LEARN NC

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

Social Studies — Grade 5

Goal 4: The learner will trace key developments in United States history and describe their impact on the land and people of the nation and its neighboring countries.

Objective 4.02. Explain when, where, why, and how groups of people settled in different regions of the United States.

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

Farm animal immigrants
Students will identify a rare or endangered farm animal and then locate its country of origin on a world map. Students will also research the animal and its uses to determine why it was imported.
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
By Meg Millard and Pamela Webb.

Resources on the web

Your town in the past, present, and future
This Xpeditions lesson illustrates one way that the study of geography can be applied to planning for the future. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 and 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
What was Columbus thinking?
In this lesson, students read excerpts from Columbus's letters and journals, as well as recent considerations of his achievements. Students reflect on the motivations behind Columbus's explorations, his reactions to what he found and the consequences, intended... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: EDSITEment
The United States at night
Students look at a map of Russia as seen at night, showing the lights that indicate settlement patterns. They will then look at United States maps to figure out what the U.S. might look like at night, and they will draw U.S. maps illustrating their findings.... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
Pioneer America: Pioneer living
In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students learn about what life was like for early American pioneers. After reading about pioneers in Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie, students conduct independent research on one aspect of pioneer... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Social Studies and Theater Arts Education)
Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
On the Oregon Trail
In this lesson, students work with primary documents and latter-day photographs to recapture the experience of traveling on the Oregon Trail. The goals of this lesson are: to learn about the pioneer experience on the Oregon Trail to... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: EDSITEment
Not "Indians," Many Tribes: Native American Diversity
In this unit from the National Endowment for the Humanities and EdSitement, students will heighten their awareness of Native American diversity as they learn about three vastly different Native groups in a game-like activity using archival documents such... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 and 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: EDSITEment
Lewis and Clark: Why Explore the Vast Unknown?
In this Xpeditions lesson about the Lewis and Clark expedition, students will interpret a map of the West as it was known at the time, learn what President Thomas Jefferson asked Meriwether Lewis to accomplish, and explain why the expedition was important... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)
Provided by: Xpeditions
Interpreting rock art of the Anasazi
Students are introduced to the ancient Anasazi people through samples of rock art preserved in the public lands of the Four Corners region. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)
Provided by: National Geographic
Cyberspace explorer: Getting to know Christopher Columbus
In this lesson, students participate in a cyber scavenger hunt to find information about explorer Christopher Columbus. After the teacher engages students in a discussion about their knowledge of the explorer, the class suggests other questions they would... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 Computer/Technology Skills, English Language Arts, and Social Studies)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Capturing history
In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students study the political and economic reasons for the African-American migration to Northern cities between the World Wars. They discover the similarities and/or differences of life experiences in the South and the North through... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5–8 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)
Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts