Assessment: Pre-Test, Lesson Practice, Unit Exams, Mid-Term Exam, Final Exam
Language: English
Course Overview
The Grade 5 Social Studies course covers the history of the Americas from the first Native Americans through the 21st Century. It discusses not only the historical events through these periods, but also explores the motives and mindset of the people who made them happen. Grade 5 Social Studies is taught by Dr. Reulan Levin and edited to include special effects.
Scope and Sequence
Unit 1 – Overview of AmericaThis unit discusses the American Nation, the people of America, the concept of government by the people, the free enterprise system and why we use it, the regions and resources of the United States, how we can protect America's resources, and biographies of Madame CJ Walker and Marjory Stoneman Douglas.Unit 2 – The First AmericansThis unit discusses the early migration to America, how people survived in an ice age, climographs, mound builders, cliff dwellers, the people of the North, and the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan Empires. Also included is a biography of Nampeyo.Unit 3 – Native AmericansThis unit discusses people of the Eastern woodlands and the Cheyenne People. Also covered are what life and people are like on the Great Plains, in the Southwest Desert, and in the Northwest Coast.Unit 4 – The Old WorldThis unit discusses The Silk Road; Chinese, Norse, and Portuguese exploration; the trade empire of Ghana; the Mali and Songhai empires; Norse exploration; the Renaissance; and the spread of information.Unit 5 – European Discovery of the New WorldThis unit discusses the discovery of the New World, the Columbian Exchange, explorers, latitude and longitude, the Conquistadors and New Spain, the search for gold, and the society and slavery in New Spain. Also included is a biography of Bartolomé de las Casas.Unit 6 – Other Europeans ColonizeThis unit covers the lost colony, England's competition with Spain, Virginia and Jamestown, and French and Dutch colonization. Also included is a biography of John Smith.Unit 7 – The English ColonizeThis unit covers the Pilgrims colonization, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the 13 colonies, the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies, and a biography of William Penn.Unit 8 – Life in the English ColoniesThis unit discusses life in the English Colonies, including young workers, colonial economies, early trade routes, cities, and schools, Northern and Southern towns, The Great Awakening, no freedom of the press, slavery and the plantation, and the African resistance. Also included is a biography of Benjamin Franklin.Unit 9 – European Empires ExpandThis unit covers Spain's fight for Florida, Santa Fe, the Pueblo Revolt, the exploration of Mississippi, the French and Indian War, and Pontiac's Rebellion. Map scales are also explained.Unit 10 – The Road to RevolutionThis unit discusses British taxes, Colonial protests, the Townshend Acts, the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts, and the Continental Congress. Also included is a biography of George Washington.Unit 11 – The American RevolutionThis unit covers the events at Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill, the second Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, the Siege at Boston, defeat at New York, and victory at Trenton and Saratoga. Also discussed are the contributions of African Americans and women, winter in Valley Forge, other nations that helped America, more battles, and the surrender of the British and the treaty. Also included are biographies of Patrick Henry and Phillis Weatley.Unit 12 – Early American GovernmentThis unit discusses the Articles of Confederation, Shays' Rebellion, the Rebellion in France, the Northwest Ordinance, the Constitutional Convention, the Great Compromise, the Constitution of the United States, and the Federalists versus the Anti-federalists. Also included is a biography of James Madison.Unit 13 – America ChangesThis unit discusses the first President and the first political parties in the United States, as well as the nation's capital, and the election of 1800. Also covered are the westward movement, the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, trouble with Britain, and the War of 1812. A biography of Sacagawea is also included.Unit 14 – The Road to ConflictThis unit discusses abolitionism, regional differences, slavery in the South, regional perceptions of and resistance to slavery, the Underground Railroad, free African Americans, attempts at compromise, events that broadened the split, and Lincoln's election. Also included is a biography of Abraham Lincoln.Unit 15 – The Civil War and ReconstructionThis unit discusses the secession of the south, the beginning of the war, advantages, strategies, the first major battles, the effects of technology on the war, what a soldier's life was like, the Emancipation Proclamation, African American soldiers, women and the war effort, how the North began to have victory, the surrender of the Confederacy, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction, the Constitutional Amendment, and the end of reconstruction. Also included is a biography of Robert E. Lee.Unit 16 – The Nation Expands WestThis unit discusses early efforts to connect the East Coast and the West Coast, the impact of the railroad, how to read time zones, the westward movement of the population, pioneer life on the plains, cattle drives, and how Native Americans defended their lands, but were defeated.Unit 17 – Industrialization and ImmigrantsThis unit discusses inventions, inventors, and industry, the rise of oil, and how industrialization increased available jobs and encouraged immigration. Also covered are immigration stations and challenges, labor unions, labor strikes, and child labor.Unit 18 – Expanding AbroadThis unit discusses the expansion of U.S. borders, war with Spain, reforms in the United States, and the building of the Panama Canal. Also included is a biography of Theodore Roosevelt.Unit 19 – Word War I and ChangeThis unit discusses the beginning of the Great War, how technology changed war, American isolation, the ending of World War I, and effort to bring about lasting peace, the nineteenth amendment, and migration within America.Unit 20 – Riches to RagsThis unit discusses new modes of transportation, the "Roaring Twenties," prohibition, the stock market crash, the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, and the New Deal. Also included is a biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt.Unit 21 – World War IIThis unit discusses the events leading up to World War II, the attack at Pearl Harbor, the ending of the Great Depression, the turning of the tide, the battles for Europe and for Asia, and the cost of World War II. Also included is a biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower.Unit 22 – The Cold War BeginsThis unit discusses the post-war recovery overseas, the Korean War, the Cold War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also included is a biography of John F. Kennedy.Unit 23 – Civil Rights for AmericansThis unit discusses segregation and the fight against it, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, how segregation ended, and other movements.Unit 24 – The Cold War DeepensThis unit discusses the space race, the Vietnam War and its effects, President Richard Nixon, the tensions in the 70s, global maps, and road maps.Unit 25 – After the Cold WarThis unit discusses the end of the Cold War, Middle East conflicts, and the beginning of a new century. Also included are biographies of Ronald Reagan and Nelson Mandela.Unit 26 – The 21st CenturyThis unit discusses attacks on America by terrorists, American courage, war in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and contemporary challenges.
