Social Studies Curriculum...
Transcript of Social Studies Curriculum...
Social StudiesCurriculum Guide
August 2009
!"##$%&'()*+,"-(.-/00,1(
.0-"',(.%*2"$1(3*44"-*,*5(6*"2$((
7*8*1%(9::;((
</$(=0,,0>"#8(1%'==(?'4%"-"?'%$2("#(%/$(4$@"1"0#(0=(%/"1(8*"2$A(
(
.%'==( ( )01"%"0#( (
B'%/,$$#(7,CD'1"%( 64'2$(EF(.&0&"$(
G0'##'(75'4',F(3/'"4( 64'2$(HF(I*++'42(!0021(
G02"(7#2$,( .?$-J(K2JF(340>(L1,'#2(
G0M-$,M#(D'&$4( 64'2$1(NOPF(!'1/+*4#$(
G$##"=$4(D*/,$4( 64'2$(QF(.&0&"$(
R'#'(D*,'#( 64'2$(HF(I*++'42(!0021(
<022(D*4,$10#( 64'2$(SF(I*++'42(!0021(
B4"1(3,$#2$#"#( 64'2$(HF(64$$,$M(
.%$?/'#"$(30#4'#( 64'2$1(9(T(SF(64$$,$M(
U"-/'$,(R*80( 64'2$(S(340>(L1,'#2(
D4$#2'#(R*##( 64'2$(HF(340>(L1,'#2(
G0'#(K,,"0%%( 64'2$(9F(340>(L1,'#2(
R'M,$(K,,"1( 64'2$(HF(I*++'42(!0021(
V0*"1'(K4"-&10#( 64'2$(QF(.&0&"$(
W$40#"-'(X4$/$( 64'2$(YF(340>(L1,'#2(
.'4'(X4"$25'#( B"#2$48'4%$#(T(64'2$(YF(64$$,$M(
K4"&(X4"%Z1-/$( 64'2$(HF(64$$,$M(
./'40#(6$4#'2M( .?$-J(K2JF(.&0&"$(
3$-","'(6"8"0,"0( 64'2$1(NOPF(!'1/+*4#$(
.'4'/(60,25'#( 64'2$(QF(.&0&"$(
7,,"10#(64$$4( B"#2$48'4%$#F(I*++'42(!0021(
U'4M(640$1-/( 64'2$(SF(64$$,$M(
7#8$,'(60*@$"'( 64'2$(EF(.&0&"$(
.%$@$#(I'4%,$M( 64'2$(QF(.&0&"$(
7,"10#(I'>,$M( 64'2$(EF(.&0&"$(
R'@"2(I0@"1( 64'2$1(NOPF(!'1/+*4#$(
B'%'4"#'(G'&1"-( B"#2$48'4%$#F(64$$,$M(
K,"Z'+$%/(G0#$1( 64'2$(QF(.&0&"$(
3/4"1%0?/$4(V'5+401( 64'2$(EF(.&0&"$(
G$##"=$4(V'%','( 64'2$(9F(64$$,$M(
K4#"$(V0@$( 64'2$(QF(.&0&"$(
D$%%M(U'#,$M( 64'2$(EF(.&0&"$(
)/M,,"1(U-U",,'#( 64'2$(YF(I*++'42(!0021(
U'48'4$%(U-U0440>( 64'2$(EF(.&0&"$(
./$",'(U$20>( B"#2$48'4%$#F(340>(L1,'#2(
!"#$%&#'()"*+,-./-'( 0.-1%2(3456(7-2+89.'%(
!%22/$-(:%;<".,(=+%->>%.( 0.-1%(?6(@.";(A2&-'1(
B-9.-(:"../2( 0.-1%(C6(@.";(A2&-'1(
@-./'(D%-$"$*( 0.-1%(C6(0.%%&%#(
E.-1&%#(F/$%( 0.-1%2(3456(7-2+89.'%(
GH%(F/$+-.12( 0.-1%(I6(@.";(A2&-'1(
J',+"'#(F";%( 0.-1%(K6(=*"*/%(
L%&&#(F#-'( 0.-1%(C6(0.%%&%#(
=-&&#(F#-'( 0.-1%(M6(@.";(A2&-'1(
!-2"'(=$+%%,N( 0.-1%2(C(O(?6(P988-.1(7""12(
!%''/>%.(=$+9&N( 0.-1%2(C(O(I6(0.%%&%#(
G&/N-8%,+(=%/>>%.( 0.-1%(?6(P988-.1(7""12(
Q-H/1(=%'%$+-&( 0.-1%2(3456(7-2+89.'%(
B%2&/%(=+-'*( 0.-1%(M6(P988-.1(7""12(
)%R+-'(=+-.<(7-.'%.( 0.-1%(S6(=*"*/%(
Q-H/1(7-.,/*( 0.-1%(M6(P988-.1(7""12(
=,%<+-'/%(7%&,%.( 0.-1%2(3456(7-2+89.'%(
0&%''(7/%T%.( 0.-1%2(3456(7-2+89.'%(
@-.#(7/&&/-T2( 0.-1%(K6(=*"*/%(
(
PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT
Rationale
“There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder
than its emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the formation
of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no
defect in the traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active cooperation
of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying.”
John Dewey
“The purpose of education is not just for kids to have choices, but for kids to act on their
knowledge, to create structures, and to change and transform structures so that the world
is a better place for everybody.”
A teacher at C. Wright Mills Middle School
Teaching for Social Justice editors: Ayers, Hunt, and Quinn
Children construct new understanding of a democratic society and become active
participants through their experiences. They develop a working knowledge of the
economic, social, political, geographic, and historical elements that comprise the human
eco-system in which we, as a nation and world, must live. In order for our world to
achieve balance and sustainability, we learn to evaluate our choices as members of a
global community.
We understand the responsibilities of being members of a free democratic society.
As a community of learners, we respect the cultural heritage of others within our own
community and the global society. Our students develop attitudes needed for fair play,
cooperation, and self-expression. We expect quality efforts from ourselves and others,
and develop an appreciation for individual differences. Social studies provides
opportunities for developing reflective and active democratic citizens who support a just
and humane society. Rather than being overwhelmed or apathetic, children gain insight
and courage, which empowers them to work toward meeting the changes of the future.
As we teach we remember:
• that everything cannot be taught or learned in school. We give time and resources to
study in depth.
• that complex problems require complex thinking not simple solutions.
• that as we evaluate how and what we teach, we listen to children reflect and evaluate
what they understand.
• that children learn best through “experiencing” the real world; we provide and create
situations that optimize experiential learning.
• that the classroom is a microcosm for social problem solving and change.
• that social studies is an ideal vehicle for integration with other subject matter.
!!"#$%%&'$($)"*"!+,+-"!+,./,%/"01,(2"
3$.-"4556""
78-"!1'&,("!+$/&-2"#$%%&'$($)"0$&/-"91%":&..-+;,"<$=(&'""!'811(2"&2"1%>,.&?-/"
,''1%/&.>"+1"+8-"@"2+%,./2"19"!1'&,("!+$/&-2".1+-/"&."+8-"!+,+-"!+,./,%/2A"
"
• <1(&+&',("!B2+-)2"
• C'1.1)&'2"
• D&2+1%B"
• 0-1>%,E8B"
• !1'&,("!'&-.'-F#$(+$%-"
"
G2"1.-"19"+8-"9&.,("2+-E2"&."'1)E(-+&.>"+8-"!1'&,("!+$/&-2"#$%%&'$($)"0$&/-H"I-"),/-"
,"+81%1$>8"%-J&-IH"),;&.>"'1)E,%&21.2",./"'1%%-(,+&1.2"9%1)"1$%"1I.">1,(2",./"
+8-"@"2+%,./2"19"!1'&,("!+$/&-2"+1"+8,+"19"+8-"K((&.1&2"!+,+-"!+,./,%/2L""""
"
!"#"$%&'#(%)*+"M./-%2+,./"E1(&+&',("2B2+-)2"NM!"-)E8,2&2O"
"
!"#"$%&'#(%),+"M./-%2+,./"-'1.1)&'"2B2+-)2"NM!"-)E8,2&2O"
"
!"#"$%&'#(%)-L"M./-%2+,./"-J-.+2H"+%-./2H"&./&J&/$,(2",./")1J-)-.+2"
28,E&.>"+8-"8&2+1%B"19"KPH"M!"*"1+8-%A"
"
!"#"$%&'#(%).L"M./-%2+,./"I1%(/">-1>%,E8B",./"+8-"-99-'+2"19">-1>%,E8B"1."
