The Texas Constitution

Reconstruction and Frontiers The Texas Constitution
Students view the first page of the Texas Constitution of 1876 and make observations about it. Then they review the seven principles of the U.S. and Texas Constitutions. Next they examine some of the rights in the Texas Bill of Rights, and they explain the importance of one of those rights. Finally they choose an Article or Amendment and paraphrase it.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

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Teacher Pack

The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.

Here are the teacher pack items for The Texas Constitution:

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Overview

In this experience, students view the first page of the Texas Constitution of 1876 and make observations about it. Then they review the seven principles of the U.S. and Texas Constitutions. Next they examine some of the rights in the Texas Bill of Rights, and they explain the importance of one of those rights. Finally they choose an Article or Amendment and paraphrase it.

Estimated duration: 45-55 minutes

Vocabulary words:

  • opinion
  • amendment
  • principle
  • representative
  • interfere
  • guarantee
  • oath
  • seizure

Objectives

  • Explain why Texas adopted a new constitution in 1876.
  • Identify how the Texas Constitution reflects the principles of limited government.


Engage


After the end of Reconstruction, the Democrats took control of the Texas government. They objected to the Constitution of 1869, which in their opinion gave too much power to the governor. A second Constitutional convention was called to write a new constitution. In this lesson you will learn about the Texas Constitution of 1876, which is still the state Constitution today—with some amendments.

Objectives

  • Explain why Texas adopted a new constitution in 1876.
  • Identify how the Texas Constitution reflects the principles of limited government.


photo of the Constitution opening text

The first page of the Texas Constitution of 1876


Look through the Texas Constitution.


Post one or more observations about the state constitution.


Students may note the following facts:

  • The Constitution is long. The official version runs 245 pages long and even has a Table of Contents and an Index.
  • There are seventeen Articles.
  • It includes many amendments (additions and deletions) scattered throughout the document.
  • It covers many specific topics like education and railroads.
  • The wording is very specific in many places.


When everyone is ready to continue, unlock the next scene.

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