LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Social Studies — Grade 5

Goal 1: The learner will apply key geographic concepts to the United States and other countries of North America.

Objective 1.06. Explain how people of the United States and other countries of North America adapt to, modify, and use their physical environment.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

World War II at home: Victory Gardens
Students will learn about home front activities during World War II. Using primary source documents and photographs, students will discover how children their own age participated by growing Victory Gardens. They will design their own gardens and propaganda posters.
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
By Linda Mazzei.
Looking at an object
In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.10
Students will analyze unfamiliar objects in order to observe the attributes of an object, infer the uses of objects; and discover how archaeologists use objects to learn about the past.
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
Archaeobotany
In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.6
Students will use pictures of seeds, an activity sheet, and a graph to identify seven seeds and the conditions in which they grow. They will also infer ancient plant use by interpreting archaeobotanical samples and determine changing plant use by Native North Carolinians by interpreting a graph of seed frequency over time.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 and 8 Science and Social Studies)

Resources on the web

What is geography?
Students work in groups to analyze a website to locate information about a particular country or region, and then create presentations showing how the geographic concepts described in the themes can be used to help solve environmental problems. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
Weather complaints
Students will refer to a climate map to predict what the climate might be like in specified United States cities. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science and Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
Trees in your own back yard
In this lesson from the Forest History Society in Durham, North Carolina, students survey trees in the schoolyard and itemize their various benefits. They will consider human impacts on trees in the city landscape and the responsibility of citizens for... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 and 8 Social Studies)
Provided by: Forest History Society
Traces: Historic archaeology
In this unit, students will “recover” and analyze artifacts from sites in use from the settlement period to the second half of the 19th century. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities
The significance of private forests in the U. S.
The significance of Private Forests in the U.S. has students study the history of private forests and the values these lands have to the United States . Students will also examine family forests in America , and take a closer look at the challenges facing... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5–7 Science and Social Studies)
Provided by: The Forest History Society
Our National Parks: Recreation and preservation
Students will learn about the National Park system in the United States and identify human modifications to the physical environment and the intended and unintended effects of those modifications. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
Lewis and Clark: Native American Contributions
In this lesson from Xpeditions, students will learn about specific instances in which Native Americans helped the Lewis and Clark expedition overcome obstacles. The expedition faced many difficult challenges, due primarily to the group's lack of knowledge... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: Xpeditions
Lewis and Clark: A Legacy to Remember
In this lesson, students will design a memorial that illustrates the legacy of the Lewis and Clark expedition from a geographic perspective. This lesson should be done after the students study the Lewis and Clark expedition or view the large-format film... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: Xpeditions
Geotourism: Friendly destinations
In this Xpeditions lesson, students learn about a partnership between the government of Honduras and the National Geographic Society to highlight the concept of geotourism and its benefits. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 and 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
Geo-friendly travel: Destination Honduras
In this Xpeditions lesson, students learn about a partnership between the government of Honduras and the National Geographic Society to highlight the concept of geotourism and its benefits. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
The garden
In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore the virtual exhibit, “The Garden”. After the teacher explains that students will learn about the impact human actions have on a variety of areas in the world, they navigate their way through the exhibit... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies)
Provided by: Xpeditions
From forest to farm to urban forest
In this lesson from the Forest History Society in Durham, North Carolina, students examine what happens when the post-war urban development boom crowds out the forest. Students will examine the land use history of Duke Forest from 1930 on, and the variety... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5–8 Science and Social Studies)
Provided by: Forest History Society
From forest to farm and back again
In this lesson plan from the Forest History Society in Durham, North Carolina, students examine the history of land use from colonial settlement to the emergence of modern America at Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts. Students will examine, interpret,... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5–6 Social Studies)
Provided by: Forest History Society
Fire: Fight, flight, or coexistence?
In this lesson from the Forest History Society in Durham, North Carolina, students will examine the history of wildland fires and their impact on society in America. Exploring approaches to living with fire, students investigate various fire management... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: Forest History Society
Design a regional "eco park"
In this Xpeditions lesson, students use the Internet to find out about the plants and animals that live in their local area. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science and Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
Climate controls
This Xpeditions lesson has students consider how various parts of the world and the United States are affected by climate controls such as world air currents. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science and Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
American prehistory: 8000 years of forest management
In this lesson from the Forest History Society in Durham, North Carolina, students study the evidence of 8000 years of Native American prehistoric land use practices. By analyzing images of Native American material culture, students will understand how... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5–6 and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
Provided by: Forest History Society