Grade 5 Social Studies: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 5 social studies in the NWT Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Natural resources continue to shape the economy and identity of different regions of Canada.
- Immigration and multiculturalism continue to shape Canadian society and identity.
- Canadian institutions and government reflect the challenge of our regional diversity.
- Canada's policies for and treatment of minority peoples have negative and positive legacies.
Easy ways to practise social studies at home
- Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently.
- Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying.
- Use an atlas or online map to trace a trade or travel route.
- Ask “Whose voice is missing from this story?” when reading about the past.
What each unit covers
Levels of Government
Federal, provincial/territorial, municipal and Indigenous governments: who leads them, what each looks after, and how they're funded.
Making Laws
How a bill becomes law in Parliament, elections and ridings, local bylaws, and how young people can take part in democracy.
Rights & Freedoms
The main parts of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, applying them to real situations, and the responsibilities that come with rights.
Immigration & Multiculturalism
Push and pull factors, refugees and citizenship, Canada's multiculturalism policy, and a reading about a family's new start in Canada.
Learning from the Past
An age-appropriate, factual look at the Chinese Head Tax, the Komagata Maru, the internment of Japanese Canadians and residential schools, with a focus on apologies, redress and reconciliation. No graphic detail.
Regions & Resources
The natural resources and industries of Canada's regions, how they shape regional identity, and First Peoples' land rights and title.
Dene Kede: Learning from the Land
Dene Kede is an NWT curriculum from a Dene perspective that stays in schools alongside the adapted BC curriculum. This unit covers Dene peoples and languages, Elders, learning on the land and treaties. Present tense, living communities.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Emerging
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Developing
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Proficient
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Extending
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the NWT report card guide.
Common questions
Follow a current event together and ask who is affected and why people see it differently. Build a timeline of a family event or a historical topic they are studying. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The NWT Curriculum Grade 5 social studies units include levels of government, making laws, rights & freedoms, immigration & multiculturalism, learning from the past, regions & resources.
Free printable Grade 5 social studies practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.