21'&-+B"NM!"-)E8,2&2O"
"
!"#"$%&'#(%)/+"M./-%2+,./"21'&,("2B2+-)2"NM!"-)E8,2&2O"
"
G9+-%"'1)E%-8-.2&J-"%-J&-IH"&+"I,2"/-+-%)&.-/"+8,+",(("@"2+%,./2",./">1,(2"QR"S"QTH"
,2"E$+"91%+8"=B"+8-"!+,+-"19"K((&.1&2H",%-",/-U$,+-(B"%-E%-2-.+-/",+",(("&./&J&/$,("
>%,/-"(-J-(2A"
"
"
REVISED SCOPE AND SEQUENCE CHART (7/10/09)
G- Opportunity to make global connection
Grade Level
KINDERGARTEN
FIRST SECOND THIRD
FOCUS Me
Me and how I can impact
my world
Community Beyond our Community
UNIFYING
THEMES
Me and My World Roles/Belonging
Individuals have the
potential to make a
difference in their world
Individuals depend on one
another
Members of communities
have responsibilities.
Communities are alike and
different
Communities change over
time
ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
Who am I?
How do I belong?
How do others belong?
How are we alike and
different?
What is a community?
How are community
members responsible to
each other?
How are people who live
in a community alike and
different?
How do communities
change over time?
How are communities alike
and different?
What makes a community a
community?
UNITS/
CONTEXT
Individual, Home, and
School
• Day to day rules
and responsibilities
• Making good
decisions
• Friendship
• My Family (G)
• My School (G)
• Families and
Friends (G)
• Neighborhoods
and Schools (G)
• Taking care of our
earth (G)
• City/Farm (G)
• People and events
(past and present)
that impact our
world (G)
• Classroom
community
• School community
• Winnetka-
historical and
modern day
• Modern day
community outside
of Winnetka (G)
• Chicagoland /
Illinois (G)
• Native Americans
(G)
• Pioneers (G)
REVISED SCOPE AND SEQUENCE CHART (7/10/09)
G- Opportunity to make global connection
GRADE
LEVEL
FOURTH FIFTH SIXTH SEVENTH/EIGHTH
FOCUS Peoples of North America Exploration and
Encounters
Ancient Civilizations Identity
UNIFYING
THEMES
Diversity and
Interconnectedness
Power, Control and
Movement
Enduring Characteristics
of Civilizations
Individual and Community
Identity
ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
How are the regions and
people of North America
unique?
How and why do people
come to different regions
of North America?
How and why are the
regions and people of
North America
interconnected?
What motivates people to
explore, conquer and
move?
What happens to people
who are conquered?
How did the United
States become a Nation?
How do civilizations
originate and organize?
How and why do
civilizations innovate and
evolve?
How does identity affect the
decisions we make and the
communities we create?
UNITS
/CONTEXT
• States/Regional
studies-
comparative studies
• Immigration –
African American,
European, Latino,
and Asian
Experience (G)
• African American
Experience and
Forced Migration
(G)
• Explorers and the
Birth of Maps
(1490-1600) (G)
• Encounters and
Settlements
(1600-1700) (G)
• Colonial Life
(1700-1770s)
• Ancient Egypt
(G)
• Ancient Greece
and Rome (G)
• Middle Ages
(w/exposure to
Islamic
Civilization) (G)
7th
Grade
• Identity
• World Religions (G)
• Constitution
• Revolution
8th
Grade
• Identity
• Collective Identity and
Global Community (G)
• Rights
1
ME - KINDERGARTEN
Political Science Economics History Geography Social Science/Culture Established Goals:
To develop an awareness of
self in relation to others
within the school community
What are my rules and
responsibilities at school?
-Develop an awareness of
rules, safety guidelines, and
expected behavior and
conduct
How can we work together
to solve problems and make
good choices? What are the
consequences of my
choices?
-Exercise responsible choices
in a variety of situations
- Begin to develop an
understanding of the
importance of each
individual’s contribution to
the group process
- Begin to understand the role
of voting in the political
process
- Begin to exercise respect for
diversity of opinion
What makes a good leader?
Who are my leaders?
(school/home)
-Describe qualities of a
positive leader including the
ability to compromise and
negotiate
-Identify their leaders
(principals, teachers, peers)
and how they help them
How can I be a friend?
-Identify and describe
qualities of a friend
-Try to use these qualities in
their friendships with others
Established goals:
To become a resourceful,
productive and responsible
member of the classroom
community
What are my jobs at school?
-Describe and participate in
jobs at school
How do I take care /share
my classroom?
-Identify and share the
resources, show respect for
resources in my room, clean-
up, be responsible for
personal belongings (hang up
coat, backpack, check mail)
How do I trade for what I
need/want?
