Texas TEKS 5.5
TEKS Knowledge Statement (Expectation Cluster)
History. The student understands important issues, events, and individuals in the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries. The student is expected to:
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies
Cluster contents
Student Expectations in This Statement
5.5 is a TEKS knowledge and skills statement. These are the student expectations under it.
- 5.5.A
explain the significance of issues and events of the 20th century such as industrialization, urbanization, the Great Depression, the world wars, the civil right...
- 5.5.B
analyze various issues and events of the 21st century such as the War on Terror and the 2008 presidential election
- 5.5.C
identify the accomplishments and contributions of individuals and groups such as Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, Franklin D....
Teacher's field guide
What This Cluster Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain what caused major U.S. events, what changed because of them, and why those changes mattered. They use sources to analyze recent issues and describe how named people and groups contributed to change.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can connect an event to accurate causes, effects, and lasting significance. They can support a claim about the War on Terror or 2008 election and explain a person’s or group’s contribution.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may confuse industrialization with urbanization or treat the Great Depression and world wars as one event. They may credit civil rights gains to one leader or view the War on Terror as one conventional war.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Pick the Great Depression or civil rights movement and explain one cause, one effect, and why it mattered. Name one related person or group and its contribution.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs event, date, cause, effect, and person cards to match, then place each completed set on a classroom timeline.
Students write a claim about whether the Great Depression or civil rights movement changed American life more, using two facts.
Play a cause, effect, or contribution sorting game with cards on events, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, and military units.
Compare a 2008 campaign advertisement with a recent election advertisement, noting the issues, audience, and ways each candidate reaches voters.
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Printable 5.5 Worksheet

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 5.5, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
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Related Standards
- 7.7
History. The student understands how individuals, events, and issues shaped the history of Texas during the late 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries. The stude...
- 7.6
History. The student understands how individuals, events, and issues shaped the history of Texas from Reconstruction through the beginning of the 20th century. ...
- 4.5
History. The student understands important issues, events, and individuals of the 20th century in Texas. The student is expected to:
- 5.4
History. The student understands political, economic, and social changes that occurred in the United States during the 19th century. The student is expected to:
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