5th Grade Social Studies
Unit 1: Exploration and Settlement
In this unit, students examine the geography of the United States, including relative and absolute locations. Students also move through history from the migration of the first Americans and the seven American Indian cultural regions to European explorers, early English settlements, and slavery.
Unit 2: The American Revolution
and the Constitution
During the second unit of study, students explore the events that led to the American Revolution and the writing of the Constitution. They are called to argue for or against the Patriots and Loyalists, to analyze Thomas Jefferson’s beliefs around slavery and to explain the reasoning behind the checks and balances system created by the writers of the constitution.
Unit 3: Project Citizen and Personal Financial Literacy
The final unit of study is divided into two parts. The first and longest section provides an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge of government and the constitution to their daily lives. They consider a problem in their community, examine existing policies and propose a new policy to solve the problem. Students create a portfolio and presentation to influence a change in policy. The focus for the second portion of the unit is personal financial literacy. Students learn the importance of financial institutions in a market economy. They compare the products and services of these financial institutions in order to make decisions about how to use their money.
