Recurring Themes and Concepts

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Recurring themes and concepts. The student understands that recurring themes and concepts provide a framework for making connections across disciplines.
Glossary terms and definitions are consistent across kindergarten through high school in the TEKS Guide. The definitions are intended to give educators a common understanding of the terms regardless of what grade level they teach. Glossary definitions are not intended for use with students.

a set of ideas that provide a connective structure that facilitates students’ comprehension of the phenomena under study in a particular discipline and supports student sensemaking across larger themes in science

Research

National Research Council. A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. 2021. Washington: The National Academies Press  https://doi.org/10.17226/13165

Summary: A Framework for K-12 Science Education describes the crosscutting concepts (called recurring themes and concepts in Texas) that expand across multiple science disciplines. These themes help students understand the connections among the K-12 science concepts. These concepts are applied in science and engineering and provide students with a better conceptual understanding of both fields.