Unit 1: Texas Eras – 7th Grade Texas History Social Studies Curriculum TEKS

Are you a 7th grade middle school social studies teacher looking to find quality TEKS-aligned resources that cover the 12 Texas Eras? Looking for minimal-prep and engaging lessons and activities to teach social studies concepts to your 7th grade students? Look no further!

This Unit 1 BUNDLE of the Smart and Simple Social Studies 7th Grade Texas History Guided Curriculum is about Texas Eras.

In this 4-week unit, students explore the twelve Texas eras, from Natural Texas and Its People through Contemporary Texas. They will examine defining characteristics of each era, including key events, important people, geographic influences, and social and economic developments.

Students will also apply their knowledge to create a museum exhibit after researching a Texas era of their choice and will present their findings. By the end of the unit, students will develop a deeper understanding of Texas’s historical journey and be able to explain how the past continues to shape

Texas today.

Save 10% by purchasing this complete Unit 1 Bundle!

This 4-week unit includes lesson plans, warmups, guided notes, practice activities, an assessment, a unit project, and more. Each lesson includes slideshows in both PowerPoint and Google Slides, as well as student digital activities for warm-ups, 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 Texas Eras – just print & go!

Try a FREE LESSON from the Guided Curriculum!

TEKS Standards Covered in this section: 7.1A and 7.1B

Social Studies Skills Covered: 7.20 through 7.23

This unit covers the following topics:

• Lesson 1: Introduction to Texas Eras
• Lesson 2: Natural Texas and Its People
• Lesson 3: Age of Contact
• Lesson 4: Spanish Colonial
• Lesson 5: Mexican National
• Lesson 6: Revolution and Republic
• Lesson 7: Early Statehood
• Lesson 8: Texas in the Civil War and Reconstruction
• Lesson 9: Cotton, Cattle, and Railroads
• Lesson 10: Age of Oil
• Lesson 11: Texas in the Great Depression and World War II
• Lesson 12: Civil Rights
• Lesson 13: Contemporary Texas
• Lesson 14: Key Dates in Texas History
• Lesson 15: Texas Eras Review/Flex Day
• Lesson 16: Texas Eras Assessment
• Lessons 17-20: Texas Eras Project

What’s included in this resource?

• Scope and Sequence
• 20 Teacher Lesson Plan Guides
• 20 Daily Social Studies Spiral Review Slides + 2 Recording Sheet options
• 14 Non-Editable Slideshows (Google Drive & PPT versions)
• Guided Notes for 14 Lessons (3 versions: complete, skeleton notes, blank notes; 2 size options: full-page size for binder and smaller size for notebooks)
• 14 Practice Activities with a “Think About It” exit ticket at the end of each activity
• 1 Study Guide
• 1 Assessment
• 1 Unit Project
• Digital and Full-Color Versions of Student Activities
• 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)!