Texas TEKS 7.21.A

Social Studies7th GradeSocial studies skills

The Standard

create and interpret thematic maps, graphs, and charts representing various aspects of Texas during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students turn Texas data from the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s into thematic maps, graphs, and charts. They read titles, legends, scales, labels, and patterns to make evidence-based comparisons.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student selects a suitable display, plots data accurately, includes clear labels and a source, and explains what the display shows. The student compares periods and supports a conclusion with specific visual evidence.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat a thematic map like a general reference map or assume darker shading always means larger totals. They may mix percentages with raw counts, use uneven graph intervals, or claim causation from a visible trend.
How to Assess It: Give students Texas urban population data for 1850, 1950, and 2020. Ask them to create one labeled graph and write two evidence-based observations comparing the periods.

Lesson moves

Give pairs county data and blank Texas maps, then have them choose intervals, shade a choropleth map, and build a legend.
Display two Texas population graphs and ask, “Which claim is best supported, and what exact values prove it?”
Run a data display sort where teams match Texas data sets with the best map, graph, or chart and justify each match.
Use current drought monitor data to map affected Texas regions, then compare the pattern with a historical drought map.

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