5th Grade Curriculum Map
Unit Title / Essential Standard
I can statements
The United States as Home
Place
I can place the major regions,
landforms, and cities on a map.
I can explain how geography
affects the way in which we live.
I can give examples of how
humans positively and negatively
affect the environment.
Concept / Pacing
Essential Questions
Essential Information
Geography and
Human-Environmental
Interaction
What are the similarities and differences between the regions of
the United States?
Major Regions of the US
(Southeast, Northeast, Midwest,
Southwest, West)
How does where you live effect how you live?
What positive and negative effects do human interactions have on
the environment?
How does the environment impact humans?
Why are bodies of water important to life in the US?
Major Landforms (Coastal Plains,
Appalachian Mountains, Great
Plains, Rocky Mountains,
Mississippi River, Great Lakes, St.
Lawrence River,
Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and
Gulf of Mexico
Resources:
http://www.proteacher.org/c/346_Regions_of_United_States.html
(Teacher ideas for units on the US Regions)
More teacher ideas for US Regions
http://www.mrsruss.com/Teachers/regions.html
Intro Idea - Picture Books (ABC of America by Kelly Bellefontaine)
Have class make their own book – ABC of America’s Regions.
Music – This Land is Your Land
Foldable US Regions Instructional Strategy
(Culminating activity) Divide class into 5 cooperative groups. Have
students research the following topics: Climate and Vegetation,
Natural Resources, Economic Indicators (agriculture,
manufacturing, tourism, landmarks etc.), Positive and Negative
Cities: DC, Philadelphia, New York
City, Los Angles, Chicago, Dallas,
Denver, New Orleans, Boston
Positive and Negative Examples of
Human-Environmental Interaction
(how do human change the
environment and how does the
environment impact humans?)
Examples: (tobacco, building of
ports, dams, digging wells,
deforestation, recycling, pollution,
crop rotation, hydroelectric power,
BP Oil Spill, creation of levies,
natural disasters)
Human Environmental Interaction. Have students fold paper into
4 squares (12 by 18 size or larger). The center of the poster will
have a map of the region (with states, major cities, landforms, and
bodies of water). Place the following titles in each square: Climate
and Vegetation, Natural Resources, Economic Indicators, and
Human Environmental Interaction. Have students use pictures or
symbols to represent their research in each block.
Civilizations Come Together
and Collide – Native Americans
and Exploration
I can explain what artifacts are and
how they have helped modern
culture learn about Native
Americans.
I can give examples of Native
American tribes in the United
States, where they are located,
and the impact they made.
I can explain how life changed for
Native Americans after contact
with Europeans.
I can compare and contrast Native
American culture with European
culture.
Culture and
Exploration
How have artifacts helped us to learn more about Native
Americans?
What makes some
humans want to
explore?
Why were there conflicts between Native Americans and settlers?
What were the most important Native American tribes in the
United States, where were they located, and what impact did they
have?
How did life change for Native Americans and settlers upon
contact?
Compare and contrast government structures among different
tribes in the United States?
Compare and contrast differing cultural aspects of Native
American tribes within the United States?
Artifacts / Archeologists
Major Tribes: Cherokee, Pueblo,
Navajo, Chinook, Sioux, Comanche,
Seminole, Mandan
Columbian Exchange (gifts, cultural
exchanges, and negative
consequences)
Key Vocabulary – Tribe, clan,
council, chief, medicine man,
barter, atlatl, treaty, pow-wow,
assimilation, potlatch, totem pole,
kachina, tee-pee, ceremony,
league, kiva, hogan, indigenous,
Who were some of the most impactful explorers and where did
they explore or settle?
Culture – Folktale and religious
beliefs of Native Americans
I can explain why conflicts arose
between Native Americans and
settlers.
Resources:
I can discuss some of the most
important explorers and where
they settled.
Divide up students into groups and make each group an expert on
a tribe – teach rest of class. Have each student fill out the
following table:
Tribe, Location, Gifts and Impact, and Settlement Style, Religious
Beliefs, etc.
Explorers: Columbus, Verrazano,
DeSoto, Juan Ponce de Leon,
Jacques Cartier, Samuel De
Champlain, Sir Francis Drake, John
Cabot, Lewis and Clark
(Sacagawea)
End with Triple Venn comparing and contrasting tribes.
Exploration Impact – Trade, Indian
removal and destruction, war,
Books: The Very First Americans (Reading Railroad) [Mass Market
Paperback]
Native American Tales and Legends (Dover Children's Evergreen
Classics) [Unabridged] [Paperback]
More Than Moccasins: A Kid's Activity Guide to Traditional North American
Indian Life (A Kid's Guide series) [Paperback
disease, product exchanges, forced
religious conversations
Video Clips
Dances with Wolves (Avatar)
Last of the Mohicans
See YouTube
Teacher Lesson Plans on Native Americans
http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/5th/5ss/unit_by_Activity08/unit2/act3/un2_act3.htm
National Geographic
Ideas: Trading cards of explorers (pic and information on back)
Create a Travel Log
Have students create a Native American Newspaper or an Explorer
Newspaper – Have articles address the exchange of cultures and
the pain that was inflicted on Native Americans (News Section,
Sports, Life, Obituary, Local).
Books
The Usborne Book of Explorers from Columbus to Armstrong (Famous
Lives) [Paperback]
Famous Explorers (Hello Reader Level 3) [Paperback]
Colonization and French and
Indian War
Settlement and
Conflict
I can explain why colonizing a new
land was a very difficult thing to
accomplish.
Compare and contrast
why people moved in
the past and the
present?
I can explain the three regions the
13 colonies fell into and explain
some basic similarities and
differences between these regions.
What challenges in the
future would humans
have with trying to
Why was colonizing so challenging?
What were some of the positives and negatives to the colonization
process?
In what regions were the 13 original colonies established and why?
Who were some of key figures within the 13 colonies and what
were their contributions?
What was the Triangle Trade?
New England ( New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
Connecticut
Mid Atlantic (NY, Penn, NJ, and
Delaware)
South (GA, SC, MD, VA, MD)
Things to know: why they settled,
who settled, daily and social life
within each colony, economics
(jobs that were performed),
I can explain the beginnings of
slavery in the US and discuss its
negative effects upon humans and
society as a whole.
establish colonies in
the ocean,
underground, or in
outer space?
Using a Venn Diagram, compare and
Contrast life in a New England, Mid Atlantic, and Southern colony.
Have students create a regional travel brochure on the Colonial
Regions
I can explain what the Triangle
Trade Route was.
Enticing Title and Illustration Panel
Geography of Region Panel
Map of Region Panel
Daily and Social Life (religious beliefs and freedoms) Panel
Key Figures – Panel
general dates of settlement, major
history events (Salem Witch Trials,
settlement of Jamestown,
settlement of Plymouth, trail of
Anne Hutchinson, House of
Burgess and start of slavery in the
colonies, King Phillip’s War
William Penn, James Oglethorpe,
Roger Williams, King Charles I and
II, Anne Hutchinson
Mayflower Compact
Books
USKids History: Book of the American Colonies (Brown Paper School)
[Paperback]
The New Americans: Colonial Times: 1620-1689 (The American Story)
[Paperback]
French and Indian War : who
fought, when, who won and why
important – debt caused England
to tax colonies, England became
major world power
Key Figures: George Washington
They Come to America –
Immigration to the United
States
I can explain which groups
immigrated to the United States
and why.
I can compare and contrast
immigration from the past and the
present.
I can explain various cultural
contributions of immigrants to
America.
Immigration and
Change
What challenges are
similar and different
with immigrating to a
foreign country today?
Four Major Waves
Why did groups immigrate into the US and what contributions did
they make?
What groups are immigrating today and where are they settling
and what are the effects?
Discuss some of the cultural contributions of various immigrating
groups to the United States?
Ideas
Introduction - Ask students to research the different ethnic
restaurants in Wilmington (use internet, yellow pages). Have
students choose one restaurant they would like to visit and have
them answer the following questions: What nationality or ethnic
group does this restaurant reflect? Where did they originally
settled in the US and when? Where is this ethnic group’s home
1600s – mid 1700s – (African
slaves, English, Holland, French,
various German groups, Scottish)
1820’s - 1870 – Irish, Germany,
England, Netherlands, Chinese,
Latin Americans
1880s – 1910 – Italy, AustriaHungry, Poland, Russia, Greece
1965 to present - Mexico, Latin
America, Cubans, Middle Eastners,
Jews, Vietnamese
Impact: Foods, Religion, cheap
labor, festivals and celebrations,
traditions, prejudices,
country and plot it on a map?
Resources
moh.tie.net/content/docs/ImmigrationUnit.pdf
Poem on the Statue of Liberty
http://www.statueoflibertynow.com/statue-of-liberty-poem.html
overcrowding, undercut
“American” workers’ wages at
times, assimilation issues,
mistreatment of immigrants,
economy
Tree Map on Immigration
1600s – mid 1700s, 1820 – 1870, 1880s – 1910, 1965 to present
Major Groups (include unwilling immigrants – Africans and
Indentured Servants)
Why did they come?
Impact and Contribution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJLyTNIevWA (School House
Rock Song on Immigration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwo4eZ-MF10 (They come to
America song and video)
Have students research their own heritage
Food tasting, cultural party, music and dance
Books
Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen and Daniel Mark Duffy (the book
focuses on a Russian immigrant – puts a great twist on modern-day
immigration. It also touches on bullying.
Books
If You Lived When There Was Slavery in … by Anne Kamma
Non Fiction - Slavery [Paperback] DK Publishing (Author)
Revolutionary War
War and Conflict
Why did the colonists decide to break away from England?
Causes:
I can explain why British taxes,
especially the Stamp Act, angered
the colonists.
How does the
American Revolution
Why did Patriots and Loyalists disagree?
French and Indian War
Taxes (Stamp Act) – No Taxation
I can discuss specific events that
helped cause England and the
colonies to separate.
I can give reasons why the
colonists decided to declare
independence from England.
similar and different
to another revolution
in world history
(examples: industrial
revolution,
technological
revolution, the
revolution in Egypt)?
How did the Stamp Act affect the 13 colonies?
Discuss an event that helped lead to the Revolutionary War and
explain its impact.
Which battle had the most significance toward the United States
winning its independence and explain why?
I can explain a major Revolutionary
War battle and its importance.
Which key Revolutionary War figure had the most influence upon
this era and why?
I can give examples of important
Revolutionary
War figures and explain why they
are important.
Ideas:
Create a “Road To the Revolution” poster – have students place
sign-posts on their poster that were revolution starters (example –
one sign could read Stamp Act).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ikO6LMxF4 (Revolutionary War School
House Rocks Song)
without Representation
Parliament
Distance
Boston Massacre (Crispus Attucks)
Boston Tea Party
Intolerable Acts
First Continental Congress
Battles
Lexington and Concord
Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Trenton
Battle of Saratoga
Valley Forge
Battle of Yorktown
Ideas – Freedom, but slavery in the
South
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5YIBmfZid0&feature=related (cause of the
Revolutionary War School House Rock Song)
Key Figures
George Washington
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTY0V8GaeFI&feature=related Patrick Henry
Paul Revere
(Declaration of Independence Song)
Samuel Adams / Sons of Liberty
Thomas Jefferson
Cause and Effect Thinking Map
Ben Franklin
John Adams
Language Arts Biography Unit on key figures of the Revolutionary
Abigail Adams
War
Charles Cornwallis
Phillis Wheatley
Poetry Unit on the Ride of Paul Revere or other poems by Phillis
Benedict Arnold
Wheatley
James Armistead
Mary Draper
A Diorama of a Revolutionary War battle with accompanying fact
cards – or a poster.
Constitution and Rights and
Responsibilities
Government, Rights,
and Responsibilities
I can explain why the Articles of
If Native Americans,
Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?
Foundations of Democracy
How has the Constitution reacted to changes in society?
Greece and Rome
The Enlightenment Period
Confederation failed.
I can explain how the Constitution
is a system of “checks and
balances” in the context of the 3
branches of government.
African Americans,
and women, could
have been part of the
Constitutional
Convention, how
would the Constitution
have been different?
I can explain how the Constitution
is considered a “living document.”
How is the US Constitution a “living document?”
Why did the Founding Fathers create a system of “checks and
balances” within the three branches of government?
Create a table, chart, or foldable to distinguish between rights,
responsibilities, and duties of a citizen.
Create a collage that would represent each of the First Ten
Have students create a Power Point with slides on the Foundations
of Democracy (Gree
ce and Rome, the Enlightenment Period, House of Burgess,
Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and
Federalists Papers)
Amendments (the Bill of Rights) or a Paper Quilt, or a Ten-Square
Foldable
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30OyU4O80i4 (Preamble to the
US Constitution School House Rock)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0&feature=related
(How a Bill becomes a law)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5M50xBz1cU&feature=related
(3 Branches School House Rock)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfoOyi8JGxY&feature=relmfu
(origins of the branches Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY3j_pxSIrA (School House
Rocks on Women’s Suffrage – 19th Amendment)
House of Burgess
Declaration of Independence
Articles of Confederation
Federalist Papers
Bill
Shays’s Rebellion
Constitutional Convention (year,
Philadelphia, James Madison)
3 Branches (Executive, Legislative,
and Judicial)
Uncle Sam
“Living Document”
Ratification
Amendment
Bill of Rights
“Checks and Balances”
Veto
Groups that did not get to
participate (women, African
Americans, Native Americans)
Differentiate between Rights
(liberty and equality), Duties (must
attend school, pay taxes, men have
to register for the draft) and
Responsibilities (voting, staying
informed,
Comparing international governments with US
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2853?ref=search
The Nation Comes Apart - Civil
War and Reconstruction
I can explain how the Mexican War
caused further division between
the North and South.
I can explain the role of slavery in
War and Conflict
If the Confederacy had
won the Civil War,
how would things be
different today?
How does the Civil
What were the major differences between the North and the
South?
To what extent was slavery a cause of the Civil War?
What role did the Underground Railroad play in helping to abolish
slavery?
Mexican War
Abolitionist
Civil War
Confederacy
Secede
Blockade Running
Emancipation Proclamation
the cause of the Civil War.
I can explain the meaning and
purpose of the Underground
Railroad.
I can give examples of some events
that helped lead to the Civil War.
I can explain the significance of the
Emancipation Proclamation.
I can give examples of the various
roles women had during the Civil
War.
I can explain how African
Americans helped the Union
during the Civil War.
I can give examples of key figures
of the Civil War era and explain
why they are important.
I can give examples of two major
battles and explain why they are
important.
I can define and explain what is
meant by the term Reconstruction
Period.
I can explain the conditions
freedmen faced after the Civil
War.
I can explain the sharecropping
system and how it compared and
contrasted with slavery.
I can explain how the Ku Klux Klan
affected the Reconstruction
Period.
War compare and
contrast with the
Revolutionary War?
What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
What role did women play during the Civil War?
Which key Civil War figure had the most influence upon this era
and why?
How did African Americans, slave or free, help the Union during
the Civil War?
Discuss an event that helped lead to the Civil War and explain its
impact.
Which battle had the most significance toward the North winning
the Civil War and explain why?
What were the conditions faced by newly freed slaves?
Describe the sharecropping system and how did it differ from
slavery?
What role did the Ku Klux Klan play in Reconstruction?
How did African Americans gain and loose during Reconstruction?
What was the impact of Lincoln’s assassination upon
Reconstruction?
Cause and Effect Thinking Map on causes of Civil War
Tree Map on major battles (Date, Place, Victor, Impact, and one
pic or symbol) or create a Flip Book with same information
Differences between North and
South (economy, beliefs on slavery,
education, lifestyles)
Slavery / Underground Railroad /
Quakers
Dred Scott Case
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Election of 1860 / Abraham Lincoln
– South Carolina the leaves the US
CSA President Jefferson Davis
Key Figures of Civil War:
Nat Turner
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Frederick Douglass
John Brown
Harriet Tubman
Robert E. Lee
US Grant
William T. Sherman
54 Massachusetts (black soldiers)
Battles
Fort Sumter
Vicksburg
Gettysburg / Gettysburg Address /
Turning Point
Fort Fisher
Appomattox
Resources:
Create a Civil War Scrap book
Reconstruction
Songs of the Civil War: Battle Hymn of the Republic, John Browns’
Body / The Bonnie Blue Flag, Dixie
Reconstruction
Freedman’s Bureau
Black Codes
I can give examples of ways African
Americans made gains during
Reconstruction and how they
suffered losses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLmUhT9QOlE (Video on
Manifest Destiny)
Books:
I can explain the impact of
Lincoln’s assassination.
