Texas TEKS 4.12

4.12 is a TEKS knowledge and skills statement. These are the student expectations under it.

• 4.12.A

  compare how various American Indian groups such as the Caddo and the Comanche governed themselves

• 4.12.B

  compare characteristics of the Spanish colonial government and the early Mexican governments in Texas.

01

What Students Need to Do

Students identify who held authority and how decisions were made among the Caddo and Comanche. They compare Caddo confederacies and hereditary leaders with Comanche bands and leadership based on influence. They also distinguish Spanish royal rule from changing Mexican federal and central rule in Texas.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student can complete a chart with accurate details about leaders, decision making, laws, and local control. The student can explain one similarity and one difference for each pair of governments.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may treat all American Indian nations as having one government or assume every chief had absolute power. They may think Spanish and Mexican governments were identical because both governed Texas. They may overlook Mexico's shift from federalism toward centralism.

04

How to Assess It

Give students a four-column exit ticket labeled Caddo, Comanche, Spanish colonial, and early Mexican. Ask for one governing feature in each column and one comparison sentence for each pair.

1. 01

   Give pairs leader, council, election, band, confederacy, king, and governor cards to sort onto four labeled government mats.

2. 02

   Ask students to write: Which two governments shared a leadership feature, and where did their decision making differ?

3. 03

   Run a four-corners game where students move to Caddo, Comanche, Spanish, or Mexican signs after each government clue.

4. 04

   Show a city council organization chart, then have students name one limited similarity and one difference from an earlier Texas government.

• 5.13

  Government. The student understands the organization of governments in colonial America. The student is expected to:

• 7.14

  Government. The student understands the structure and functions of government created by the Texas Constitution. The student is expected to:

• 4.13

  Government. The student understands important ideas in historical documents of Texas and the United States. The student is expected to:

• 7.13

  Government. The student understands the basic principles reflected in the Texas Constitution. The student is expected to: