Social Studies — Grade 5

Chronology: The time of my life

In their study of chronology the students will use personal timelines and an activity sheet to demonstrate the importance of intact information to achieve accuracy, and compare and contrast their timelines with the chronological information contained in a stratified archaeological site.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Formulating Questions to Meet Information Needs of ESL Students

A multi-activity lesson plan to teach the concept of asking engaging, researchable questions prior to reading which leads to effective inquiries during project work. Using engaging questions creates a sense of connectedness by linking academic contents with students' personal concerns. The lesson is primarily designed for English Language Learners although it can be adapted for mainstream students. This lesson can also be modified for use with grades 4-8.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies and English Language Development)

By Deborah Wilkes, Kristi Triplett, and Karen Waller.

Freedom songs of the civil rights movement

Students will listen to freedom songs recorded during the civil rights movement, 1960–1965. Students will write about personal reactions to the music and lyrics. Through reading and pictures, students will briefly explore historical events where these songs were sung. Listening again, students will analyze and describe — musically — particular song(s).

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Music Education, Social Studies, and Dance Arts Education)

By Merritt Raum Flexman.

The Greensboro Sit-ins

Students will explore the Greensboro Sit-ins. They will experience segregation through drama, research the people involved in the protest at Woolworth's, and then stage a re-enactment of the event.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Information Skills, Theatre Arts Education, Social Studies, and Computer Technology Skills)

By Lucinda Gainey.

In the Spirit of... (Museum Visit)

This is an integrated unit that focuses on masks in cultures as reflections of individual spirits. This lesson focuses on students' observations of masks while visiting a museum.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts, Visual Arts Education, and Social Studies)

By Shannon Kelly.

In the Spirit of...(pre-visit)

This is an integrated unit that focuses on masks in cultures as reflections of individual spirits. In this pre-visit lesson, students will explore the cultures of the Western Hemisphere.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Shannon Kelly.

It's in the garbage

In studying archaeological concepts, students will analyze garbage from different places demonstrate competence in applying the concepts of culture, context, classification, observation and inference, chronology and scientific inquiry.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

A living time line of civil rights

This fifth grade lesson plan is one piece of a civil rights unit. This particular lesson is an opportunity for students to demonstrate knowledge of a specific person or event that occurred during the civil rights movement. The students will share their research with others as they take on the role of a museum artifact.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)

By Laurie Lietz.

Mini Totem Poles

Students will create mini totem poles using paper towel tubes and Crayola Model Magic clay. Totem poles of Northwest Coast Indian tribes will be explored.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

By Mary Ann Athens.

Native American music: Two North Carolina tribes

In this lesson plan, students will listen to songs from two North Carolina tribes. Students will learn about the music through listening, analyzing, singing, moving, and playing instruments.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Music Education and Social Studies)

By Merritt Raum Flexman.

North Carolina Cherokee Indians: The Trail of Tears

In this two week unit, students will study the Cherokee by participating in literature circles, learning about Native American story telling, writing a letter to Andrew Jackson to protest against the Creek War, and more.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Social Studies and English Language Arts)

By Gina Golden.

Observing connections: North Carolina pottery and face jugs

This is the third lesson in a series of three in which students are creating art based on their observations: Lesson 1 Observing connections—art, poetry and the environment; Lesson 2 Observing connections—changing landscapes; Lesson 3 Observing connections—North Carolina pottery and face jugs.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

By Lisa Mitchell.

Spinning spider stories

This interdisciplinary lesson is designed to introduce students to the purpose and process of comparative literature. The literary selections may be altered according to audience and purpose, from grades 5 through 8.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Edie McDowell.

A walk of betrayal: The Trail of Tears

In this lesson plan for fourth and fifth grades, students will read various resources and watch videos about the Cherokee. They will trace the history of the Cherokee, discuss the outcomes of the impact of the white man, and determine how that intrusion led the Cherokee to the Trail of Tears. The students will examine the survival of the Cherokee and explore their accomplishments into the 21st century.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Social Studies)

By Mary Towles.

Walking the Trail of Tears

Students will read accounts and experience what happened on the Trail of Tears. They will discuss the causes of removal, explore the trail and understand the effects it had on the Cherokee.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Social Studies)

By Marsha Davis.

Women In Flight: Using music to study American women pioneers in flight

As North Carolina's 97-98 Christa McAuliffe Teaching Fellow, I designed this plan to musically enhance the 5th grade social studies of American heroes, focusing on women pioneers in flight. It is intended to utilize singing and rhythmic activities to compare and contrast the lives of Amelia Earhart and Christa McAuliffe. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to successfully complete a solo trans-Atlantic flight and tragically disappeared while attempting to fly around the world in 1937. Christa McAuliffe was selected for NASA's Teacher-in-Space program and tragically died in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster. I traditionally use this plan close to the January 28 anniversary of the shuttle disaster.
NOTE: I have suggested specific songs and instrumental selections found in the Silver Burdett music series. However, similar topical songs in other music series or listening selections such as Holst's "The Planets" could be substituted, yet maintain the integrity of the lesson.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Music Education and Social Studies)

By Robin Smathers.

Lesson plans on the web

Flying to Freedom: "Tar Beach and the People Could Fly"

Introduces the significance of genre and historical context through the themes of liberation and racism. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Historical fiction: Using literature to learn about the Civil War

Students use a book from The American Girls Collection® to learn about the characteristics of historical fiction and slavery during the Civil War. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies and English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

History in quilts

Students will recognize how people from different cultures and time periods have passed down the tradition of quiltmaking. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

Provider: National Endowment for the Humanities

I Hear the Locomotives: The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad

Students analyze archival material in order to make connections between the arrival of the railroads and many of the changes that occurred subsequently in the United States and its territories. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provider: National Endowment for the Humanities