Course Grade 5 Social Studies
Grading
Period
Austin ISD Yearly Itinerary
2010-2011
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings
Essential Questions
Building Community: Through first-day-ofschool ice breakers, learning American symbols
and creating the Student Interactive Notebook, 5th
grade students will learn to work collaboratively to
have a cooperative, tolerant classroom
environment.
1. What are characteristics of a cooperative environment?
2. What are some ways that we can work cooperatively
and well with others?
5.26D, 5.26A, 5.26B, 5.26C,
5.26D, 5.26E, 5.27A, 5.27B,
Location and Place – Regions of the United
States: Landforms, weather and settlement
patterns in the United States and the fifty separate
states impact the development of specific regions.
1. What are the major physical features of the United
States?
2. What are the geographic, climate and settlement
patterns that contributed to the birth and growth of the
United States?
5.6A, 5.6B, 5.7A, 5.7B, 5.7C,
5.8A, 5.8B, 5.8C, 5.8D, 5.25A,
5.25C, 5.25F, 5.26A
Citizenship and Civic Participation: The heart
of a healthy democracy is a citizenry actively
engaged in civic life—taking responsibility for
building communities, solving community
problems and participating in the electoral and
political process.
1. How can individuals participate in civic affairs?
2. What are some of the important ideas expressed in the
Preamble to our Constitution?
3. How is the Preamble to the Constitution important to
me?
4. How has the right to vote changed over time?
5. In what ways have certain groups been discriminated
against in terms of voting rights?
6. What is the Bill of Rights and how does it apply to me
today?
5.16A, 5.16B, 5.19A, 5.21A,
5.21B, 5.21C, 5.25A, 5.25B,
5.25D
Native American Adaptations: A variety of
environmental factors led Native Americans to
adapt to their physical environment and resulted
in the development of diverse culture groups.
1. How do climate and geography affect the way people
live, past and present?
2. How did diverse environments lead to cultural diversity
among Native American groups?
3. How do cultural groups make adaptations based on
their physical environment?
5.6A, 5.6B, 5.7A, 5.7B, 5.8A,
5.8B, 5.8C, 5.8D, 5.10A, 5.25A,
5.25B, 5.25C, 5.25E, 5.26A,
5.26B, 5.26C, 5.26D, 5.26E
Exploration and Settlement: Various motives
including competition, the spread of religious
ideas, and individual glory led Europeans to
explore and settle areas of North America in the
1500 and 1600s.
1. What were some of the reasons for European
exploration and settlement of the Western Hemisphere
in the 15th and 16th centuries?
2. What was the impact of European exploration and
settlement on the land and Native people in the
Western Hemisphere?
3. What were the differing points of view of the Native
Americans and the European explorers?
5.1A, 5.1B, 5.6A, 5.6B, 5.10B,
5.11A, 5.25A, 5.25B, 5.25C,
5.25D, 5.25E, 5.26A, 5.26B,
5.26C, 5.26D, 5.26E
1st
© 2010 Austin Independent School District
Course Grade 5 Social Studies Page 1 of 3
Focus TEKS Student
Expectations
updated 5/4/10
Course Grade 5 Social Studies
Grading
Period
2nd
Austin ISD Yearly Itinerary
2010-2011
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings
Essential Questions
Colonization: The original thirteen British
colonies had very different founding philosophies,
industries, and economies that made each of
them unique.
1. What was life like for people living in the original
thirteen British colonies during the late 1700s?
2. How and why did life differ for families in different areas
in colonial America?
3. How did life in the colonies influence the lives we lead
today?
5.1A, 5.1B, 5.6A, 5.7A, 5.7B,
5.7C, 5.8A, 5.8B, 5.8C, 5.8D,
5.11B, 5.15A, 5.15B, 5.25A,
5.25B, 5.25C, 5.25D, 5.25F,
5.26A, 5.26B, 5.26C, 5.26D,
5.26E
Change and Conflict – The American
Revolution: Conflict is necessary when there is
no room for compromise. Conflicts can lead to
change that have significant costs and benefits to
both the winners and losers.
1. When is conflict necessary?
2. How can people make sense of unfairness in different
systems?
3. What does it take to plan for change?
4. What does it take to make change happen?
5.2A, 5.6A, 5.14A, 5.16A, 5.25A,
5.25B, 5.25C, 5.26C, 5.26D
Citizenship – Veterans’ Day: Active citizens in
the community develop understandings of
important customs, symbols, and celebrations
such as Veterans’ Day that represent American
beliefs and principles and contribute to our
national identity.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Change Through Westward Expansion: The
United States changed physically in size and
population as westward growth took place in the
first half of the 19th century.
1. What motivated Americans to move west?
2. What effect did the arrival of new populations have on
the land and its native inhabitants?
3. How does a historian use primary sources to
understand the past?
5.4A, 5.4B, 5.4C, 5.4G, 5.6A,
5.7A, 5.7B, 5.7C, 5.8D, 5.9A,
5.14F, 5.25A, 5.25B, 5.25C,
5.25F, 5.26A, 5.26B, 5.26C,
5.26D, 5.26E, 5.27A
Change Through Civil War: Changes resulting
from the division and conflict of the Civil War had
a lasting impact on American society.
1. When is conflict necessary?
2. When is war ever good or justified?
3. What were the causes and effects of the sectional
differences that led to the Civil War?
4. What were the effects of the 13th, 14th, and 15th
amendments passed after the war?
5.4D, 5.4E, 5.21D, 5.24A, 5.24B,
5.24C, 5.25A, 5.25B, 5.25C,
5.25D, 5.25E, 5.25F, 5.26D
Change Through Industrialization: Industry
and the mechanization of agriculture brought
about by the Industrial Revolution changed the
American way of life.
1. How did the development of new technology change
life in the United States in the first half of the 1800s?
2. What changes in society resulted from the Industrial
Revolution?
3. How did industrial changes lead to conflict among
sections of the United States?
4. How did mass production affect the cost of goods in the
United States?
5.4A, 5.4D, 5.4F, 5.9C, 5.13B,
5.14A, 5.14D, 5.14E, 5.14F,
5.24A, 5.24B, 5.24C, 5.25B,
5.25C, 5.25F
3rd
© 2010 Austin Independent School District
Why do we observe Veterans’ Day?
When is war ever good or justified?
What reasons are there for war?
How does a President declare war?
What are the consequences of war?
Course Grade 5 Social Studies Page 2 of 3
Focus TEKS Student
Expectations
5.17A, 5.18D, 5.23B, 5.26B,
5.26D, 5.26E
updated 5/4/10
Course Grade 5 Social Studies
Grading
Period
Austin ISD Yearly Itinerary
Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings
Essential Questions
2010-2011
Focus TEKS Student
Expectations
Change – The Great Depression: The Great
Depression and New Deal had a significant
impact on the lives of American people,
businesses, and the role of the United States
government.
1. What were some of the factors that led to the Great
Depression?
2. How did the Great Depression affect both
manufacturers and workers?
3. What were the human and environmental causes of the
Dust Bowl?
4. How did the Dust Bowl impact the farmers and the
economy?
5.5A, 5.5B, 5.9A, 5.9C, 5.24D,
5.25A
Global Conflict: In times of war, conflict impacts
those involved in armed combat as well as the
people on the home front.
1. When is war ever good or justified?
2. What reasons are there for war?
3. What are the consequences of war?
5A, 5B, 5.25A, 5.25B, 5.25C,
5.25D, 5.25E
4th
© 2010 Austin Independent School District
Course Grade 5 Social Studies Page 3 of 3
updated 5/4/10