Fifth Grade Social Studies
Looking at Unit 9
Understanding the News:
What is America’s role in the 21st century world?
March17, 2009
US involvement in the world
• World Wars & Cold War
led to increased
involvement in conflicts
around the world:
– Korean
– Vietnam
– Middle East
• How have beliefs of US
citizens changed
because of these
involvements?
What do people in Vietnam today
call this conflict?
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/vietnamphotos/images/marines-on-tank.gif
•Who’s Who of the Vietnam conflict:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/viet
nam/whos/index.html
•Timeline of US involvement
(teacher reference:
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps
/vietnam/timeline.htm
•Information for teachers (from a
Vietnam Veterans’ Organization) &
a “virtual Wall”:
http://www.teachvietnam.org/
•Photographic story of the conflict
from the National Archives:
http://www.archives.gov/education/l
essons/vietnam-photos/.
Middle East Peace Efforts
Students DO NOT need to
memorize every peace-related
meeting, treaty, etc. related to the
Middle East.
Instead, have them notice overall
themes of U.S. involvement in
Middle Eastern conflicts.
Images and contemporary news
articles/reports can be very helpful.
http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/images/gallery/main/
jimmy_carter_sadat_begin.jpg
Possible EQ: Why have the
various peace efforts in the Middle
East not been successful longterm?
Collapse of the USSR
• NY Times article:
http://tinyurl.com/da7j5k
• Did not happen overnight
• Discuss US desire for
increased communication w/the
Soviet Union, gradual opening
of the country, and economic
changes
• Berlin Wall fell in 1989 – Soviet
Union ended in 1991 – end of
sphere of influence
• Technology tie-in: “revolution”
was, in fact, televised
http://gulaghistory.org/nps/onlineexhibit/after/fallsrc/images/yeltsin-detail.jpg
Persian Gulf War
• Iraq invaded Kuwait
(8/2/1990)
• US & allies gave deadline
for withdrawal
• When Iraq did not
acquiesce, US & allies
invaded
• Official conflict ended
(2/28/1991)
• Emphasis on technology
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/txu
-oclc-192062619-middle_east_pol_2008.jpg
September 11, 2001
• Students DO NOT need
a graphic play-by-play
of the events of 9/11.
• Instead, focus on the
impact of the attacks
on both American
beliefs and world
affairs.
• Be very cautious when
sharing images with
your students – many
websites are NOT
appropriate for use in
school.
Invasion of Afghanistan / War in Iraq
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Before beginning this conversation,
be careful to think about the range of
experiences present in your class
(students who have immigrated,
students whose parents are serving
in the military, etc.
Discuss the invasion of Afghanistan
by the US as a response to the
events of 9/11.
Address the ensuing invasion of Iraq
& its results in a straightforward way
– address controversy when/if it
arises.
Great time for students to learn that
they can respect the opinions of
others without agreeing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/world
/middleeast/24museum.html
Impact of Computers & the Internet
• In Ben Franklin’s day, mail could take two weeks to travel
between New York & Philadelphia. Transatlantic mail took months,
and often never arrived.
• In the days of the Pony Express, mail could travel from the
Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast in about ten days. Upon the
completion of the transcontinental telegraph in 1861,
communication became almost instantaneous.
• The telephone increased the amount of speedy communication
available, and mail services improved, as well.
• Modern computer technology, following World War Two, rapidly
increased the amount of information that could be transmitted, and
the development of the Internet in the 1990s made a virtually
limitless amount of information accessible instantly.
Impact of Computers & the Internet
• As computers became more & more central to worldwide
businesses, they also became important components of many
electronic devices.
Great potential Essential Question:
Why is the Computer History Museum
located in San Jose, California?
{Visit the Computer History Museum
for more details than you ever knew
you wanted to know:
http://www.computerhistory.org/. }
http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/BRL61-0351.jpg
http://img.nytstore.com/IMAGES/NSAPST4_LARGE.JPG
Performance Task
Trade & Economic Activity
Costs to Transport One Ton
(Cents per Mile)
1815 Mode of Transportation
1860
Land 30 ¢ Road
15¢ or more
Railroad
2¢ or more
River
1/3¢ or
•River Raft downstream
more
1/3¢ or more
•Boat upstream
6¢
•Steam boat
Water
Canal
1¢ or more
Great Lakes
1/10¢
1¢ or
Ocean
1/2¢ or less
less
Source: George Rogers Taylor, The Transportation
Revolution (New York: Holt, Rinehart, 1962) Appendix A,
Table 2
• Excellent lesson
plan linking trade &
geographic growth
in the United States:
http://www.econedlin
k.org/lessons/index.
php?lesson=NN719&
page=teacher.
Fifth Grade Social Studies
Looking at Unit 10
Effective Citizenship
March17, 2009
12th & 17th Amendments
Twelfth:
• Ratified 1804 (following
contested election of 1800)
• Electors from each state
would separately elect
President & Vice-President
(see Election of 2000 for
example ).
Seventeenth:
• Ratified 1913
• Population would directly
elect US senators, rather
than having state
legislatures elect them.
How do these two amendments help maintain a
representative democracy for the United States?
23rd & 24th Amendments
Twenty-Third
• Ratified 1961
• Allows District of Columbia
(Washington, D. C.) to have
electors for Presidential/
Vice-Presidential elections
Twenty-Fourth
• Ratified 1964 (in response to
Civil Rights Movement)
• Guaranteed right to vote
regardless of payment of any
sort of tax; specifically, the
poll tax.
How do these two amendments help maintain a
representative democracy for the United States?
Functions: Businesses, Banks, &
Government
What is the function of
business in our economy?
What are the functions of banks
in our economy?
What is the function of
government in our economy?
http://econ161.berkeley.edu/multimedia/circ
ular.html
How do these three interact?
Personal Finance
• Feed the Pig! Great personal
finance site with lots of
interactive components:
http://www.feedthepig.org/.
• Holiday Savings Calculator
http://www.kidsbank.com/calcul
ators/holiday/hol_calc.asp :
Resources!
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Remember! These are only suggested resources. Make sure to preview
these sites before sharing them with your students. You know your
students better than I do!
http://www.samanthasmith.info
– Homepage dedicated to Samantha Smith, who traveled as a child ambassador to the Soviet
Union, and worked for world peace toward the end of the Cold War
http://www.fireboat.org/
– Homepage of the John J. Harvey fireboat, which provided firefighting support to the New
York Fire Department on September 11th
http://www.gcee.org
– Georgia Council on Economic Education – workshops, materials, & more
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1884100,00.html
– Great photo essay about changes in American retail – good for discussions of shifting
economic AND geographic patterns in our country
http://www.jumpstart.org/links.cfm
– Gigantic list of personal-finance related websites – be sure to preview, as some are
corporate, and others not age-appropriate
– Related games: http://www.uen.org/financial_lit/student/kids_activities.shtml.
http://www.kidseconposters.com/keb/Literature%20Connection.htm
– Literature links to economics from the Indiana Council on Economic Education
Resources for Integration
The Librarian of Basra
Jeanette Winter
The Breadwinner
Deborah Ellis
Alia’s Mission
Mark Alan Stamaty
Listen to the Wind
Susan Roth & Greg
Mortenson
Two Bobbies
Kirby Larson & Mary
Nethery
Uncle Jed’s Barbershop
Margaree King Mitchell
10,000 Days of Thunder
Philip Caputo
Captain Abdul’s Pirate
School
Colin McNaughton