Fifth Grade Social Studies Essential Learning Goals
Fifth Grade Social Studies Essential Learning Goals Geography Skills: 1. Use geographic research sources to acquire information and answer questions. 2. Locate states and major topographic features of the United States. 3. Locate and describe real places, using absolute and relative location. 4. Identify physical characteristics, such as climate, topography, relationship to water and ecosystems. 5. Identify human characteristics, such as people’s education, language, diversity, economies, religions, settlement patterns, ethnic backgrounds, and political systems. 6. Identify different kinds of regions in the United States. 7. Use geography to interpret the past, explain the present, and plan for the future. 8. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their environmental characteristics. 9. Use maps of different scales to describe the locations of cultural and environmental characteristics. 10. Explain how culture influences the way people modify and adapt to their environments. 11. Describe how environmental and cultural characteristics influence population distribution in specific places or regions. 12. Explain how cultural and environmental characteristics affect the distribution and movement of people, goods, and ideas. 13. Explain how human settlements and movements relate to the locations and use of various natural resources.
Culture Skills: 1. Examine how human beings create, learn, share, and adapt to culture. 2. Understand that cultures are dynamic and change over time. 3. Identify elements of culture as well as similarities and differences among cultural groups across time and place. 4. Examine changes in the relationship between peoples, places and environments.
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Fifth Grade Social Studies Essential Learning Goals Economics Skills: 1. Apply the following economic concepts: scarcity, supply and demand, specialization of regions, nations and individuals (trade), trade-offs (opportunity cost), income, wealth and sources of wealth. 2. Identify the role of technology in our economy and how our economy has changed from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy. 3. Interpret the past, explain the present, and predict future consequences of economic decisions. 4. Compare the benefits and costs of individual choices. 5. Identify positive and negative incentives that influence the decisions people make. 6. Identify examples of the variety of resources (human capital, physical capital, and natural resources) that are used to produce goods and services. 7. Explain why individuals and businesses specialize and trade. 8. Explain the role of money in making exchange easier. 9. Explain the relationship between investment in human capital, productivity, and future incomes. 10. Explain how profits influence sellers in markets. 11. Describe the role of other financial institutions in an economy. Government Skills: 1. Identify important principles in the Declaration of Independence, such as inalienable rights and government by consent of the governed. 2. Identify important principles in the Constitution including: limited government, rule of law, majority rule, minority rights, separation of powers, checks and balances. 3. Identify important principles in the Bill of Rights, such as basic rights and freedoms. 4. Distinguish between powers and functions of local, state and national government. 5. Distinguish the responsibilities and powers of government officials at various levels and branches of government and in different times and places. 6. Explain how a democracy relies on people’s responsible participation, and draw implications for how individuals should participate. 7. Examine the origins and purposes of rules, laws, and key U.S. constitutional provisions. 8. Explain how groups of people make rules to create responsibilities and protect freedoms. 9. Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families. 10. Apply civic virtues and democratic principles in school settings. 11. Identify core civic virtues and democratic principles that guide government, society, and communities. 12. Use deliberative processes when making decisions or reaching judgments as a group. 13. Identify the beliefs, experiences, perspectives, and values that underlie their own and others’ points of view about civic issues. 14. Compare procedures for making decisions in a variety of settings, including classroom, school, government, and/or society. 15. Explain how rules and laws change society and how people change rules and laws. 16. Explain how policies are developed to address public problems.
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Fifth Grade Social Studies Essential Learning Goals History Skills: 1. Summarize the viability and diversity of Native American cultures before Europeans came. 2. Outline the discovery, exploration and early settlement of America. 3. Explain the American Revolution, including the perspectives of patriots and loyalists and factors that explain why the American colonists were successful. 4. Investigate the causes and consequences of Westward Expansion, including: Texas and the Mexican War, Oregon Territory, and the California Gold Rush. 5. Examine cultural interactions among these groups from colonial times to Civil War: Native Americans, Immigrants from Europe, and Africans brought to America. 6. Identify political, economic, and social causes and consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction. 7. Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments that happened at the same time. 8. Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today. 9. Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities. 10. Explain why individuals and groups during the same historical time period differ in their perspectives. 11. Explain connections among historical contexts and people’s perspectives at the time. 12. Describe how people’s perspectives shaped the historical sources they created. 13. Summarize how different kinds of historical sources are used to explain events in the past. 14. Compare information provided by different historical sources about the past. 15. Infer the intended audience and purpose of a historical source from information within the source itself. 16. Generate questions about multiple historical sources and their relationships to particular historical events and developments. 17. Use information about a particular historical source, including the maker, date, place or origin, intended audience, and purpose to judge the extent to which the source is useful for studying a particular topic. 18. Explain probable causes and effects of events and developments. 19. Use evidence to develop a claim about the past. 20. Summarize the central claim in a secondary work of history.
Global Connections Skills: 1. Global connections have intensified and accelerated the changes faced at the local, national, and international levels. 2. Confront questions. 3. Analyses of the costs and benefits of increased global connections, and evaluations of the tensions between national interests and global priorities, contribute to the development of possible solutions to persistent and emerging global issues.
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Fifth Grade Social Studies Essential Learning Goals Tools of Social Science Inquiry Skills: 1. Select, investigate, and present a topic using primary and secondary resources, such as oral interviews, artifacts, journals, documents, photos and letters. 2. Use maps, graphs, statistical data, timelines, charts and diagrams to interpret, draw conclusions and make predictions. 3. Distinguish between fact and opinion and recognize bias and points of view. 4. Use technological tools for research and presentation. 5. Identify, research and defend a point of view/position. 6. Gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, structure, and context to guide the selection. 7. Use distinctions among fact and opinion to determine the credibility of multiple sources. 8. Identify evidence that draws information from multiple sources in response to questions. 9. Use evidence to develop claims in response to questions. 10. Construct explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples, and details with relevant information and data. 11. Present a summary of arguments and explanations to others outside the classroom using print and oral technologies and digital technologies. 12. Draw on disciplinary concepts to explain the challenges people have faced and opportunities they have created, in addressing local, regional, and global problems at various times and places. 13. Explain different strategies and approaches students and other could take in working alone and together to address local, regional, and global problems, and predict possible results of their actions. 14. Use a range of deliberative and democratic procedures to make decisions about and act on civic problems in their classrooms and schools.
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Culture Skills: 1. Examine how human beings create, learn, share, and adapt to culture. 2. Understand that cultures are dynamic and change over time. 3. Identify elements of culture as well as similarities and differences among cultural groups across time and place. 4. Examine changes in the relationship between peoples, places and environments.
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Fifth Grade Social Studies Essential Learning Goals Economics Skills: 1. Apply the following economic concepts: scarcity, supply and demand, specialization of regions, nations and individuals (trade), trade-offs (opportunity cost), income, wealth and sources of wealth. 2. Identify the role of technology in our economy and how our economy has changed from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy. 3. Interpret the past, explain the present, and predict future consequences of economic decisions. 4. Compare the benefits and costs of individual choices. 5. Identify positive and negative incentives that influence the decisions people make. 6. Identify examples of the variety of resources (human capital, physical capital, and natural resources) that are used to produce goods and services. 7. Explain why individuals and businesses specialize and trade. 8. Explain the role of money in making exchange easier. 9. Explain the relationship between investment in human capital, productivity, and future incomes. 10. Explain how profits influence sellers in markets. 11. Describe the role of other financial institutions in an economy. Government Skills: 1. Identify important principles in the Declaration of Independence, such as inalienable rights and government by consent of the governed. 2. Identify important principles in the Constitution including: limited government, rule of law, majority rule, minority rights, separation of powers, checks and balances. 3. Identify important principles in the Bill of Rights, such as basic rights and freedoms. 4. Distinguish between powers and functions of local, state and national government. 5. Distinguish the responsibilities and powers of government officials at various levels and branches of government and in different times and places. 6. Explain how a democracy relies on people’s responsible participation, and draw implications for how individuals should participate. 7. Examine the origins and purposes of rules, laws, and key U.S. constitutional provisions. 8. Explain how groups of people make rules to create responsibilities and protect freedoms. 9. Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families. 10. Apply civic virtues and democratic principles in school settings. 11. Identify core civic virtues and democratic principles that guide government, society, and communities. 12. Use deliberative processes when making decisions or reaching judgments as a group. 13. Identify the beliefs, experiences, perspectives, and values that underlie their own and others’ points of view about civic issues. 14. Compare procedures for making decisions in a variety of settings, including classroom, school, government, and/or society. 15. Explain how rules and laws change society and how people change rules and laws. 16. Explain how policies are developed to address public problems.
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Fifth Grade Social Studies Essential Learning Goals History Skills: 1. Summarize the viability and diversity of Native American cultures before Europeans came. 2. Outline the discovery, exploration and early settlement of America. 3. Explain the American Revolution, including the perspectives of patriots and loyalists and factors that explain why the American colonists were successful. 4. Investigate the causes and consequences of Westward Expansion, including: Texas and the Mexican War, Oregon Territory, and the California Gold Rush. 5. Examine cultural interactions among these groups from colonial times to Civil War: Native Americans, Immigrants from Europe, and Africans brought to America. 6. Identify political, economic, and social causes and consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction. 7. Create and use a chronological sequence of related events to compare developments that happened at the same time. 8. Compare life in specific historical time periods to life today. 9. Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities. 10. Explain why individuals and groups during the same historical time period differ in their perspectives. 11. Explain connections among historical contexts and people’s perspectives at the time. 12. Describe how people’s perspectives shaped the historical sources they created. 13. Summarize how different kinds of historical sources are used to explain events in the past. 14. Compare information provided by different historical sources about the past. 15. Infer the intended audience and purpose of a historical source from information within the source itself. 16. Generate questions about multiple historical sources and their relationships to particular historical events and developments. 17. Use information about a particular historical source, including the maker, date, place or origin, intended audience, and purpose to judge the extent to which the source is useful for studying a particular topic. 18. Explain probable causes and effects of events and developments. 19. Use evidence to develop a claim about the past. 20. Summarize the central claim in a secondary work of history.
Global Connections Skills: 1. Global connections have intensified and accelerated the changes faced at the local, national, and international levels. 2. Confront questions. 3. Analyses of the costs and benefits of increased global connections, and evaluations of the tensions between national interests and global priorities, contribute to the development of possible solutions to persistent and emerging global issues.
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Fifth Grade Social Studies Essential Learning Goals Tools of Social Science Inquiry Skills: 1. Select, investigate, and present a topic using primary and secondary resources, such as oral interviews, artifacts, journals, documents, photos and letters. 2. Use maps, graphs, statistical data, timelines, charts and diagrams to interpret, draw conclusions and make predictions. 3. Distinguish between fact and opinion and recognize bias and points of view. 4. Use technological tools for research and presentation. 5. Identify, research and defend a point of view/position. 6. Gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, structure, and context to guide the selection. 7. Use distinctions among fact and opinion to determine the credibility of multiple sources. 8. Identify evidence that draws information from multiple sources in response to questions. 9. Use evidence to develop claims in response to questions. 10. Construct explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples, and details with relevant information and data. 11. Present a summary of arguments and explanations to others outside the classroom using print and oral technologies and digital technologies. 12. Draw on disciplinary concepts to explain the challenges people have faced and opportunities they have created, in addressing local, regional, and global problems at various times and places. 13. Explain different strategies and approaches students and other could take in working alone and together to address local, regional, and global problems, and predict possible results of their actions. 14. Use a range of deliberative and democratic procedures to make decisions about and act on civic problems in their classrooms and schools.
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