5th grade Social Studies
8 units matched to the Washington State Learning Standards.
Focus areas
- United States history, from before colonies to the Constitution
- Founding documents and government
- Geography of the United States
Units
Unit 1
Native Nations & Encounters
Native nations of North America since time immemorial, how they lived in different regions, and how European contact and settlement affected their lands. Native nations are living communities today.
Learning standard: G2.5.1; G3.5.1; H1.5.2; H2.5.2 · Native nations before and after European contact, and the impact of European settlement on their lands
Unit 2
The Thirteen Colonies
Why the colonies were founded, how the three regions differed in land, climate and work, and early self-government such as the Mayflower Compact and the House of Burgesses.
Learning standard: G1.5.2; G1.5.1; H3.5.1; C2.5.3 · the physical and cultural characteristics of the thirteen colonies and early self-government
Unit 3
Colonial Trade & Work
Needs and wants, resources, specialization and trade in the colonies, mercantilism, and the Atlantic slave trade and its impact on African peoples, told plainly and age-appropriately.
Learning standard: E2.5.1; E1.5.1; E2.5.3; G3.5.2 · colonial economic systems, choices, specialization and trade, and the impact of the slave trade on African peoples
Unit 4
Road to Revolution
The French and Indian War, British taxes passed by Parliament, colonial protests such as boycotts and the Boston Tea Party, and why Loyalists and Patriots saw things differently.
Learning standard: E3.5.1; E3.5.2; H3.5.1; H3.5.2 · British taxation of the colonies and the different perspectives of colonists
Unit 5
The American Revolution
The Declaration of Independence and its ideals, key battles from Lexington to Yorktown, the Treaty of Paris, and the people of many backgrounds who shaped the war.
Learning standard: H2.5.1; H2.5.2; H1.5.1; C1.5.2 · how individuals and groups shaped the American Revolution and the ideals of the Declaration of Independence
Unit 6
Building a Government
Why the Articles of Confederation were replaced, the compromises of 1787, the three branches, checks and balances, federalism and the Bill of Rights (1791).
Learning standard: C2.5.3; C2.5.4; C2.5.5; C1.5.2 · the origins of the Constitution, the three branches of government and the Bill of Rights
Unit 7
Mapping the United States
Map tools (compass rose, scale, legend, latitude and longitude) and the regions, oceans, rivers and mountains of the United States.
Learning standard: G1.5.3; G1.5.4; G2.5.4 · maps and the regions, landforms and waterways of the United States
Unit 8
History Detective
Primary and secondary sources, timelines and centuries, fact and opinion, claims and evidence, and judging a source by its maker, date and purpose.
Learning standard: H4.5.5; H4.5.6; H1.5.1; SSS1.5.1; SSS2.5.2 · primary and secondary sources, timelines, facts, claims and evidence
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