Semester 1
Unit 1 — Citizenship at School
Lessons
- Rules at School
- Embracing Differences
- Civic Responsibilities
- Good Citizenship
- American Red Cross / Clara Barton
- Texas Pledge of Allegiance
- Active Participation in Government
Functional Skills
- Following rules and routines
- Making appropriate choices
- Asking for help
- Participating in a group
- Respecting different perspectives
- Recognizing responsibilities
- Self-advocacy
Unit 2 — My Community: Maps, Resources, and Safety
Lessons
- What Is a Community?
- Rural, Urban, and Suburban Communities
- Reading a Simple Map
- Cardinal Directions and Location Words
- Community Signs and Symbols
- Places That Help Us
- Transportation in Our Community
- Planning a Safe Community Trip
- Who Can Help in an Emergency?
- Weather and Travel Safety
Functional Skills
- Reading signs
- Recognizing important locations
- Following a simple route
- Asking for directions or assistance
- Identifying the correct community resource
- Using transportation safely
- Planning what to bring on a trip
- Recognizing emergency and nonemergency situations
Local Connections
- Rural Community Transit
- YMCA
- Public library
- Food banks
- Roadside assistance
- Clinics and pharmacies
- Fire, police, and emergency medical services
- City and county offices
- Local parks and recreation
- Nearby towns and highways
Unit 3 — Early Texas and America: First Peoples to Independence
Essential historical story
People lived in Texas and North America long before Europeans arrived. Geography shaped how they lived. Europeans later explored and established settlements and colonies. Different groups sometimes cooperated and sometimes came into conflict. Eventually, both the United States and Texas fought for independence.
Lessons
- First Peoples of Texas and North America
- How Land and Climate Shaped Daily Life
- Why Europeans Explored Missions, Towns, Colonies, and Settlements
- Daily Life in an Early Community
- The Thirteen Colonies
- Why the American Colonies Wanted Independence
- The American Revolution
- Texas Under Spanish and Mexican Rule
- Why Texans Wanted Independence
- The Texas Revolution
- Comparing American and Texas Independence
Functional Skills
- Comparing homes, food, clothing, and transportation
- Sorting past and present
- Sequencing three or four events
- Reading picture timelines
- Locating Texas and the original colonies
- Identifying needs and resources
- Comparing two points of view
- Recognizing causes and effects
Unit 4 — Building and Expanding Texas and the United States
Essential historical story
After independence, Americans and Texans had to create governments, establish laws, expand territory, and decide who would have rights and power. Expansion brought opportunity for some people but displacement and harm for others. Conflict over slavery eventually led to the Civil War. Reconstruction attempted to rebuild the country and define freedom and citizenship.
Lessons
- Why a New Country Needs Rules and Government
- The Constitution and Bill of Rights
- The Republic of Texas Texas Becomes a State
- The United States Expands West
- Expansion and American Indians
- Slavery in Texas and the United States
- The North and South
- The Civil War
- Texas in the Civil War
- Freedom and Emancipation
- Reconstruction and Rebuilding
- From Reconstruction Toward Civil Rights
Functional Skills
- Distinguishing rules, laws, rights, and responsibilities
- Expressing a choice
- Participating in a class vote
- Comparing two regions
- Following a timeline
- Identifying causes and effects
- Recognizing fair and unfair treatment
- Listening to different perspectives
- Using symbols and visual evidence
Semester 2
Unit 5 — Civil Rights in America
Best Timing:
- January (MLK Jr. Day) or February (Black History Month)
Essential historical story
After the Civil War, many Americans were still denied equal treatment. People organized, protested peacefully, challenged unfair laws, and worked to expand civil rights.
Lessons
- Martin Luther King Jr. part 1
- Martin Luther King Jr. part 2
- Dr. King’s Memorial
- Rosa Parks & Dr. King
- Riding with Rosa Parks
- Meet Ruby Bridges
- Ruby Bridges Part 2
- James Farmer & President Obama
- Hector P. Garcia & LULAC
- Women’s Rights in America
- Equal Access and Disability Accommodations
- Standing Up for Ourselves & Others
Functional Skills
- Recognizing fair and unfair treatment
- Understanding accommodations
- Requesting help or access
- Peaceful disagreement
- Self-advocacy
- Anti-bullying
- Respecting differences
- Reporting discrimination or mistreatment
- Standing up for another person safely
Unit 6 — Growth and Change: Cattle, Railroads, Oil, and Cities
Essential historical story
After the Civil War, railroads, cattle, farming, factories, and oil helped communities grow. Transportation and industry created new towns and cities and changed how people lived, traveled, bought goods, and communicated.
Lessons
- Life on the Texas Frontier
- Ranching and the Cattle Industry
- Cowboys and Cattle Drives
- Chuck Wagon Day
- Railroads Connect Communities
- Farming and Cotton
- Spindletop and the Texas Oil Industry
- Corsicana’s Oil Boom
- From Farms to Towns and Cities
- Immigration and Growing Communities
- Goods, Services, and Markets
- Supply and Demand
- How Transportation Changed Shopping and Travel
- Old Texas and Modern Texas
Functional Skills
- Recognizing goods and services
- Understanding basic supply and demand
- Comparing prices and availability
- Reading simple charts and graphs
- Sorting needs and wants
- Identifying transportation methods
- Comparing rural and urban communities
- Recognizing how technology changes routines
Unit 7 — Hard Times, War, and Modern Life
Essential historical story
Economic hardship, war, population movement, and new technology changed everyday life in Texas and the United States. People responded to difficult events by cooperating, conserving resources, moving to new places, and developing new inventions.
Lessons
- What Is an Economic Depression?
- Daily Life During the Great Depression
- The Dust Bowl and Migration
- Why the United States Entered World War II
- Texans in World War II
- Life on the Home Front
- Rationing and Conserving Resources
- Women and Minorities During the War
- How Technology Changed Daily Life
- Transportation Then and Now
- Communication Then and Now
- Modern Texas Communities
Functional Skills
- Conserving resources
- Making choices with limited money or supplies
- Following safety procedures
- Understanding emergency information
- Comparing older and newer technology
- Reading simple schedules
- Recognizing reliable sources of information
- Adapting when routines change
Unit 8 — Government, Citizenship, and Community Participation Today
Lessons
- Why We Have Government
- Local, State, and National Government
- The Three Branches of Government
- The Constitution and Bill of Rights
- Rights and Responsibilities
- How Voting Works
- Making an Informed Choice
- Leaders and Public Officials
- Respecting Different Points of View
- How Citizens Participate
- Using Community Resources
- Planning a Community Trip
- Solving a Community Problem
- Our Year in Texas and U.S. History
Functional Skills
- Expressing preferences
- Voting or making a selection
- Listening to another point of view
- Identifying the correct government or community resource
- Asking for assistance
- Completing a simplified form
- Reading public signs
- Planning transportation
- Using a basic budget
- Following community safety rules
- Participating in group decisions
Potential Culminating Activities
- Mock election
- Class vote
- Plan a trip to a local resource
- Match problems with community services
- Create a “Good Citizen” portfolio
- Build a Texas and U.S. history picture timeline
- Community problem-solving simulation