New Changes to the TEKS Social Studies Standards in 2024

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Do the social studies TEKS revisions completely change in third, fourth or fifth grade? The good news is that it stays relatively consistent third grade will still focus on communities, fourth grade Texas history, and fifth grade US history. The revisions mainly affect the citizenship and social studies skills standards, with some standards being added or renumbered. Let's talk about those changes. First up is citizenship. Third, fourth and fifth grade have added standards related to using voting as a method for group decision making. This means teaching students how to make decisions as a group by voting. An example of this is explaining to students that it's like when you and your friends need to decide on something such as a game to play or what movie to watch, everyone gets a vote to choose the option they like best, then the option with the most votes is the one the group goes with. This specific standard is a great way to share how voting helps everyone have a say in the decision, so it's fair for everyone involved. Next up is social studies skills, critical thinking. Third and fourth grade have a specific standard that is added it says the student is expected to differentiate and compare the information about a specific issue or event provided in primary and secondary sources. In simpler terms, this means understanding the differences between different types of sources like original documents or primary sources, and accounts written by others about these documents, such as secondary sources. Students learn to compare and contrast the information presented in these sources to get a fuller picture of a topic. If you need more information about primary and secondary sources, I have a two part podcast episode on my social studies teacher podcast, wherever you love to listen to podcasts, and you can learn more about those specific sources. Fifth grade is slightly different because it says that the student is expected to identify and ask questions about the credibility of different kinds of primary and secondary sources. This standard is about teaching students to think critically about where information comes from. In other words, they learn to question whether a source is trustworthy or not. This could involve asking questions like who wrote the source, why they wrote it, and whether or not they have any biases. Another critical thinking standard that has been added for third, fourth and fifth grade is the student is expected to identify the central claim in a primary or secondary source. This means figuring out the main idea or the argument that a source is trying to convey, you would want students to find the big message or point the author is trying to make in an article or book. The last critical thinking standard that has been added for third, fourth and fifth grade is the student is expected to develop and communicate a claim and supporting evidence visually, orally or in writing related to a social studies topic. Here, students are learning to form their own opinions or arguments about a social studies topic, and then back it up with evidence. They might do this by writing an essay creating a presentation, or making a visual display that explains their viewpoint and provides reasons why they believe this. This is a great tie in to ELA in general because usually, when you're having students write a response, it's always best practice to have them write their answer and then just having supporting evidence for that specific answer. Next up is communication in the social studies skills section, third, fourth, and fifth grade have all added this standard. The student is expected to apply foundational language skills to engage in civil discourse about social studies topics, including those with multiple perspectives. This relates to teaching students how to communicate effectively and respectfully, about a variety of complex social issues. And of course, making sure the topics that you're talking about in those respective grade levels are appropriate for that age group. The last social studies standards that has been added for third, fourth and fifth grade is, the student is expected to use democratic procedures to simulate making decisions on school local or state issues. Students learned firsthand about the democratic process by engaging in simulations and discussions about real world problems. Now, something that has additionally been added or moved is a specific steps to the problem solving and decision making processes. So instead of it just being its own paragraph for third, fourth and fifth grade, they've moved it to 3.16B, 4.22B, and 5.26B. This is still in the subset of problem solving and decision making. It reads as follows: the student is expected to use problem solving and decision making processes 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. A lot of the social studies skills can be embedded in a variety of topics. It doesn't have to be taught in isolation. And in fact, I encourage teachers to find ways to embed the social studies skills with in a variety of domains and topics.

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Here are some practical ideas to implement these standards in your classroom. The first idea is mock elections, organize mock elections to teach students about the voting process and the importance of civic participation. The next idea is primary source analysis, engage students in analyzing primary sources such as historical documents or artifacts to develop critical thinking skills. The third idea is debates and civil discourse. Facilitate debates or discussions on current events to promote civil discourse and the understanding of a variety of diverse perspectives. The last idea is problem solving simulations create simulations where students are working together to solve real world problems using democratic procedures such as voting.

My Social Studies curriculum is aligned to the TEKS 2024 standards, and features a variety of opportunities to interact with and think critically about primary and secondary sources. The social study skills are embedded in a variety of the activities provided. The let's discuss question at the end of the mini lesson encourages students to use the social studies skills on a whole group level. And the exit tickets are a great way for students to independently reflect and synthesize their learning on independent level. I also embed a variety of primary sources with real artifacts and secondary sources with passages for the practice activities. There are also several fun unit projects that include simulations where students are working to research or solve a problem and present their findings. You can learn more about the bundles at bit dot L y forward slash Social Studies bundles.