A L I E F
Independent
School District
GRADE 5 SOCIAL STUDIES - UNITED STATES HISTORY
Unit 4: Manifest Destiny
Time: 5 Weeks
Hook ideas here!
Universal
Generalizations
Groups of people seek
out new opportunities
that will help them
survive and improve.
Line ideas here!
Unit Understandings
Social Studies Pacing Guide
Developed 2005
Revised 2012
Sinker ideas here!
Resources
Student-Friendly TEKS
Topics/Content
Unit Questions
Unit 4 Literature Connections
Americans were
willing to endure
hardships in order to
acquire land and
expand economic
opportunities.
concepts:
migration, push/pull factors
(4) History. The student
understands political, economic,
and social changes that occurred
in the United States during the
19th century. The student is
expected to:
Motives for Moving West

Land

Resources/markets

Religious freedom
vocabulary:
wagon train, gold rush, FortyNiners
(C) identify reasons people moved
west;
(USH 6B)
Why were the pioneers
willing to risk their lives to
settle the West?
Essential Resources:
History Alive! America’s Past,
Lesson 17 – The Diverse
Peoples of the West.
Text, Ch. 13, pp. 438-445
Supplemental Resources
Westward Expansion Mural
Transparency
Lesson Plan: Enduring
Hardships
Alt Lesson Plan: Enduring
Hardships
Thinking Maps Ideas
5.4C
Discovery Ed Streaming:
-Westward Expansion: The
Pioneer Challenge
-National Geographic Reading
Expeditions Series (ESL books
-National Geographic Theme
Sets Series (ESL books)
Instructional Considerations: HA Lesson 17 is not directly correlated to 8th grade.
Alief ISD 2011
Grade 5
1
Organizations seek
out opportunities that
will help them survive
and improve.
Manifest Destiny led
to the expansion and
settlement of
American territory to
the Pacific Ocean.
concepts:
expansion, Manifest destiny,
frontier, territory
(4) History. The student
understands political, economic,
and social changes that occurred
in the United States during the
19th century. The student is
expected to:
(D) identify significant events and
concepts associated with U.S.
territorial expansion, including the
Louisiana Purchase, the expedition
of Lewis and Clark, and Manifest
Destiny;
(7) Geography. The student
understands the concept of regions
in the United States. The
student is expected to:
(A) describe a variety of regions in
the United States such as political,
population, and economic regions
that result from patterns of human
activity;
(USH 6A, 6D)
The Roots of Manifest
Destiny

The Northwest
Ordinance

The Louisiana Purchase

Lewis and Clark
Westward Expansion

The Texas Revolution

The Mexican War

The California Gold
Rush

Territorial Acquisitions

Significant People
vocabulary:
annex, expedition
How did Americans
expand to the Pacific
Ocean in such a short
span of time?
Essential Resources:
History Alive! America’s Past,
Lesson 16 – Manifest Destiny
Text, Ch. 10, p.342
Text, Ch. 11, pp. 370-379
Text, Ch. 13, p. 433-436
Lesson Plan: Manifest Destiny
Research Databases Concepts
Supplemental Resources
Leveled Text (Expanding &
Preserving the Union) p. 21-44
Boundaries of the United
States, 1650-1907 (animated)
How and why did America
expand westward?
Lesson Plan: Westward
Expansion
Thinking Maps Ideas
5.4D
Discovery Ed Streaming:
- Gone West: The Growth of a
Nation
- United States Expansion
-National Geographic Reading
Expeditions Series (ESL books)
- National Geographic Theme
Sets (ESL books)
-Benchmark Education Series
(ESL books)
Instructional Considerations: HA Lesson 16 supports 8th grade. Focus on the map on page 161 and include the following vocabulary words if possible:
acquisition, cession, Manifest Destiny, and annex. (Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States.)
Alief ISD 2011
Grade 5
2
Greed often causes
people to ignore the
needs of others.
Manifest Destiny
benefited the new
American nation while
destroying Native
American societies.
concepts:
economic growth, frontier
(24) Social studies skills. The
student applies critical-thinking
skills to organize and use
information acquired from a variety
of valid sources, including
electronic technology. The student
is expected to:
(B) analyze information by
sequencing, categorizing,
identifying cause-and-effect
relationships, comparing,
contrasting, finding the main idea,
summarizing,
making generalizations and
predictions, and drawing
inferences and conclusions;
Impact of Westward
Expansion

Native American
Removal

Economic Growth

Railroads
Significant People
vocabulary:
reservation, removal, Trail of
Tears
Was Manifest Destiny fair
for everyone? Why or why
not?
Essential Resources:
History Alive! America’s Past,
Lesson 16 – Manifest Destiny
Text, Ch. 11, pp. 404-407
Lesson Plan: Displacement of
Native Americans
Supplemental Resources
History Alive! America’s Past,
Lesson 17 – The Diverse
Peoples of the West.
Thinking Maps Ideas
5.24B
Discovery Ed Streaming:
- Native America: Expansion
-Native America: Removal
-America’s Era of Expansion
and Reform , 1817-1860 (The
Indian Removal Act 1830)
-National Geographic Reading
Expeditions Series (ESL books)
- National Geographic Theme
Sets (ESL books)
-Benchmark Education Series
(ESL books)
Instructional Considerations: HA Lesson 16 supports 8th grade. Focus on the map on page 161 and include the following vocabulary words if possible:
acquisition, cession, Manifest Destiny, and annex. (Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States.)
Alief ISD 2011
Grade 5
3