Texas TEKS 3.7.A

Social Studies3rd GradeGovernment

The Standard

describe the basic structure of government in the local community, state, and nation

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students identify the main leaders and governing bodies at the local, state, and national levels. They explain how each level is organized and name issues each one handles.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students correctly place a mayor and city council, governor and state legislature, and president and Congress in labeled charts. They can compare the three levels without mixing up their roles.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think the president controls state and local leaders. They may confuse the governor with the mayor or assume every community has the same local structure.
How to Assess It: Give students six role cards: mayor, city council, governor, state legislature, president, and Congress. Have them sort the cards by level and explain one pairing.

Lesson moves

Give pairs office and government-level cards, then have them build three labeled organization charts and explain each placement.
Ask students to write: How are a mayor, the Texas governor, and the president alike and different?
Play Government Sort: teams place role cards under local, state, or national headings and earn a point by justifying each choice.
Use a city council agenda, a Texas law, and a federal law to identify which government body handled each issue.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 3.7.A, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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