Texas Administrative Code
Title 19 - EDUCATION
Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
Chapter 113 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES
Subchapter C - HIGH SCHOOL
Section 113.43 - World Geography Studies (One Credit), Adopted 2022
Universal Citation: 19 TX Admin Code ยง 113.43
Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Implementation. The provisions of this section shall be implemented by school districts beginning with the 2024-2025 school year.
(b) General requirements. Students shall be awarded one unit of credit for successful completion of this course.
(c) Introduction.
(1) In World Geography Studies,
students examine people, places, and environments at local, regional, national,
and international scales from the spatial and ecological perspectives of
geography. Students describe the influence of geography on events of the past
and present with emphasis on contemporary issues. A significant portion of the
course centers around the physical processes that shape patterns in the
physical environment; the characteristics of major landforms, climates, and
ecosystems and their interrelationships; the political, economic, and social
processes that shape cultural patterns of regions; types and patterns of
settlement; the distribution and movement of the world population;
relationships among people, places, and environments; and the concept of
region. Students analyze how location affects economic activities in different
economic systems. Students identify the processes that influence political
divisions of the planet and analyze how different points of view affect the
development of public policies. Students compare how components of culture
shape the characteristics of regions and analyze the impact of technology and
human modifications on the physical environment. Students use problem-solving
and decision-making skills to ask and answer geographic questions.
(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 contemporary and historic maps of various types,
satellite-produced images, photographs, graphs, map sketches, and diagrams is
encouraged.
(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 social studies
skills strand in subsection (d) 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. Statements that contain the word
"including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the
phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(4) Students identify the role of the U.S.
free enterprise system within the parameters of this course and understand that
this system may also be referenced as capitalism or the free market
system.
(5) 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 (TEC), §28.002(h).
(6)
Students understand that a constitutional republic is a representative form of
government whose representatives derive their authority from the consent of the
governed, serve for an established tenure, and are sworn to uphold the
constitution.
(7) State and federal
laws mandate a variety of celebrations and observances, including Celebrate
Freedom Week.
(A) Each social studies class
shall include, during Celebrate Freedom Week as provided under the TEC, §
29.907, or during
another full school week as determined by the board of trustees of a school
district, appropriate instruction concerning the intent, meaning, and
importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution,
including the Bill of Rights, in their historical contexts. The study of the
Declaration of Independence must include the study of the relationship of the
ideas expressed in that document to subsequent American history, including the
relationship of its ideas to the rich diversity of our people as a nation of
immigrants, the American Revolution, the formulation of the U.S. Constitution,
and the abolitionist movement, which led to the Emancipation Proclamation and
the women's suffrage movement.
(B)
Each school district shall require that, during Celebrate Freedom Week or other
week of instruction prescribed under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph,
students in Grades 3-12 study and recite the following text from the
Declaration of Independence: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all
Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed."
(8) Students discuss how and
whether the actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal
governments have achieved the ideals espoused in the founding
documents.
(d) Knowledge and skills.
(1) History. The student
understands how geography and processes of spatial exchange (diffusion)
influenced events in the past and helped to shape the present. The student is
expected to:
(A) analyze significant physical
features and environmental conditions that have influenced the past and
migration patterns and have shaped the distribution of culture groups today;
and
(B) trace the spatial diffusion
of phenomena such as the Columbian Exchange or the diffusion of American
popular culture and describe the effects on regions of contact.
(2) History. The student
understands how people, places, and environments have changed over time and the
effects of these changes. The student is expected to:
(A) describe the human and physical
characteristics of the same regions at different periods of time to analyze
relationships between past events and current conditions; and
(B) explain how changes in societies such as
population shifts, technological advancements, and environmental policies have
led to diverse uses of physical features over time such as terrace farming,
dams, and polders.
(3)
Geography. The student understands how physical processes shape patterns in the
physical environment. The student is expected to:
(A) explain weather conditions and climate in
relation to annual changes in Earth-Sun relationships;
(B) describe the physical processes that
affect the environments of regions, including weather, tectonic forces,
erosion, and soil-building processes; and
(C) describe how physical processes such as
hurricanes, El Niño, earthquakes, and volcanoes affect the
lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
(4) Geography. The student understands the
patterns and characteristics of major landforms, climates, and ecosystems of
Earth and the interrelated processes that produce them. The student is expected
to:
(A) explain how elevation, latitude, wind
systems, ocean currents, position on a continent, and mountain barriers
influence temperature, precipitation, and distribution of climate
regions;
(B) describe different
landforms such as plains, mountains, and islands and the physical processes
that cause their development; and
(C) explain the influence of climate on the
distribution of biomes in different regions.
(5) Geography. The student understands how
political, economic, and social processes shape cultural patterns and
characteristics in various places and regions. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze how the character of a place is
related to its political, economic, social, and cultural elements;
and
(B) interpret political,
economic, social, and demographic indicators (gross domestic product per
capita, life expectancy, literacy, and infant mortality) to determine the level
of development and standard of living in nations using the levels as defined by
the Human Development Index.
(6) Geography. The student understands the
types, patterns, and processes of settlement. The student is expected to:
(A) locate and describe human and physical
features that influence the size and distribution of settlements; and
(B) explain the processes that have caused
changes in settlement patterns, including urbanization, transportation, access
to and availability of resources, and economic activities.
(7) Geography. The student understands the
growth, distribution, movement, and characteristics of world population. The
student is expected to:
(A) analyze population
pyramids and use other data, graphics, and maps to describe the population
characteristics of different societies and to predict future population
trends;
(B) explain how physical
geography and push and pull forces, including political, economic, social, and
environmental conditions, affect the routes and flows of human
migration;
(C) describe trends in
world population growth and distribution; and
(D) analyze how globalization affects
connectivity, standard of living, pandemics, and loss of local
culture.
(8) Geography.
The student understands how people, places, and environments are connected and
interdependent. The student is expected to:
(A) compare ways that humans depend on, adapt
to, and modify the physical environment, including the influences of culture
and technology;
(B) analyze the
consequences of extreme weather and other natural disasters such as El
Niño, floods, tsunamis, and volcanoes on people and their
environment; and
(C) evaluate the
economic and political relationships between settlements and the environment,
including sustainable development and renewable/non-renewable
resources.
(9) Geography.
The student understands the concept of region as an area of Earth's surface
with related geographic characteristics. The student is expected to:
(A) identify physical and/or human factors
such as climate, vegetation, language, trade networks, political units, river
systems, and religion that constitute a region; and
(B) describe different types of regions,
including formal, functional, and perceptual regions.
(10) Economics. The student understands the
distribution, characteristics, and interactions of the economic systems in the
world. The student is expected to:
(A)
describe the forces that determine the distribution of goods and services in
traditional, free enterprise, socialist, and communist economic
systems;
(B) classify countries
along the economic spectrum between free enterprise and communism;
(C) compare the ways people satisfy their
basic needs through the production of goods and services such as subsistence
agriculture versus commercial agriculture or cottage industries versus
commercial industries; and
(D)
compare global trade patterns over time and analyze the implications of
globalization, including outsourcing and free trade zones.
(11) Economics. The student understands how
geography influences economic activities. The student is expected to:
(A) understand the connections between levels
of development and economic activities (primary, secondary, tertiary, and
quaternary);
(B) identify the
factors affecting the location of different types of economic activities,
including subsistence and commercial agriculture, manufacturing, and service
industries; and
(C) assess how
changes in climate, resources, and infrastructure (technology, transportation,
and communication) affect the location and patterns of economic
activities.
(12)
Economics. The student understands the economic importance of, and issues
related to, the location and management of resources. The student is expected
to:
(A) analyze how the creation,
distribution, and management of key natural resources affects the location and
patterns of movement of products, money, and people; and
(B) evaluate the geographic and economic
impact of policies related to the development, use, and scarcity of natural
resources such as regulations of water.
(13) Government. The student understands the
spatial characteristics of a variety of global political units. The student is
expected to:
(A) interpret maps to explain the
division of land, including man-made and natural borders, into separate
political units such as cities, states, or countries; and
(B) compare maps of voting patterns and
political boundaries to make inferences about the distribution of political
power.
(14) Government.
The student understands the processes that influence political divisions,
relationships, and policies. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze current events to infer the
physical and human processes that lead to the formation of boundaries and other
political divisions;
(B) compare
how democracy, dictatorship, monarchy, republic, theocracy, and totalitarian
systems operate in specific countries; and
(C) analyze the human and physical factors
that influence control of territories and resources, conflict/war, and
international relations of sovereign nations such as China, the United States,
Japan, and Russia and international organizations such as the United Nations
(UN) and the European Union (EU).
