Geography and Historical Impact – Unit 1 - 1 st 9 Weeks 4 weeks Concepts

Essential Questions and Guided Questions - THE QUESTIONS BELOW WILL CONSISTS OF THE WRITTEN PORTION OF THE UNIT TEST

1. How has the economy of Texas changed over time?

2. How do geography, climate, and natural resources affect the way people live and work?

3. How has international trade and NAFTA affected Texas?

4. How have natural disasters affect where people live?

5. How has technology changed energy sources in Texas?

6. How are natural resources used in Texas today?

7. How does the absolute and relative location of Texas affect climate and where people live?

8. What makes places unique and different? Enduring Understanding People’s lifestyle is based on the environment in which they live.

 

Thematic Maps

 Recognize Theme    Create        Interpret Basic Map Skills      Map orientation      Compass rose         

 Symbols                 Era/Date    Author/Source Regions         Title                      Key/Legend

 

Areas of Texas

 Mountains & Basins      Great Plains       North Central Plains       Coastal Plains

 

Major Cities

 Austin    Houston

 San Antonio

 Dallas/Fort Worth

 El Paso

 Laredo

 Amarillo

 Beaumont

 Galveston

 Brownsville

 Nacogdoches

 Lubbock

 Midland

 Odessa

 Corpus Christi

 

Major Rivers

 Sabine

 Red

 Rio Grande

 Neches

 Trinity

 Brazos

 Colorado

 San Jacinto

 San Antonio

 Nueces 

 Pecos

 

Natural / Historic Landmarks and Local Points of Interest

 Palo Duro Canyon            Davis Mountains                   Guadalupe Peak       Edwards Plateau      Edwards Aquifer         Ogallala Aquifer

 Balcones Escarpment       Caprock Escarpment              Llano Basin             Permian Basin         Galveston Island         Padre Island

 Big Bend National Park     NASA                                 Riverwalk                 Spindletop              Galveston Seawall      Houston Ship Channel

 San Jacinto Monument     Washington on the Brazos     Alamo   

 

Physical and Human Factors

 Climate/Weather: drought, hurricanes, precipitation, dry (west) to humid (east/coastal)

 Vegetation Regions: Savannahs, forests, grasslands, deserts

 Irrigation

 Transportation: Railroads, shipping, highways

 

Adaptation and Modification to Environment

 Lakes

 Dams

 Seawall

 Houston Ship Channel

 Population and City Growth

 Spindletop/Oil Drilling

Overall Impact:

Positive:   Water management  Flood Control  Energy Source

Negative:  Deforestation          Pollution         Diminishing resources

 

Effects of Geographic Factors

 Political: Galveston Hurricane leads to Commission form of government

 Economic: Dust Bowl, limited water resources, alternative energy sources, NAFTA

 Social: Towns and cities develop where there is water

 Spindletop and the beginning of the Oil Industry: effect on other industries and urbanization

 

(Prior Knowledge Vocabulary)

 latitude/parallels  longitude/meridians  equator  prime meridian  absolute location  relative location  thematic map  reference map (political/physical)  irrigation  rural  human-environment interaction  cultural diffusion  nonrenewable and renewable resources

 

Unit Vocabulary  agri-business  barrier island  tributary  fault  aquifer  plateau  butte  mesa  savannah  drought  erosion  alluvial soil  maquiladores  petrochemical  escarpment Assurance Words  urbanization  free enterprise

 

Key Dates 

1900—Galveston Hurricane

1901—Spindletop 

 

 

Unit 2 - Government - 9 Weeks Concepts

Essential Questions and Guided Questions - THE QUESTIONS BELOW WILL CONSISTS OF THE WRITTEN PORTION OF THE UNIT TEST

1. Is Government Fair?

2. Why do we have rules and laws?

3. What are the roles and responsibilities of government?

4. How are the seven principles of democracy reflected in the Texas constitution?

5. How are the Texas and U.S. Government similar and different?

6. How does the Texas government collect its revenue (federal, state, local)?

7. What rights and responsibilities do citizens have within a democratic society?

8. What is a constitution and how does it change over time?

 

Seven Principles of Democracy

 Republicanism   Limited Government    Checks and Balances    Federalism    Separation of Powers    Popular Sovereignty  Individual Rights

 

Texas-U.S. Constitution Similarities 

 Branches of Government    Bill of Rights (i.e. free speech, press)    Amendments (Purpose) Differences    Process of Amending  Number of Amendments  Number of Constitutions Structure and Function of Govt.    

 Legislative—Writes Law; How a Bill Becomes a Law; Differences between House and Senate; Current Leaders

 Executive—Carries Out and Enforces Law; Who's in charge?; Powers of Governor; Current Leader

 Judicial—Interprets Law: Court System; Civil vs. Criminal

 Municipal, county, and state level differences

 Sources of Revenue: Taxes and Fees

 Texas Public Education (TEA) system and its funding Citizenship

 Voting

 Serving on juries

 Political Parties

 Interest Groups

 

Types of Elections  General  Primary  Local  Special

 

Presidents of U.S. from Texas  Dwight Eisenhower  Lyndon B. Johnson  George W. Bush

 

(Prior Knowledge Vocabulary)

 Constitution          Amendment       Civic responsibility/duty      Limited government      Checks and balances      Separation of powers

 Individual rights     Veto                  Point of view                       Democracy                   Republic                       Political party

 

Unit Vocabulary

 Felony     Misdemeanor     Petit jury     Indictment      Redistricting     Revenue     Expenditure     Budget      Special interest groups 

 

Assurance Words 

 Bicameral     Civil law     Criminal law     Popular sovereignty     Commander-in-chief      Republicanism     federalism

 

Additional Key People

 Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross

 John Nance Garner ("Cactus Jack")

 James A. Baker III

 Henry B. González

 Kay Bailey Hutchison

 Barbara Jordan

 Raymond L. Telles

 Sam Rayburn

 Raul A. Gonzalez Jr.

 

Key Dates 1876—Adoption of current state constitution (Bringing Government Terms to Life)