Texas Environment 7th Grade Social Studies Curriculum Unit TEKS Mini Lessons

Are you a 7th grade middle school social studies teacher looking to find a quality TEKS-aligned resource that covers the effects of humans modifying the environment in Texas? Looking for minimal-prep and engaging lessons and activities to teach social studies concepts to your 7th grade students? Look no further!

Unit 2 Section 3 of the Smart and Simple Social Studies 7th Grade Texas History Guided Curriculum is about the Effects of the Texas Environment of Texas. The Effects of the Texas Environment section explains how Texas’s land, climate, and natural resources influence where people live and how they work. Students examine how humans adapt to the environment and how environmental challenges impact daily life and economic activity.

This 7-day unit includes lesson plans, warmups, guided notes, practice activities, an assessment, and more. Each lesson includes slideshows in both PowerPoint and Google Slides, as well as student digital activities of the warmups, notes, practice activities, and assessment.

This unit primarily correlates to the current TEKS 7th grade Social Studies standards (adopted 2024). It includes EVERYTHING you need to teach about the Effects of the Texas Environment – just print & go!

TEKS Standards Covered in this section: 7.9A, 7.9B

Social Studies Skills Covered: 7.20 through 7.23

This unit covers the following topics:

• Lesson 1: How Texans Have Adapted to and Modified the Environment
• Lesson 2: Consequences of Modifying the Environment in Texas
• Lesson 3: How Geographic Factors Shaped the Political Development of Texas
• Lesson 4: How Geographic Factors Shaped the Economic Development of Texas
• Lesson 5: How Geographic Factors Shaped the Social Development of Texas
• Lesson 6: Effects of the Texas Environment/Flex Day
• Lesson 7: Effects of the Texas Environment Assessment

What’s included in this resource?

• 7-day Pacing Guide and Overview
• Scope and Sequence
• 7 Teacher Lesson Plan Guides
• 7 Daily Social Studies Spiral Review Slides + 2 Recording Sheet options
• 5 Non-Editable Slideshows (Google Drive & PPT versions)
• Guided Notes for Lessons 1-5 (3 versions: complete, skeleton notes, blank notes; 2 size options: full-page size for binder and smaller size for notebooks)
• 5 Practice Activities with a “Think About It” exit ticket at the end of each activity
• Digital and Full-Color Versions of Student Activities
• 1 Study Guide
• 1 Assessment
• Answer Keys for all 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 40-60 minutes.

✅ The social studies curriculum is fully 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, warmups, guided notes, practice activities, 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)!