Texas TEKS 6.21.F

Social Studies6th GradeSocial studies skills

The Standard

apply foundational language skills to engage in civil discourse about social studies topics, including those with multiple perspectives

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students listen to different viewpoints, paraphrase what others say, and ask relevant questions. They state a position, support it with evidence, and disagree without insulting or interrupting others.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain two perspectives accurately before giving an opinion. The student uses evidence, responds directly to a classmate's point, and speaks in a respectful tone.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat disagreement as a personal conflict or assume respectful discussion means everyone must agree. They may misstate another viewpoint, ignore evidence, or wait to speak without listening.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Read two short views on building a dam. Paraphrase one view, choose a position, cite one fact, and write a respectful response.

Lesson moves

Give groups role cards for residents debating a new dam, then have students arrange evidence cards under each viewpoint before discussing.
Ask students to write: How can you disagree with a classmate while showing that you understood the classmate's reasoning?
Play Paraphrase Relay, where teams earn a point only after accurately restating the previous speaker's claim before adding a response.
Show a short city council clip, then have students identify each speaker's position, evidence, and respectful or disrespectful language.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6.21.F, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Keep exploring

Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.