Texas TEKS 8.22.A

Social Studies8th GradeCitizenship

The Standard

analyze the leadership qualities of elected and appointed leaders of the United States such as George Washington, John Marshall, and Abraham Lincoln

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students use decisions, speeches, and actions to identify qualities such as courage, judgment, restraint, and persistence. They explain how each quality shaped a leader’s choices and results.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students make a clear claim about a leader’s quality and support it with a specific action or decision. They can compare how an elected leader and an appointed leader used authority.
Common Misconceptions: Students may name a position, such as president or chief justice, as a leadership quality. They may call someone a strong leader without giving evidence. They may also assume every federal leader is elected.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: Choose Washington, Marshall, or Lincoln. Name one leadership quality, cite one action that shows it, and explain its effect.

Lesson moves

Give groups action cards for Washington, Marshall, and Lincoln, then have them sort each card under a leadership quality and defend one choice.
Ask students to write: Which leader showed the best judgment under pressure, and what specific decision supports your answer?
Play a matching game where students pair leader actions with qualities, then earn a point by explaining each match.
Use the local district website to compare an elected trustee with an appointed superintendent and list one leadership quality each role requires.

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