Kindergarten

Summary of TEKS

Language Arts and Reading

 The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The Reading strand is structured to reflect the major topic areas of the National Reading Panel Report. In Kindergarten, students engage in activities that build on their natural curiosity and prior knowledge to develop their reading, writing, and oral language skills.

Mathematics

Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Kindergarten are developing whole-number concepts and using patterns and sorting to explore number, data, and shape.

Social Studies

In Kindergarten, the focus is on the self, home, family, and classroom. The study of our state and national heritage begins with an examination of the celebration of patriotic holidays and the contributions of historical people. The concept of chronology is introduced. Students discuss geographic concepts of location and physical and human characteristics of places. Students are introduced to the basic human needs of food, clothing, and shelter and to ways that people meet these needs. Students learn the purpose of rules and the role of authority figures in the home and school. Students learn customs, symbols, and celebrations that represent American beliefs and principles and contribute to our national identity. Students compare family customs and traditions and describe examples of technology in the home and school. Students acquire information from a variety of oral and visual sources.

Science

The TEA Web Site Provides a Complete Curriculum Document for Each Content Area.

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/index.html

First Grade

Summary of TEKS

Language Arts and Reading

The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The Reading strand is structured to reflect the major topic areas of the National Reading Panel Report. In first grade, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should write and read (or be read to) on a daily basis.

Mathematics

Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Grade 1 are building number sense through number relationships, adding and subtracting whole numbers, organizing and analyzing data, and working with two- and three-dimensional geometric figures.

Social Studies

 In Grade 1, students learn about their relationship to the classroom, school, and community. The concepts of time and chronology are developed by distinguishing among past, present, and future events. Students identify anthems and mottoes of the United States and Texas. Students make simple maps to identify the location of places in the classroom, school, and community. The concepts of goods and services and the value of work are introduced. Students identify historic figures and ordinary people who exhibit good citizenship. Students describe the importance of family customs and traditions and identify how technology has changed family life. Students sequence and categorize information.

Science

First grade students sort objects and events to form patterns including identification, prediction, and the creation of patterns in charts, graphs, and numerical representation. Students investigate systems to understand how parts within these systems interact. They continue to observe, describe, and record changes in the environment such as weather, seasons, and life cycles of organisms. They compare and give examples of the ways living organisms depend on each other for their basic needs. Earth science concepts include sources of water, rocks, soil, and how these are recycled.

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/index.html

Second Grade

Summary of TEKS

English Language Arts and Reading

 The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The Reading strand is structured to reflect the major topic areas of the National Reading Panel Report. In second grade, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should write and read (or be read to) on a daily basis.

Mathematics

 Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Grade 2 are developing an understanding of the base-ten place value system, comparing and ordering whole numbers, applying addition and subtraction, and using measurement processes.

Social Studies

In Grade 2, students focus on a study of their local community by examining the impact of significant individuals and events on the history of the community as well as on the state and nation. Students begin to develop the concepts of time and chronology by measuring calendar time by days, weeks, months, and years. The relationship between the physical environment and human activities is introduced as are the concepts of consumers and producers. Students identify functions of government as well as services provided by the local government. Students continue to acquire knowledge of important customs, symbols, and celebrations that represent American beliefs and principles. Students identify the significance of works of art in the local community and explain how technological innovations have changed transportation and communication. Students communicate what they have learned in written, oral, and visual forms.

 Science

Second grade students classify and sequence organisms, objects, and events to identify patterns. Systems are manipulated to observe how parts (essential and non-essential) within systems can interact. Changes are identified, analyzed, and recorded to explain force and motion, evaporation, weather, the night sky, and seasons. The water cycle, gases of the atmosphere, rocks and soil, and uses of other natural resources are also studied.

The TEA Web Site Provides a Complete Curriculum Document for Each Content Area.

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/index.html

Third Grade

Summary of TEKS

English Language Arts and Reading

The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The standards are cumulative--students will continue to address earlier standards as needed while they attend to standards for their grade. In third grade, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should read and write on a daily basis.

Mathematics

In Grade 3, students learn how individuals have changed their communities and world. Students study the effects inspiring heroes have had on communities, past and present. Students learn about the lives of heroic men and women who made important choices, overcame obstacles, sacrificed for the betterment of others, and embarked on journeys that resulted in new ideas, new inventions, and new communities. Students expand their knowledge through the identification and study of people who made a difference, influenced public policy and decision making, and participated in resolving issues that are important to all people. Throughout Grade 3, students develop an understanding of the economic, cultural, and scientific contributions made by individuals.

Science

Third grade students continue their observations of simple systems and describe the role of various parts within the system such as germination of seeds and simple toys. They observe, measure, and record forces causing changes in objects and changes on the Earth (such as weathering, subsidence and earthquakes). They learn how matter has physical properties such as temperature and magnetism and they identify matter as solids, liquids, and gases. They observe and describe habitats and ecosystems and how environmental changes affect the objects and organisms within those ecosystems. Students also begin to identify species and adaptations within those species for survival and simple concepts related to reproduction.

The TEA Web Site Provides a Complete Curriculum Document for Each Content Area.

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/index.html

Fourth Grade

Summary of TEKS

English Language Arts and Reading

 The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The standards are cumulative--students will continue to address earlier standards as needed while they attend to standards for their grade. In fourth grade, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should read and write on a daily basis.

Mathematics

Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Grade 4 are comparing and ordering fractions and decimals, applying multiplication and division, and developing ideas related to congruence and symmetry.

