TEKS-Aligned Spanish Curricula for Emergent Bilinguals
For the 1.3 million emergent bilingual students (EB) in Texas, social studies is an essential avenue for developing both academic language and content knowledge that supports learning in all other subjects.
To ensure rigorous, high-quality, grade-level instruction for emergent bilinguals, Studies Weekly’s Texas social studies aligns to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) while building language proficiency through ELAR-aligned literacy activities and opportunities to practice skills assessed on the TELPAS.
With Studies Weekly, content and language standards are taught together to help emergent bilingual students build grade-level mastery.
Teaching Content and Language Standards Together
Social studies instruction helps students learn the skills to think carefully and critically, while building domain-specific vocabulary. In Studies Weekly’s Texas Social Studies program, emergent bilingual students use side-by-side English and Spanish materials to:
- Analyze primary sources
- Identify cause and effect
- Compare perspectives
- Gather evidence and make arguments
- Participate in academic discussions
Students learn social studies content while simultaneously developing reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in both English and Spanish.
TEKS-Aligned Studies Weekly Social Studies
Each Texas social studies edition is highly customized to reflect the standards and approach of the TEKS and guide students through the strands of social studies: history, geography, economics, government, citizenship, culture, science, technology, society, and social studies skills. Studies Weekly begins with the Texas standards and reflects the approach, topics, and unit organization of those standards.
Standards correlations and documented coverage in the Teacher Edition make it easy for teachers to track and monitor TEKS alignment.
Literacy Integration and TELPAS Practice in Studies Weekly
Every unit in Studies Weekly’s Texas Social Studies publications includes clear, student-friendly language-building activities. These embedded reading, writing, listening, and speaking activities help teachers ensure emergent bilingual students reach language proficiency, all while learning skills to be successful on the TELPAS.
Studies Weekly’s Texas Social Studies includes activities that support development across the four TELPAS language domains:
1. Reading
To support grade-level reading expectations, Studies Weekly introduces students to informational text and domain-specific vocabulary through scaffolds. Chunked reading sections, bolded vocabulary, and comprehension questions help students develop language.
2. Writing
With Studies Weekly, students can practice writing by answering prompts and completing activities directly on their print editions or in interactive notebooks. Students are encouraged to complete a variety of writing activities, such as writing short answer arguments, answering discussion questions, using sentence frames, or even drawing what they’ve learned.
The Studies Weekly Online platform also gives students opportunities to type answers to writing prompts.
3. Listening
The Studies Weekly Teacher Edition provides teachers with opportunities and strategies for developing listening skills, like pre-teaching vocabulary and encouraging students to listen for recognizable words throughout the lesson, or listening to an introductory video on the Studies Weekly Online platform.
Studies Weekly Online also comes with a built-in audio reader, so students can follow along as articles are read aloud.
4. Speaking
Whole-group discussions, turn-and-talk activities, and group presentations found throughout Studies Weekly’s instructional materials help students practice speaking skills. As students practice discussing historical events and using content-area vocabulary to compare, contrast, argue, and explain, they strengthen their language skills and build confidence.
By aligning instruction to the TEKS, integrating ELA, and including activities to support skills assessed on the TELPAS, Studies Weekly helps emergent bilinguals develop academic growth and language proficiency.
When language learners have access to quality content and language support, they gain confidence, participate more actively, and learn better.
Contact us to learn how Studies Weekly’s Texas Social Studies can support emergent bilinguals in your school or district.
“Studies Weekly is a great resource for my Bilingual Department! My students love having both the English and Spanish versions to work out of. They are so fun and engaging. There are so many additional resources that are provided to support my teachers!” – Bilingual Director, TX
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Studies Weekly supports emergent bilingual students by integrating social studies content with intentional language development. Side-by-side English and Spanish materials, aligned to the TEKS and with embedded ELA support, engage students in analyzing sources, discussing ideas, and writing about social studies topics. Throughout these activities, students build academic language and practice skills assessed on the TELPAS.
Studies Weekly supports emergent bilingual students by integrating social studies content with intentional language development. Side-by-side English and Spanish materials, aligned to the TEKS and with embedded ELA support, engage students in analyzing sources, discussing ideas, and writing about social studies topics. Throughout these activities, students build academic language and practice skills assessed on the TELPAS.
Studies Weekly embeds language-building activities throughout its instructional materials. Students engage in discussions, analyze scaffolded informational text, and complete writing activities that encourage them to explain ideas, compare perspectives, and use academic vocabulary while learning social studies content.
Yes. Studies Weekly’s Spanish and English materials are designed to work well in bilingual and dual-language programs. Side-by-side resources allow teachers to support students in both languages while maintaining a strong focus on grade-level social studies learning
Texas schools choose Studies Weekly because the program provides TEKS-aligned content, engaging print and digital resources, and built-in support for diverse learners, including emergent bilingual students. The combination of standards alignment, interactive lessons, and flexible instructional tools helps teachers deliver meaningful social studies instruction in a variety of classroom settings.