If You Traveled on the Underground Railroad [Paperback]
Ellen Levine
If You Lived At The Time Of The Civil War [Paperback]
Trade, Economics, and Fin. Lit
Trade, Economics, and
Fin. Literacy
Sharecropping
Radical Republicans
Ku Klux Klan
Segregation
Carpetbaggers and Scalawags
Reconstruction Amendments (13th,
14th, and 15th)
Poems: O Captain! My Captain – Walt Whitman
Events – Assassination of Abraham
Lincoln
A Reconstruction Photo Album – students get pictures that tell the
ups and downs of Reconstruction and the students would then
write captions in their own words. Make a cover.
Andrew Johnson (born in Raleigh)
Reconstruction governor /
impeached
Economics
What is the impact of production, specialization, division of labor,
and technology on the economic growth of the United States?
Why do people save for the future?
Why is it important to distinguish between your needs and wants?
What is meant by the term market economy?
Why is a budget important?
What affect does supply and demand have upon our economy?
How and why did the US develop trading partners?
What were the major imports and exports of the US between 1700
and 1877?
What are the major imports and exports of the United States?
Compare and contrast imports and exports of the past and the
present. How and why has there been some changes?
What has NAFTA been so important to the United States?
Mercantilism (Triangle Trade
Route)
Production
Specialization
Division of Labor
Competition
Financial Literacy
Wants vs needs
Income
Budgeting
Saving
Credit
Spending
Opportunity Cost
Paying taxes
Debt
Checking / Debit
Deposit / Withdrawal
Trade
What is interdependency and give some examples?
Bring in bankers
Interdependent
International Trade
Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade
Agreement – NAFTA
Global Economy
Major Imports and Exports
Resources:
Past
Resource: Junior Achievement – they have a tremendous financial
literacy curriculum.
http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/soc/cecsst/cecsst184.html - hands on
supply and demand lesson.
Create a Prezi on past and present imports and exports.
Double-Bubble Thinking map to compare and contrast the
differences between past and present imports and exports.
Exports: Furniture, Cotton,
Tobacco,
Wheat, rice, indigo, naval stores,
lumber, corn, fish
Import: Tea, sugar, clothing, tools,
molasses, silver, weapons
Present Day
Importing: oil, machinery,
vehicles, pharmaceuticals,
aircrafts, chemicals, minerals,
coffee, electronics
Exporting: Fish, Lumber,
cigarettes,
Plastics, cars, civilian aircraft,
telecommunication products
Largest Trading Partners (Canada,
China, and Mexico)
Social Studies Project Ideas
ORAL
Announcements
Audiotape
Campaign speech
Comedy act
Debate
Dialog
Discussion
Documentary
Eulogy
Group discussion
Interactive slides
Lecture
Mock interview
Mock trial
Monologue
News broadcast
Oral report
Panel discussion
Rap
Role-play
Seminar
Speech
TV Commentary
KINESTHETIC
Ballet
Characterization
Charades
Collage
Comedy sketch
Dance
Demonstration
Diorama
Display
Dramatization
Experiment
Field trip
Game
Map
Mobile
Model
Pantomime
Performance
Puppet show
Quilt
Relief map
Sculpture
Simulation
Sports event
Storytelling
Suitcase of artifacts
Talent show
VISUAL
WRITTEN
Advertisement
Banner
A Travelog
Bookmark
Brochure
Bulleted chart
Bulletin board
Cartoon
Chart
Collage
Comic strip
A Timeline
Crossword puzzle
Dictionary
Family tree
Flag
Flannel board
Flip chart
Flow chart
Graph
Greeting card
Hidden picture
Hieroglyphic
Storyboard
Jigsaw puzzle
Map
Mosaic
Mural
Painting
Photo album
Photo essay
Political cartoon
Poster
Quote chart
Scrapbook
Scroll
Biography
A Survey
Booklet
Characterization
Classified ad
Comic book
Creative writing
Critique
Database
Dictionary
Editorial
A Resume
Evaluation checklist
Evaluation grid
Fable
Fact file
Fairy tale
Glossary
Guidebook
Job description
Journal
A Recipe
List
Lyrics
Magazine
Manual
Memoir
Metaphor
Musical score
Newscast
Newspaper
Parody
Patent
Play
Poem
Questionnaire