The Kids are not the Threat

Appendix On Implementing District Standards

RULE §117.102 Art, Kindergarten, Adopted 2013

• (a) Introduction.
  • (1) Fine arts incorporate the study of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts to offer unique experiences and empower students to explore realities, relationships, and ideas. These disciplines engage and motivate all students through active learning, critical thinking, and innovative problem-solving. Fine arts develop cognitive functioning and increase student academic achievement, higher-order thinking, communication, and collaboration skills, making the fine arts applicable to college readiness, career opportunities, workplace environments, social skills, and everyday life. Students develop aesthetic and cultural awareness through exploration, leading to creative expression. Creativity, encouraged through the study of the fine arts, is essential to nurture and develop the whole child.
  • (2) Four basic strands--foundations: observation and perception; creative expression; historical and cultural relevance; and critical evaluation and response--provide broad, unifying structures for organizing the knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire. Each strand is of equal value and may be presented in any order throughout the year. Students rely on personal observations and perceptions, which are developed through increasing visual literacy and sensitivity to surroundings, communities, memories, imaginings, and life experiences, as sources for thinking about, planning, and creating original artworks. Students communicate their thoughts and ideas with innovation and creativity. Through art, students challenge their imaginations, foster critical thinking, collaborate with others, and build reflective skills. While exercising meaningful problem-solving skills, students develop the lifelong ability to make informed judgments.
  • (3) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
• (b) Knowledge and skills.
  • (1) Foundations: observation and perception. The student develops and expands visual literacy skills using critical thinking, imagination, and the senses to observe and explore the world by learning about, understanding, and applying the elements of art, principles of design, and expressive qualities. The student uses what the student sees, knows, and has experienced as sources for examining, understanding, and creating artworks. The student is expected to:
    • (A) gather information from subjects in the environment using the senses; and
    • (B) identify the elements of art, including line, shape, color, texture, and form, and the principles of design, including repetition/pattern and balance, in the environment.
  • (2) Creative expression. The student communicates ideas through original artworks, using a variety of media and demonstrating appropriate skills. The student expresses thoughts and ideas creatively while challenging the imagination, fostering reflective thinking, and developing disciplined effort and progressive problem-solving skills. The student is expected to:
    • (A) Create artworks using a variety of lines, shapes, colors, textures, and forms.
    • (B) Arrange components intuitively to create artwork; and
    • (C) Use a variety of materials to develop manipulative skills while engaging in opportunities for exploration through drawing, painting, printmaking, constructing artworks, and sculpting, including modeled forms.
  • (3) Historical and cultural relevance. The student demonstrates an understanding of art history and culture by analyzing artistic styles, historical periods, and diverse cultures. The student develops global awareness and respect for the traditions and contributions of diverse cultures. The student is expected to:
    • (A) Identify simple subjects expressed in artworks.
    • (B) Share ideas about personal experiences, such as family and friends, and develop awareness and sensitivity to differing experiences and opinions through artwork.
    • (C) Identify the uses of art in everyday life; and
    • (D) Relate visual art concepts to other disciplines.
  • (4) Critical evaluation and response. The student responds to and analyzes artworks of self and others, contributing to the development of lifelong skills of making informed judgments and reasoned evaluations. The student is expected to:
    • (A) express ideas about personal artworks or portfolios.
    • (B) express ideas found in collections such as real or virtual art museums, galleries, portfolios, or exhibitions using original artworks created by artists or peers; and
    • (C) Compile collections of artwork, such as physical artwork, electronic images, sketchbooks, or portfolios, for self-evaluations or exhibitions.
    • Title 19
    • EDUCATION
    • Part 2
    • TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
    • Chapter 113
    • TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES
    • Subchapter B
    • MIDDLE SCHOOL
    • Rule §113.19
    • Social Studies, Grade 7, Adopted 2022
    • a) Implementation. The provisions of this section shall be implemented by school districts beginning with the 2024-2025 school year.
    • (b) Introduction.
    • (1) In Grade 7, students study the history of Texas from early times to the present. Content is presented with more depth and breadth than in Grade 4. Students examine the full scope of Texas history, including Natural Texas and its People; Age of Contact; Spanish Colonial; Mexican National; Revolution and Republic; Early Statehood; Texas in the Civil War and Reconstruction; Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads; Age of Oil; Texas in the Great Depression and World War II; Civil Rights and Conservatism; and Contemporary Texas eras. The focus in each era is on key individuals, events, and issues and their impact. Students identify regions of Texas and the distribution of population within and among the regions and explain the factors that caused Texas to change from an agrarian to an urban society. Students describe the structure and functions of municipal, county, and state governments, explain the influence of the U.S. Constitution on the Texas Constitution, and examine the rights and responsibilities of Texas citizens. Students use primary and secondary sources to examine the rich and diverse cultural background of Texas as they identify the racial and ethnic groups that settled there to build a republic and then a state. Students analyze the impact of scientific discoveries and technological innovations on Texas's development across industries such as agriculture, energy, medicine, computing, and aerospace. Students use primary and secondary sources to acquire information about Texas.
    • (2) To support the teaching of the essential knowledge and skills, the use of a variety of rich primary and secondary source material such as biographies, autobiographies, novels, speeches, letters, diaries, poetry, songs, and images is encouraged. Motivating resources are available from museums, historical sites, presidential libraries, and local and state preservation societies.
    • (3) The eight strands of the essential knowledge and skills for social studies are intended to be integrated for instructional purposes. Skills listed in the social studies skills strand in subsection (c) of this section should be incorporated into the teaching of all essential knowledge and skills for social studies. A greater depth of understanding of complex content material can be attained when integrated social studies content from the various disciplines and critical-thinking skills are taught together. Statements that contain the word "including" refer to content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as illustrative examples.