Texas TEKS 7.20.E

Social Studies7th GradeSocial studies skills

The Standard

7.20: Social studies skills. The student applies critical-thinking skills to organize and use information acquired through established research methodologies from a variety of valid sources, including technology. The student is expected to:

formulate and communicate visually, orally, or in writing a claim supported by evidence and reasoning related to a social studies topic

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students take a clear position on a social studies question. They choose relevant facts from sources and explain how those facts support their position in speech, writing, or a visual.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student states a focused, defensible position rather than only summarizing the topic. The student uses accurate evidence and clearly explains the link between each fact and the position.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat an opinion or repeated claim as evidence. They may include an unrelated fact, summarize a source without taking a position, or cite evidence without explaining why it supports the claim.
How to Assess It: Give students this exit prompt: “Was Texas annexation beneficial for Texas?” Require one claim, one fact from a provided source, and one sentence explaining the connection.

Lesson moves

Give pairs four source cards about Texas annexation, then have them sort relevant evidence and build a claim, evidence, and reasoning poster.
Ask, “Was annexation beneficial for Texas?” Students write a position, one sourced fact, and an explanation linking the fact to their position.
Play Evidence Match: teams pair claim cards with source excerpts, then earn a point only after explaining each connection.
Students examine a local news proposal and record a viewpoint, two article facts, and reasons those facts support their viewpoint.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 7.20.E, 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.