Grade 7 Social Studies
Unit 9
Title
Suggested Time Frame
th​
Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads
5​ Six Weeks
2 weeks
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings
Guiding Questions
The introduction of cotton, cattle and railroads lead to Texas becoming a modern and
industrialized state
●
How did the American Indian removal from Texas led to Western Expansion?
●
How did ranching in Texas develop from the early Spanish ranchero to the large
modern ranching industry of today?
●
Why do certain industries go through a boom and bust cycle? What industries in
Texas go through a boom and bust cycle? How does life change in a place
when its main industry is in a boom? A bust?
●
How did the growth of Railroads affect the Texas economy?
TEKS
Readiness TEKS
Supporting TEKS
*1A
6D
1B
6ABC
7B
8B
18B
20A
*Safety Net Standards
Vertical Alignment Expectations
*TEKS one level below*
*TEKS one level above*
SS TEKS
Sample Assessment Question
CISD 2015, Updated 12/6/2016
Process Skills
8A
21AC
22C
Explain the development of the cattle industry and the cowboy way of life
Explain the effects of the railroads on Texas.
What impact did the open frontier have on Texas?
Explain the development of industries based on the production of cotton and the cattle ranching.
Explain the changes in types of jobs that cause people to move from rural to urban areas in Texas.
Explain how barbed wire, the windmill, the cotton gin, irrigation, the telegraph, and railroads changed the way people lived in Texas?
Analyze the effects of the commercial cotton farming boom on Texas.
The resources included here provide teaching examples and/or meaningful learning experiences to address the District Curriculum. In order to address the TEKS to the proper depth
and complexity, teachers are encouraged to use resources to the degree that they are congruent with the TEKS and research-based best practices. Teaching using only the suggested
resources does not guarantee student mastery of all standards. Teachers must use professional judgment to select among these and/or other resources to teach the district
curriculum. Some resources are protected by copyright. A username and password is required to view the copyrighted material.
Ongoing TEKS
Knowledge and Skills
with Student
Expectations
(1) History. The student
understands traditional historical
points of reference in Texas
history. The student is expected
to​:*​(A) identify the major eras
in Texas history, describe their
defining characteristics, and
explain why historians divide the
past into eras, ​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; T
​ exas in the Great Depression
and World War II; Civil Rights and
Conservatism; and Contemporary
Texas;
CISD 2015, Updated 12/6/2016
District Specificity/
Examples
Bloom’s Level -Remembering​
​
Vocabulary
Instruction
al
Resources
ELPS: 2F, 3J,
4D, 4E, 4F
Create a
concept map
describing
the
characteristic
s of the
cattle era.
Suggested Resources
Resources listed and categorized to indicate suggested
uses. Any additional resources must be aligned with the
TEKS.
The American Frontier (27 min 13 sec)
The Trail of Tears (41 min 27 sec) TB
Video: Cotton
(1) History. The student
understands traditional historical
points of reference in Texas
history. The student is expected
to: (B) apply absolute and
relative chronology through the
sequencing of significant
individuals, events, and time
periods
Bloom’s Level -Applying
(​1) History. The student
understands traditional historical
points of reference in Texas
history. The student is expected
to: ​(C) explain the significance of
Bloom’s Level -Understanding
the following dates: 1519, mapping
of the Texas coast and first mainland
Spanish settlement; 1718, founding
of San Antonio; 1821, independence
from Spain; 1836, Texas
independence; 1845, annexation;
1861, Civil War begins; 1876,
adoption of current state
constitution; and​ 1901, discovery
of oil at Spindletop.
(6) History. The student
understands how individuals,
events, and issues shaped the
history of Texas from
Reconstruction through the
beginning of the 20th century.
The student is expected to:
(A) identify significant
individuals, events, and issues
from Reconstruction through the
beginning of the 20th century,
including the factors leading to
the expansion of the Texas
frontier, the effects of westward
expansion on American Indians,
the buffalo soldiers, and Quanah
Parker;
CISD 2015, Updated 12/6/2016
Bloom’s Level -Remembering
Expansion of the Texas frontier
should include information on Texas
following the Civil War especially
former soldiers coming to Texas for
economic opportunities.
Effects of Westward Expansion on
American Indians should include
discussions of the Red River War of
1874
Buffalo Soldiers
Quanah Parker​.
Stockyards
Open range
Remuda
Wrangler
Transcontinental
Railroad
Junctions Range
wars frontier
ranching
ELPS: 4F, 4D,
Create a
cause and
effect chart
of the
commercial
farming
boom in
Texas. Create
a brochure
encouraging
settlers to
use new
technologies
Texas Ranch House
Site over cowboys and cattle drives some interactive
games
Red River War of 1874
Salt Creek Massacre
The Die is Cast
Artifacts Cast New Light on Texas Indian Wars​ (LA
Times article)
Buffalo Soldiers Lesson
Buffalo Soldiers Link
to farm land
in Texas.
(6) History. The student
understands how individuals,
events, and issues shaped the
history of Texas from
Reconstruction through the
beginning of the 20th century.
The student is expected to:
(B) identify significant
individuals, events, and issues
from Reconstruction through the
beginning of the 20th century,
including the development of the
cattle industry from its Spanish
beginnings and the myths and
realities of the cowboy way of
life;
(6) History. The student
understands how individuals,
events, and issues shaped the
history of Texas from
Reconstruction through the
beginning of the 20th century.
The student is expected to:
(C) identify significant
individuals, events, and issues
from Reconstruction through the
beginning of the 20th century,
including the effects of the
growth of railroads and the
contributions of James Hogg;
and
Bloom’s Level - Remembering
(6) History. The student
understands how individuals,
events, and issues shaped the
history of Texas from
Reconstruction through the
Bloom’s Level- Understanding
CISD 2015, Updated 12/6/2016
American History 102
Which Old West and Whose?​ Site has chapters with good
information with the capability to read text to students
Development of Cattle Industry
should include information from the
cattle trails to the open range and
giant ranches to the fencing of the
range.
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art/​The Texas Cowboy: Myth
and Reality​ Using art to look at the cowboy myth with
online quiz
Myths and Realities of the cowboy
way of life
Exploring the West​ Many lessons over the myth and
realities of cowboy way of life
Cattle Kingdom Lesson
Cowboy Culture
Historical Ranches of TX/Cowboy way of life
Bloom’s Level -Remembering
Maps
Texas 1873 Railway Map
Texas 1900 Railway Map
Growth of Railroads​- ​Railroads
came to Texas in the late 1870's and
1880's. Governor James Hogg
(1880's) began the Texas Railroad
Commission to help regulate the
railroad industry and ensure fair
prices for transporting goods.
End of the open range activity
Contributions of J​ ames Hogg
Agriculture
Explain
Economic effects
Social effects
Political effects
ELPS: 2F, 3J,
4D, 4E, 4F
Create a
concept map
A Look at Texas Agriculture
beginning of the 20th century.
The student is expected to:
(D) explain the political,
economic, and social impact of
the agricultural industry and the
development of West Texas
resulting from the close of the
frontier
(7) History. The student
understands how individuals,
events, and issues shaped the
history of Texas during the 20​th
and early 21​st​ centuries. The
student is expected to: (B) define
and trace the impact of
“boom-and-bust” cycles of
leading Texas industries
throughout the 20​th​ and early 21​st
centuries such as farming, oil
and gas production, cotton,
ranching, real estate, banking
and computer technology:
(8) Geography. The student uses
geographic tools to collect,
analyze, and interpret data. The
student is expected to:
(A) create and interpret thematic
maps, graphs, charts, models,
and databases representing
various aspects of Texas during
the 19th, 20th, and 21st
centuries; and
(8) Geography. The student uses
geographic tools to collect,
analyze, and interpret data. The
student is expected to:
(B) analyze and interpret
geographic distributions and
patterns in Texas during the
19th, 20th, and 21st centuries
(21) Social studies skills. The
student applies critical-thinking
skills to organize and use
information acquired through
CISD 2015, Updated 12/6/2016
What impact did the open frontier
have on Texas?
Agricultural
History
Frontiers
describing
the
characteristic
s of the
cattle era.
Bloom’s Level- Remembering
Industrialization
ELPS: 2F, 3J,
4D, 4E, 4F
Use a T chart
to assess
understandin
g of the
myths and
realities of
cowboy life.
Industries
Urbanization
Bloom’s Level -Creating and
Analyzing
Bloom’s Level- Analyzing and
Analyzing
Windmill Barbed
wire Dry farming
Threshers
Texas Handbook online: with articles on industries that
experience a “Boom –and-Bust” cycle
● Ranching
● Oil and Gas Industry
● Oil Exploration
● Banks and Banking
established research
methodologies from a variety of
valid sources, including
electronic technology. The
student is expected to:
A) differentiate between, locate,
and use valid primary and
secondary sources such as,
databases,​ to acquire
information about Texas;
(21) Social studies skills. The
student applies critical-thinking
skills to organize and use
information acquired through
established research
methodologies from a variety of
valid sources, including
electronic technology. The
student is expected to:
(C) organize and interpret
information from outlines,
reports, ​databases​, and visuals,
including graphs, chart​s,
timelines, and maps;
(22) Social studies skills. The
student communicates in written,
oral, and visual forms. The
student is expected to:
(C) transfer information from
one medium to another​,
including written to visual​ and
statistical to written or visual,
using computer software as
appropriate; and
CISD 2015, Updated 12/6/2016
Commercial
farming
Supply and
demand
Agricultural
industry