Additional requirements to be considered by a student’s

Individual Graduation Committee (IGC) under Covid-19

According to the Texas Education Agency, students who achieve ​Approaches Grade Level
Performance​ can:

• ​Describe the effects of U.S. government and economic policies and actions
Free-enterprise system; Indian policies; Expansionism/Imperialism; Isolationism;
Prohibition; the New Deal; Executive Order 9066; Truman Doctrine/Marshall Plan;
Johnson’s Great Society; Containment; Reagan’s policies; Constitutional
amendments and other Congressional actions; Supreme Court cases
• ​Describe the role and influence of the United States in the international community
U.S. in the League of Nations; U.S. in the United Nations; U.S. as a cultural leader;
U.S. as a leader in global peace and security; U.S. as an economic leader
• ​Describe geographic and cultural influences on the United States
Geographic - Settlement of the Great Plains; Klondike Gold Rush; Panama Canal;
Dust Bowl; Hurricane Katrina
Cultural - Tin Pan Alley; Harlem Renaissance; Beat Generation; rock and roll;
Chicano Mural Movement; country and western music
•​ Describe the impact of significant individuals, groups, organizations, and policies
on U.S. history
Political machines in the late 1800s; labor unions; reform and third-party
movements; House Un-American Activities Committee; anti-war movement; Civil
Rights individuals and organizations; conservative organizations
• ​Explain the impact of science and technology on the United States
Transportation; electricity; telephone and satellite communication; manufacturing;
petroleum-based products; steel production; computers and robotics; space; military

Because ​Approaches​ is the metric for passing the U.S. History End of Course, currently at
43%, it is not necessary for students to meet every item of the aforementioned
performance level descriptors (PLDs). ​It is the recommendation of the District Social
Studies Coordinator that a student submit a written composition on one (1) PLD of their
choice to meet the IGC project/portfolio requirement.​ The U.S. History TEKS are quite
extensive, including many dates, people, and events beginning from 1877 to the present.
Therefore, topic ideas have been provided for each PLD. These are meant as a guide for
possible points of discussion and are not all-inclusive.

The rubric for the STAAR EOC Expository Essay is sufficient for assessing the finished
product. A score of 2 is considered satisfactory. There is no imposed limit on the length of
the essay or the time to complete them as the student should be given adequate space and
time to demonstrate mastery. However, a recommended timeline is provided so that
students can meet the IGC deadline.

With the current realities presented as a result of Covid-19, campuses will need to consider
the following: limited access to libraries and printed sources; limited contact with mentors;
and limited or no access to technology. Reasonable guidelines will be established to give

Harlandale ISD
April 2020
the student every opportunity to be successful, including but not limited to assigning a
mentor teacher and making resources available online or for pick-up at school.

For English Learners, it is especially important to provide linguistic accommodations based

on the proficiency level of the student. Scaffolding for intermediate ELs may include,
allowing use of native language to express academic concepts; allowing writing on familiar,
concrete topics; avoiding assessment of language errors in content area writing; and
providing simple sentence stems and scaffolded writing assignments. Collaboration with the
EL Liaison is highly encouraged as they can be an additional resource and support for the
student. (ELPS Resource Supplement, TEA/Region 20)

STAAR EOC Expository Writing Rubric

4 ● Writes a skillfully crafted expository essay with sustained focus, a logical organizing
structure, and development that lends substance to the essay
● Uses sentences that are purposeful and well controlled

3 ● Writes an expository essay that contains a clear thesis statement, uses an appropriate
organizational structure, sufficiently develops ideas with specific details and examples,
chooses words that reflect an understanding of the purpose, and demonstrates an
adequate command of written conventions
● Uses a variety of sentence structures

2 ● Writes a basic essay that establishes a weak or unclear thesis statement, uses
organizational strategies that are somewhat suited to the expository task, minimally
develops ideas with details and examples that are not always appropriate to the
purpose, and demonstrates a limited command of written conventions
● Uses simple and compound sentence structures

1 ● Writes a limited essay that is minimally developed, with a partial command of

conventions
● Demonstrates minimal control of sentence structures

Proposed timeline for essay completion

Week 1​: Identification of focus concept, including the major terms and ideas
• Identify and research major ideas connected to chosen topic.
Week 2​: Research check
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of topic chosen via research notes.
Week 3​: Basic organization & outline
• Create outline that addresses format of essay in the order it will be written.
• Write a thesis statement that expresses the main idea of the essay.
Weeks 4​: Rough draft
• Create a draft of the paper of sufficient length.
Week 5​: Final paper
• Submit final paper to mentor teacher.

Harlandale ISD
April 2020