The fifth grade social
studies curriculum, a chronological study from the first
Americans to ratification of the Constitution,
introduces students to the early history of the United
States. Students learn to place major events on a
timeline and to analyze their causes and effects. Using
primary and secondary sources, they explore time and
place in seventeenth and eighteenth century America.
Students compare conflicting accounts of the past and
present analysis, both orally and in writing, on the
significant events that shaped the nation. Using a
variety of media, they compile, examine, and present
historical data. Within their historical study of early
America, students deepen their understanding of major
geographical themes and basic economic concepts. They
begin to understand the rudiments of American government
from their introduction to the United States
Constitution which, as the first unit of study,
retrospectively frames their study of the early history
of the nation.
Units of
Study
The First Americans
European Settlement
The New England
Colonies
The Middle Atlantic
Colonies
The Southern Colonies
The American Revolution
The Constitution
