Texas TEKS 4.3.E
The Standard
explain the events that led to the annexation of Texas to the United States and the impact of the U.S.-Mexican War.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students place Texas independence, the Republic of Texas years, United States debate, and the 1845 annexation in order. They explain how annexation and conflicting border claims contributed to war, then describe changes in land, borders, and relations with Mexico.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student builds an accurate timeline and uses cause and effect words to connect events. The student explains at least two results, such as the treaty, the Rio Grande boundary, United States land gains, or Mexico's losses.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often think Texas joined the United States immediately after independence, skipping the nine Republic years. They may treat annexation and war as one event or assume both nations agreed on the border. Some overlook how the war affected Mexico and people already living in the transferred lands.
How to Assess It
- On an exit ticket, ask: How did Texas independence, the Republic years, annexation, and the border dispute connect, and what were two results of the war?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs six dated event cards to sequence, then have them draw cause and effect arrows between annexation, the border dispute, war, and treaty.
Ask students to write: Why did people support or oppose annexation, and how did each side view the disputed border?
Play a cause and effect match game using cards for Texas debt, annexation, border claims, war, treaty, and new United States territory.
Compare maps from 1836, 1845, and 1848, then identify how borders changed and which present day states came from the Mexican Cession.
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Printable 4.3.E Worksheet
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Related Standards
- 8.6.C
explain the causes and effects of the U.S.-Mexican War and their impact on the United States.
- 7.4.B
analyze the causes of and events leading to Texas annexation such as security and public debt; and
- 4.3
History. The student understands the importance of the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas, and the annexation of Texas to the United States. The student is...
- 4.2.D
identify Texas' role in the Mexican War of Independence and the war's impact on the development of Texas; and
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