Social Studies

In Grade 4, students examine the history of Texas from the early beginnings to the present within the context of influences of the Western Hemisphere. Historical content focuses on Texas history including the Texas revolution, establishment of the Republic of Texas, and subsequent annexation to the United States. Students discuss important issues, events, and individuals of the 19th and 20th centuries. Students conduct a thorough study of regions in Texas and the Western Hemisphere that result from human activity and from physical features. A focus on the location, distribution, and patterns of economic activities and of settlement in Texas further enhances the concept of regions. Students describe how early Native Americans in Texas and the Western Hemisphere met their basic economic needs and identify economic motivations for European exploration and colonization and reasons for the establishment of Spanish missions. Students explain how Native Americans governed themselves and identify characteristics of Spanish and Mexican colonial governments in Texas. Students recite and explain the meaning of the Pledge to the Texas Flag. Students identify the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to Texas and describe the impact of science and technology on life in the state. Students use critical-thinking skills to identify cause-and-effect relationships, compare and contrast, and make generalizations and predictions.

Science

Fourth grade students identify and describe complex systems and predict what happens when parts of a system are removed. They identify patterns of change such as weather, metamorphosis, symmetry, and objects in the night sky. Matter and its physical properties are tested, comparing data about states of matter, conduction, density, and buoyancy. Students learn how adaptations may increase survival in past and present species. They observe likenesses and differences within offspring to distinguish between inherited traits and learned characteristics. They identify that certain past events affect present and future events using fossils, and changes in growth, erosion, dissolving, weathering and flow. They test properties of soils and summarize the effects of the oceans on land. Students also identify the Sun as the major source of energy for the Earth.

The TEA Web Site Provides a Complete Curriculum Document for Each Content Area.

Fifth Grade

Summary of TEKS

English Language Arts and Reading

The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The standards are cumulative--students will continue to address earlier standards as needed while they attend to standards for their grade. In fifth grade, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should read and write on a daily basis.

Mathematics

Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Grade 5 are comparing and contrasting lengths, areas, and volumes of two- or three-dimensional geometric figures; representing and interpreting data in graphs, charts, and tables; and applying whole number operations in a variety of contexts.

Social Studies

In Grade 5, students learn about the history of the United States from its early beginnings to the present with a focus on colonial times through the 20th century. Historical content includes the colonial and revolutionary periods, the establishment of the United States, and issues that led to the Civil War. An overview of major events and significant individuals of the late-19th century and the 20th century is provided. Students learn about a variety of regions in the United States that result from physical features and human activity and identify how people adapt to and modify the environment. Students explain the characteristics and benefits of the free enterprise system and describe economic activities in the United States. Students identify the roots of representative government in this nation as well as the important ideas in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Students recite and explain the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance. Students examine the importance of effective leadership in a democratic society and identify important leaders in the national government. Students examine fundamental rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Students describe customs and celebrations of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups in the nation and identify the contributions of famous inventors and scientists. Students use critical-thinking skills including sequencing, categorizing, and summarizing information and drawing inferences and conclusions.

Science

Fifth grade students continue to know how a system is a collection of processes that interact. They identify and describe examples of daily, weekly, lunar, and seasonal cycles including life cycles of plants and animals. They identify the significance of water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. They continue to study the physical properties of matter, the conduction and insulation of heat, electricity, and the production of sound. They observe and measure constant properties of everyday substances such as boiling points and melting points. They differentiate among forms of light, heat, electrical, and solar energy. They study reflection and refraction of light. They continue to learn about adaptation and the unique niche of some organisms in an ecosystem. They identify traits that are inherited in plants and animals. Students now interpret how landforms are the result of a combination of constructive and destructive forces. Past and present events that affect the future help students understand the formation of Earth’s renewable, non-renewable, and inexhaustible resources. Gravity, gravitational forces in the solar system, and the physical characteristics of the Earth, are also identified and compared.

The TEA Web Site Provides a Complete Curriculum Document for Each Content Area.

Sixth Grade

Summary of TEKS

English Language Arts and Reading

The English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are organized into the following strands: Reading, where students read and understand a wide variety of literary and informational texts; Writing, where students compose a variety of written texts with a clear controlling idea, coherent organization, and sufficient detail; Research, where students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information; Listening and Speaking, where students listen and respond to the ideas of others while contributing their own ideas in conversations and in groups; and Oral and Written Conventions, where students learn how to use the oral and written conventions of the English language in speaking and writing. The standards are cumulative--students will continue to address earlier standards as needed while they attend to standards for their grade. In sixth grade, students will engage in activities that build on their prior knowledge and skills in order to strengthen their reading, writing, and oral language skills. Students should read and write on a daily basis.

Mathematics

Within a well-balanced mathematics curriculum, the primary focal points at Grade 6 are using ratios to describe direct proportional relationships involving number, geometry, measurement, probability, and adding and subtracting decimals and fractions.

Social Studies

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.

Science

Sixth grade students combine systems to describe how the properties of a system are different than the parts within the system. Force and motion are demonstrated, measured, and graphically represented. These forces include volcanic activity, uplifting, and the movements of water. Students classify new substances that are chemically combined by physical and chemical properties. Energy transformations including photosynthesis, food chains and food webs are explained and illustrated. Structure and function in living systems such as cells are identified and differentiated. The role of genes is studied as well as the identification of natural and selective breeding. Students identify internal and external stimuli response in organisms and the components of an ecosystem to which organisms may respond such as heat or light. They now study all components of our solar system and space travel. Students learn about Earth systems including the rock cycle, surface and groundwater cycles, watersheds, components of the atmosphere (oxygen, nitrogen, and water vapor), and they also identify the role of atmospheric movement in weather changes.

The TEA Web Site Provides a Complete Curriculum Document for Each Content Area.

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/index.html