Texas TEKS 8.3

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

• 8.3.A

  explain the reasons for the growth of representative government and institutions during the colonial period

• 8.3.B

  analyze the importance of the Mayflower Compact, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, and the Virginia House of Burgesses to the growth of representative gove...

• 8.3.C

  describe how religion and virtue contributed to the growth of representative government in the American colonies.

01

What Students Need to Do

Students explain why distance from Britain, local needs, and English political traditions led colonists to govern themselves. They connect key colonial documents and institutions to written agreements, elected assemblies, religious beliefs, and civic virtue.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

Students can distinguish the Mayflower Compact, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, and Virginia House of Burgesses by purpose and impact. They can explain how each advanced self-government while recognizing that political participation remained limited.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students often treat all three examples as constitutions or assume they created full democracy. They may also overlook voting limits or claim religion always supported religious freedom and equal political rights.

04

How to Assess It

Give students the three colonial examples and ask them to write one accurate contribution of each to representative government. Require one sentence explaining why colonial self-government grew.

1. 01

   Give groups document excerpt cards to label as written agreement, governing framework, or elected assembly, then justify each label with evidence.

2. 02

   Ask students to write: Which mattered more to colonial self-government, distance from Britain or English political traditions, and why?

3. 03

   Run a matching relay with cards showing each document, its colony, its purpose, and its lasting contribution.

4. 04

   Compare a colonial town meeting with a current city council meeting, noting who participates, who votes, and how decisions are recorded.

• 2.2

  History. The student understands how historical figures helped shape the community, state, and nation. The student is expected to:

• 1.2

  History. The student understands how historical figures helped shape the state and nation. The student is expected to:

• 8.4

  History. The student understands significant political and economic issues of the revolutionary and Constitutional eras. The student is expected to:

• 5.14

  Government. The student understands important ideas in the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The student is expected t...