Social Studies - 5th Grade (2024)
Course Preface
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Core Standards of the Course

Strand 1: The Impacts of Geography and Human Interaction in North America (Pre-Contact to Early Colonization)

Students will understand how geography had a major impact on the more than 500 tribes and over 50 million indigenous people living in North America prior to European exploration, as well as how it affected methods of exploration. They will evaluate how the Age of Exploration and early colonization opened the way for the global movement of ideas, innovations, foods, and values and how the world was affected in ways that we can still see today.

Compelling Questions:

• How did geography help shape the lives of Native Americans and early explorers?
• What were some of the most significant ways Native Americans interacted with European colonists?
• Why did different groups who were in North America during this time experience varying degrees of freedom?
• How did spirituality and ritual shape the lives of Native American individuals and communities?

Standard 5.1.1
Cite examples to illustrate how the physical geography of North America (for example, landforms, seasons, weather, bodies of water) influenced the lives of Native American tribal groups.

Standard 5.1.2
Identify ideas, innovations, and contributions of Native Americans that have had a lasting impact on human civilization (for example, agriculture, respect for the earth and environment, inventions, fashion, art, government, language, medicines, ritual and ceremony).

Standard 5.1.3
Use maps and primary/secondary sources to evaluate the push and pull factors that led to exploration and colonization of North America (for example, fleeing persecution, enslavement, economic advancement, indentured servitude, religious freedom/isolationism).

Standard 5.1.4
Describe how conflicts over land, trade, and alliances sometimes arose during colonization in North America (for example, Bacon’s Rebellion, King Philip’s War, the French and Indian War).

Strand 2: Road to Self-Government
Students will examine British colonial policies that led colonists to becoming Loyalists, Patriots, or neutral leading up to the American Revolution. They will recognize how the actions of key individuals influenced the outcome of the Revolution. Students will explain how the colonists prevailed in gaining their independence and summarize significant ideas in the Declaration of Independence.

Compelling Questions:

• What motivated some groups to be revolutionary, some to be loyalists, and others to be neutral?
• In what ways was the American Revolution a war of ideas?
• Under what circumstances did the Declaration of Independence justify rebellion?
• What are factors that may lead to victory in war?

Standard 5.2.1
Use primary sources to craft an argument representing different perspectives during the period leading to the American Revolution (for example, men and women who were Loyalists, Patriots, Native Americans, enslaved people).

Standard 5.2.2
Summarize the most significant ideas found in the Declaration of Independence.

Standard 5.2.3
Explain how the actions of key individuals and groups influenced the outcome of the American Revolution (for example, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Mercy Warren, Alexander Hamilton, King George III, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, Marquis De Lafayette, Phillis Wheatley).

Standard 5.2.4
Use evidence from primary and secondary sources to craft an argument that explains how the American colonists prevailed over one of the world’s most powerful empires.

Strand 3: United States Government and Citizenship

Students will demonstrate their understanding of the Constitution and its relevance in their lives, including the Bill of Rights, the branches of government, and how the Constitution has changed and been interpreted over time.

Compelling Questions

• What civil rights and liberties are included in the Constitution and Bill of Rights?
• How have the rights and liberties in the Constitution been interpreted and applied to different groups over time?
• What is the purpose of the three branches of government, and how do they interact?

Standard 5.3.1
Use examples from the Constitution to investigate and explain the development, general purpose, and significant foundational principles of the United States government (a compound constitutional republic), as well as earlier documents and philosophies used to help develop the Constitution (for example, the Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, Articles of Confederation, Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy).

Standard 5.3.2
Apply the ideals found in the Preamble of the United States Constitution to historic and current events and issues.

Standard 5.3.3
Explain why the Founders established a compound constitutional republic with three branches, and cite historic and current examples of checks and balances.

Standard 5.3.4
Explain the significance of the Bill of Rights, and identify the impact of one of these amendments in history, a current event, and/or your daily life.

Standard 5.3.5
Investigate how constitutional amendments are passed, and provide examples of how amendments to the Constitution have extended rights to groups originally denied protection under the Constitution (for example, women, enslaved people, immigrants, Black Americans, Native Americans).

Standard 5.3.6
Describe the civic duties members of American society have today (for example, voting, holding public office, jury duty).

Strand 4: 19th Century - A Time of Change

Students will analyze changes brought by Westward Expansion, the Industrial Revolution, and the movement of people. They will understand the effects of this expansion and movement on Native American people and the preservation of those communities while facing adversity. Students will examine how conflicts and division led to the United States Civil War and the lasting impacts of its outcome.

Compelling Questions

• What were some of the impacts of Westward Expansion?
• Why did the North and South go to war?
• How did the Industrial Revolution change our country?

Standard 5.4.1
Use evidence from multiple perspectives (for example, pioneers, 49ers, Black Americans, Chinese Americans, Native Americans, new immigrants, people experiencing religious persecution) to make a case for the most significant social, economic, and environmental changes brought about by Westward Expansion and the Industrial Revolution.

Standard 5.4.2
Use primary sources to explain the driving forces for why people immigrated and emigrated during the 19th century, as well as the ways that movement changed the nation.

Standard 5.4.3
Summarize the impacts of forced relocation and assimilation on Native American people and how they have preserved their communities in the face of such adversity.

Standard 5.4.4
Use primary and secondary sources to compare how differences in economics, politics, and culture (for example, slavery, political and economic competition in Western territories) between the North and South led to the United States Civil War.

Standard 5.4.5
Explain how the actions of key individuals and groups influenced the outcome of the Civil War (for example, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Clara Barton, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Stonewall Jackson, William Tecumseh Sherman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Rose O’Neal Greenhow, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman).

Standard 5.4.6
Use evidence from primary and secondary sources to craft an argument that explains how the United States of America prevailed over the Confederate States of America in the United States Civil War.

Standard 5.4.7
Identify the Civil War’s most important outcomes (for example, end of slavery, Reconstruction, expanded role of the federal government, industrial growth in the North), and explain how outcomes of the Civil War continue to resonate today.

Strand 5: 20th Century to Now (Modern America: Social Movements, Economic Changes, Modern Warfare, and Current Events)

Students will examine impactful conflicts, moments, movements, communities, and people of the 21st century. They will analyze the role of the United States as a world power and the effects of its territorial and colonial expansion.

Compelling Questions:

• What makes an event historically significant and worthy of remembering?
• Have the benefits of leading on the world stage outweighed the costs for the United States?
• How do social movements form and grow?
• What are the benefits of learning about communities that are different from our own?
• How did the United States’ territorial expansion affect the people native to those lands?

Standard 5.5.1
Compare the motivations for and desired outcomes of U.S. entry into two or more of the wars of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Standard 5.5.2
Compare the motivations for and desired outcomes of the entry of the United States into World War I and World War II.

Standard 5.5.3
Craft an evidence-based argument for why a particular event should be considered the most significant moment in UnitedStates history from 1900–now (for example, Stock Market Crash of 1929, Great Depression, Voting Rights Act of 1965, terrorist attack on 9/11, the launch of the Internet).

Standard 5.5.4
Make an evidence-based claim about the role the United States should play as a world power and leader in solving current global problems.

Strand 6: Current National Issues and Potential Solutions

Students will understand current national issues and explore their rights and responsibilities as citizens and residents of the United States.

Compelling Questions:

• What are the most pressing issues facing the United States today?
• What are some of the ways students your age can help to make a positive difference?
• Who are some of the most inspiring people working to make positive change in the United States?

Standard 5.6.1
Investigate and report on current pressing issues facing the United States, and propose potential solutions that they can support (for example, raising awareness through digital media, energy and resource conservation, letter writing, fundraising).

Standard 5.6.2
Evaluate the methods and impact of individuals and/or groups making positive changes in the United States today as models for civic engagement.

Standard 5.6.3
Connect the causes and lasting effects of at least two social movements and their leaders in the 20th Century (for example, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, labor unions, the Civil Rights Movement, child labor reforms).

Standard 5.6.4
Research and summarize the accomplishments and contributions of a minority community in the United States today.

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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.