Texas TEKS 7.9

7.9 is a TEKS knowledge and skills statement. These are the student expectations under it.

• 7.9.A

  identify ways in which Texans have adapted to and modified the environment and explain the positive and negative consequences of the modifications

• 7.9.B

  explain ways in which geographic factors such as the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the Dust Bowl, limited water resources, and alternative energy sources have af...

01

What Students Need to Do

Students identify how Texans respond to climate, land, hazards, and scarce water, and how Texans change those conditions. They explain how each choice creates gains and costs for government, business, settlement, and community life.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

A student can explain why Texans built the Galveston seawall, changed farming practices, created reservoirs, or developed wind and solar power. They connect each example to a benefit, a cost, and a change in jobs, settlement, public policy, or daily life.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students often label any response as adaptation, even when people physically change land or water. They may treat the Galveston hurricane and Dust Bowl as single-cause events, or list only benefits of reservoirs and renewable energy. They also confuse an immediate effect, such as crop loss, with a longer change, such as migration or new policy.

04

How to Assess It

Ask students to choose one Texas geographic challenge and name the response, one benefit, one cost, and one effect on government, business, or communities.

1. 01

   Use trays of dry soil, grass-covered soil, and a fan to model Dust Bowl erosion, then record which surface loses more soil.

2. 02

   Write a city council statement supporting or opposing a new reservoir, using one economic benefit and one environmental cost.

3. 03

   Sort Galveston hurricane, Dust Bowl, reservoir, and wind farm cards into cause, response, and consequence, then defend one match.

4. 04

   Compare a local drought restriction notice with a Texas water map, then explain how scarcity shapes community rules.

• 3.3

  Geography. The student understands how humans adapt to and/or modify the physical environment. The student is expected to:

• 7.8

  Geography. The student understands the location and characteristics of places and regions of Texas. The student is expected to:

• 4.8

  Geography. The student understands how people adapt to and modify their environment. The student is expected to:

• 2.5

  Geography. The student understands how humans use and modify the physical environment. The student is expected to: