4th Grade Social Studies Curriculum – Texas Economics & Free Enterprise System

Are you an upper elementary teacher looking to find a quality TEKS-aligned resource that covers Economic Activities and the Free Enterprise System in Texas? Looking for minimal-prep and engaging lessons and activities to teach social studies concepts to your 4th-grade students? Look no further!

Unit 10 of the Smart and Simple Social Studies Texas History Guided Curriculum is about the Economic Activities of Texas. The unit covers the basics of economics and the Free Enterprise System, as well as important economic activities and work patterns in the 4 main regions of Texas, past and present. Students will also learn about various effects of exploration, immigration, migration, and limited resources on the Texas economy.

This 4-week unit includes lesson plans, guided notes, practice activities, exit tickets, a project, unit assessment, and more. Each lesson includes slideshows in both PowerPoint and Google Slides, as well as student digital activities of the notes, practice activities, exit tickets, project, and unit assessment.

This unit primarily correlates to the current TEKS 4th Grade Social Studies standards (adopted in 2024). It includes EVERYTHING you need to teach Economics for Texas History – just print & go!

This unit covers the following topics:

• Lesson 1: Introduction to Economics
• Lesson 2: The Free Enterprise System
• Lesson 3: Benefits of the Free Enterprise System
• Lesson 4: The Free Enterprise System in Texas
• Lesson 5: Economy of the Mountains and Basins Region
• Lesson 6: Economy of the Great Plains Region
• Lesson 7: Economy of the North Central Plains Region
• Lesson 8: Economy of the Coastal Plains Region
• Lesson 9: Geographic Factors of Economic Activities
• Lesson 10: Texas Economy Effects – Exploration
• Lesson 11: Texas Economy Effects – Immigration
• Lesson 12: Texas Economy Effects – Migration
• Lesson 13: Texas Economy Effects – Limited Resources
• Lesson 14: Transportation and Communication in the Texas Economy
• Lesson 15: Economic Activities in Texas Review

What’s included in this resource?

• 4-week pacing guide and overview
• Scope and Sequence
• 15 teacher lesson plan guides
• 14 non-editable slideshows (Google Drive & PPT versions)
• 1 editable slideshow review game with student recording sheet and QR code
• Guided notes for Lessons 1-9 (2 versions: fill-in-the-blank and highlighted words) – 2 size options – full-page size for binder and smaller size for notebooks
• 14 practice activities
• 15 exit tickets
• Digital and full-color versions of student activities
• Unit Project
• Unit Assessment
• Answer keys for all student activities

What makes this Guided Social Studies Curriculum Smart and Simple?

✅ The social studies daily lessons and activities are bite-sized and can easily be implemented in 30-45 minutes.

✅ The social studies curriculum is TEKS-aligned (for Texas) but is still flexible enough to use in any order.

✅ Each social studies unit has everything you need to simply teach social studies – easy-to-follow lesson plans, guided notes, practice activities, exit tickets, and more!

It’s everything you need to implement engaging social studies lessons that students love and teachers enjoy (because it’s comprehensive and easy to prep)!