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Social Studies Curriculum Social Studies - 5th Grade
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Standard 4

Students will understand that the 19th century was a time of incredible change for the United States, including geographic expansion, constitutional crisis, and economic growth.
  • Amazing Americans
    Discover the inventors, politicians, performers, activists and other everyday people who made the United States what it is today.
  • Bill, Are You Bogus
    Students will learn about the components of a dollar bill and what the government does to make it more difficult to counterfeit money.
  • Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell
    By looking at Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell, students explore why and how the geological wonders of Utah's Bryce Canyon were set aside for public enjoyment in the early 20th century. Students describe the formations that deterred settlement and encouraged tourism in Bryce Canyon and examine how it was used by settlers, scientists, government agencies, and tourists.
  • Civil War - Jump Back in Time
    View a timeline and read stories about the Civil War.
  • Civil War Photos.NET
    This website has hundreds of photographs from the Civil War.
  • Edward S. Curtis's The North American Indian: Photographic Images
    This American Memory, a Library of Congress project, includes pictures of The North American Indians.
  • Engaging Students in a Collaborative Exploration of the Gettysburg Address
    This lesson plan invites groups of students to learn more about the historical significance of President Abraham Lincoln's famous speech as well as the time period and people involved. Students will work together, participating in inquiry projects based on the speech, using the words and phrases of the speech itself.
  • Exhibit: The Louisiana Purchase
    This exhibit from the National Archives shows the original documents and includes Napoleon Bonaparte's signature.
  • Go West: Imagining the Oregon Trail
    After this lesson, students will have learned about the pioneer experience on the Oregon Trail,compared and contrasted modern-day travel experiences with travel experiences of the 19th century, and synthesized historical data through creative writing.
  • Heritage Gateways
    This is the official Utah sesquicentennial web site for K-12 education. It features information about the Mormon Pioneer Trail as well as interaction with the modern-day pioneers on the trail during the 1997 summer months
  • History in Quilts
    Throughout history, women and sometimes men have used the art of quilting for many diverse purposes: to keep warm, to decorate their homes, to express their political views, to remember a loved one. Heighten your students' awareness of how quilts have reflected and continue to reflect the lives of the people who create them, and of how quilts record the cultural history of a particular place and time. This theme of History in Quilts contains two separate lessons that can stand alone or be taught in conjunction with one another.
  • Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today
    Find out what it means to come to the United States as an immigrant from the early 20th century through the early 21st century.
  • Interactive Lewis and Clark
    Check out all the things you can learn about the Lewis and Clark expedition including: maps, biographies, animals, video, and activities.
  • LOC: Selected Civil War Photographs for Teachers
    This Library of Congress collection titled "Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865," contains 1,118 photographs which feature Civil War encampments, battlefields, and portraits including Lincoln, Lee, and Grant) as captured by Mathew Brady and his staff of photographers. Brady's photography exhibits marked the first time Americans witnessed the carnage of war in their homeland.
  • PBS- The West
    Learn about the different groups of people involved in the movement west and what happened to them.
  • Scholastic: Dear America
    The American Civil War was a conflict that pitted the Northern states against the Southern states. The war raged for four years (1861-65) and was marked by some of the bloodiest battles of modern history. Everyone was engaged on supporting the war effort even when battles were taking place in view of their homes.
  • Teaching With Documents: The Homestead Act of 1862
    Learn about The Homestead Act of 1862 from copies of the original documents.
  • The Great American Bison
    A lesson plan that helps students understand the impact of the Transcontinental Railroad on American bison herds. Compare and contrast differing perspectives. Upcycle found objects into artwork.
  • The History Place: Child Labor In America 1908-1912
    Check out photographer Lewis W. Hine's (1874-1940) photographs and captions documenting Child Laborers from 1908-1912.
  • The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad
    Analyzing archival material such as photos, documents, and posters, students can truly appreciate the phenomenon of the Transcontinental Railroad. They can begin to answer some important questions: Why was the Transcontinental Railroad built? How did it affect Native Americans? Other minorities? How was the environment affected? What were the advantages of railroad travel? Who used the railroads, and why? Who built the railroad?
  • The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation
    This National Park Service lesson plan commemorates the removal of the Cherokee and the paths that 17 Cherokee detachments followed westward. It also promotes a greater awareness of the Trail's legacy and the effects of the United States' policy of American Indian removal not only on the Cherokee, but also on other tribes, primarily the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole.
  • The Trail of Tears Association
    The Trail of Tears Association (TOTA) is a non-profit, membership organization formed to support the creation, development, and interpretation of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Designated as a national historic trail by Congress in 1987, the Trail commemorates the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their homelands in the southeastern United States to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) in 1838 - 1839.
  • The Underground Railroad: Escape From Slavery
    Check out this interactive website taking students through an escape. The website includes teacher lesson plans and activities such as writing a journal entry.
  • Trails of Hope: Overland Diaries and Letters
    Trails of Hope: Overland Diaries and Letters, 1846-1869 is a collection of the original writings of 49 voyagers on the Mormon, California, Oregon, and Montana trails who wrote while traveling on the trail. The collection also includes interactive maps of the area traveled by these pioneers.
  • US History: Inventors & Entrepreneurs
    Students will learn the difference between inventors and entrepreneurs. From talking with adults they will learn some of the benefits inventors and entrepreneurs have provided for society in the last 40 years.
  • Webquest: Exploring Western Expansion
    Learn about actual hardships from letters of the people involved in western expansion.


UEN logo http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Robert  Austin and see the Social Studies website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.