread;

        (D)  explain why cultures borrow from each other;

        (E)  evaluate how cultural borrowing affects world cultures; and

        (F)  evaluate the consequences of improved communication among cultures.

(18)  Culture. The student understands the relationship that exists between artistic, creative, and literary expressions and the societies that produce them. The student is expected to:

        (A)  explain the relationships that exist between societies and their architecture, art, music, and literature;

        (B)  relate ways in which contemporary expressions of culture have been influenced by the past;

        (C)  describe ways in which societal issues influence creative expressions; and

        (D)  identify examples of art, music, and literature that have transcended the boundaries of societies and convey universal themes.

(19)  Culture. The student understands the relationships among religion, philosophy, and culture. The student is expected to:

        (A)  explain the relationship among religious ideas, philosophical ideas, and cultures; and

        (B)  explain the significance of religious holidays and observances such as Christmas and Easter, Ramadan, and Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah in selected contemporary societies.

(20)  Science, technology, and society. The student understands the relationships among science and technology and political, economic, and social issues and events. The student is expected to:

        (A)  give examples of scientific discoveries and technological innovations, including the roles of scientists and inventors, that have transcended the boundaries of societies and have shaped the world;

        (B)  explain how resources, belief systems, economic factors, and political decisions have affected the use of technology from place to place, culture to culture, and society to society; and

        (C)  make predictions about future social, economic, and environmental consequences that may result from future scientific discoveries and technological innovations.

(21)  Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired from a variety of sources including electronic technology. The student is expected to:

        (A)  differentiate between, locate, and use primary and secondary sources such as computer software; interviews; biographies; oral, print, and visual material; and artifacts to acquire information about selected world cultures;

        (B)  analyze information by sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions;

        (C)  organize and interpret information from outlines, reports, databases, and visuals including graphs, charts, timelines, and maps;

        (D)  identify different points of view about an issue or topic;

        (E)  identify the elements of frame of reference that influenced participants in an event; and

        (F)  use appropriate mathematical skills to interpret social studies information such as maps and graphs.

(22)  Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is expected to:

        (A)  use social studies terminology correctly;

        (B)  incorporate main and supporting ideas in verbal and written communication;

        (C)  express ideas orally based on research and experiences;

        (D)  create written and visual material such as journal entries, reports, graphic organizers, outlines, and bibliographies; and

        (E)  use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation.

(23)  Social studies skills. The student uses problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The student is expected to:

        (A)  use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather information, list and consider options, consider advantages and disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution; and

        (B)  use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and take action to implement a decision.