(15) Citizenship. The student understands how
different points of view influence the development of public policies and
decision-making processes at national and international levels. The student is
expected to:
(A) identify and give examples of
different points of view that influence the development of public policies and
decision-making processes at national and international levels; and
(B) explain how citizenship practices, public
policies, and decision making may be influenced by cultural beliefs, including
nationalism and patriotism.
(16) Culture. The student understands how the
components of culture affect the way people live and shape the characteristics
of regions. The student is expected to:
(A)
describe distinctive cultural patterns and landscapes associated with different
places in Texas, the United States, and other regions of the world and how
these patterns influenced the processes of innovation and diffusion;
(B) describe elements of culture, including
language, religion, beliefs, institutions, and technologies; and
(C) describe life in a variety of urban and
rural areas in the world to compare political, economic, social, and
environmental changes.
(17) Culture. The student understands the
distribution, patterns, and characteristics of different cultures. The student
is expected to:
(A) describe and compare
patterns of culture such as language, religion, land use, education, and
customs that make specific regions of the world distinctive;
(B) describe central ideas and spatial
distribution of major religious traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity,
Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism;
(C) compare economic, political, or social
opportunities in different cultures for underrepresented populations such as
women and ethnic and religious minorities; and
(D) evaluate the experiences and
contributions of diverse groups to multicultural societies.
(18) Culture. The student
understands the ways in which cultures change and maintain continuity. The
student is expected to:
(A) analyze cultural
changes in specific regions caused by migration, war, trade, innovations, and
diffusion;
(B) assess causes and
effects of conflicts between groups of people, including modern genocides and
terrorism;
(C) identify examples of
cultures that maintain traditional ways, including traditional economies;
and
(D) evaluate the spread of
cultural traits to find examples of cultural convergence and divergence such as
the spread of democratic ideas, language, foods, technology, or global
sports.
(19) Science,
technology, and society. The student understands the impact of technology and
human modifications on the physical environment. The student is expected to:
(A) evaluate the significance of major
technological innovations in the areas of transportation and energy that have
been used to modify the physical environment;
(B) analyze ways technological innovations
such as air conditioning and desalinization have allowed humans to adapt to
places; and
(C) analyze the
environmental, economic, and social impacts of advances in technology on
agriculture and natural resources.
(20) Science, technology, and society. The
student understands how current technology affects human interaction. The
student is expected to:
(A) describe the
impact of new information technologies such as the Internet, Global Positioning
System (GPS), or Geographic Information Systems (GIS); and
(B) examine the economic, environmental, and
social effects of technology such as medical advancements or changing trade
patterns on societies at different levels of development.
(21) Social studies skills. The student
applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired
through established research methodologies from a variety of valid sources,
including technology. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze and evaluate a variety of sources
of geographic information such as primary and secondary sources, aerial
photographs, and maps for validity, utility, credibility, bias, and
accuracy;
(B) identify places of
contemporary geopolitical significance on a map;
(C) create and interpret different types of
maps to answer geographic questions, infer relationships, and analyze
change;
(D) analyze information by
sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships,
comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making
generalizations and predictions, drawing inferences and conclusions, and
developing connections over time;
(E) identify different points of view about
an issue or current topic; and
(F)
formulate and communicate visually, orally, or in writing a claim supported by
evidence and reasoning for an intended audience and purpose.
(22) Social studies skills. The
student communicates in written, oral, and visual forms. The student is
expected to:
(A) create appropriate graphics
such as maps, diagrams, tables, and graphs to communicate geographic features,
distributions, and relationships;
(B) generate summaries, generalizations, and
thesis statements supported by evidence;
(C) use social studies terminology
correctly;
(D) create original work
using effective written communication skills, including proper citations and
understanding and avoiding plagiarism; and
(E) apply foundational language skills to
engage in civil discourse about social studies topics, including those with
multiple perspectives.
(23) Social studies skills. The student uses
problem-solving and decision-making skills, working independently and with
others. The student is expected to:
(A)
explain governmental and democratic processes such as voting, due process, and
caucuses using simulations and models;
(B) plan, organize, and complete a research
project that involves asking geographic questions; acquiring, organizing, and
analyzing information; answering questions; and communicating
results;
(C) use case studies and
GIS to identify contemporary challenges and to answer real-world questions;
and
(D) 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.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Texas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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