-Identify and demonstrate
exchanges through
negotiation and compromise
(i.e. books, markers, games,
activities, blocks)
Established goals:
To develop a sense of
belonging and connectedness
to family, heritage, school,
community, nation, and
world
To develop an awareness of
relationships between people
and events in time and space
What are the important
events that affect me and
my world? When did they
happen?
-Identify personal/school
events, incidents, historical
events connected to present
day happenings
How do I celebrate and
remember important events
and people?
-Recognize and/or celebrate
holidays
Established goals:
To develop an understanding
of the relationship between
geographical factors such as
location and physical features
To develop an awareness of
animal habitats in our
neighborhood
How do I identify places,
supplies in my classroom,
school building,
playground?
-Identify places and supplies
in their classroom, school
building and playground
What animal habitats are in
my neighborhood?
-Identify animal habitats
How can we represent our
surroundings?
-Observe and draw
surroundings
In what ways does the
weather and the change of
seasons affect me and my
environment?
-Describe how people dress
for various activities and
weather conditions
-Observe and describe the
weather
-Describe the four seasons of
the year
-Observe changes in the
natural vegetation of their
neighborhood during the four
seasons
What can I use to learn
about my world?
-Use models such as globes,
maps, books, photographs,
magazines, and videos to
learn about their world
Established goals:
To identify relationships
among people
To begin to form an
understanding and acceptance
of similarities and differences
of individuals
To gain an awareness of
animal communities in the
neighborhood
How are people alike and
different?
-Identify similarities and
differences
How do individuals learn
from one another?
-Describe how students learn
from one another
What are the unique
customs and traditions in
our families?
-Compare and contrast family
customs and traditions
How do we recognize and
understand the
interdependence of family
and animal communities?
-Describe how their actions
affect animals and their
surroundings
Essential Questions:
Who am I?
Unifying Themes:
Me and My World
Context:
Individual, Home and School
Teacher Note: While the
strands appear separate in
the middle of the
document, this simply
serves as a means of
developing focus questions
for discussion and inquiry.
The sample performance
tasks blend the strands
back into cohesive culminating experiences.
POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE TASKS:
Teacher observations and anecdotal records.
Group and individual projects.
Informal evaluations of daily interactions and experiences.
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS:
Global connections as provided through the school and family focuses
will be made when opportunities arise that are relevant and
meaningful to students and their experiences.
Kindergarten Social Studies Units
Strand #1: Political Science
Established goals:
-To develop an awareness of self in relation to others within the school community.
Essential Questions:
1. What are my rules and responsibilities at school?
Understandings:
-Develop an awareness of rules, safety guidelines, and expected behavior and
conduct
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Identify and name the rules and responsibilities
Optional Activities:
-Developing class rules
-Job Chart
-Keep track of personal belongings
2. How can we work together to solve problems and make good choices? What are the
consequences of my choices?
Understandings:
-Students will exercise responsible choices in a variety of situations
-Students will begin to develop an understanding of the importance of each
individual’s contribution to the group process
-Students will begin to understand the role of voting in the political process
-Students will begin to exercise respect for diversity of opinion
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Help each other
-Listen to each other
-Give examples of both positive and negative consequences
-Use voting to make group decisions
Optional Activities:
-Class meetings
-Problem-solving during play
-Allowing children to experience natural consequences
3. What makes a leader? Who are my leaders?
Understandings:
-Students will begin to understand leadership qualities
-Students will begin to differentiate between positive and negative leadership
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Describe qualities of a positive leader including the ability to compromise and
negotiate
-Identify their leaders (principals, teachers, peers) and how they help them
Optional Activities:
-Mapping the classroom and playground
-Building with various materials
-Dramatic play
-Drawing
4. How can I be a friend?
Understandings:
-Students will begin to develop an awareness and respect needed for fair play,
sharing, cooperation and self-expression
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Identify and describe qualities of a friend
-Try to use these qualities in their friendships with others
Optional Activities:
-Play interactions
-Role play
-Discussions
-Stories
-Songs
Kindergarten Social Studies Units
Strand #2: Economics
Established goals:
-To become a resourceful, productive and responsible member of the classroom
community
Essential Questions:
1. What are my jobs at school?
Understandings:
-Students will develop a sense of what it means to be a responsible member of a
classroom community
-Students will develop an understanding of division of labor
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Describe and participate in jobs at school
Optional Activities:
-Job Chart
-Clean up
-Discussion on shared responsibility
2. How do I take care of and share my classroom?
Understandings:
-Exercise resourcefulness and responsibility for materials and equipment
-Develop an understanding of the use, sharing, and conservation of materials
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Identify and share the resources, show respect for resources in my room, clean
up, be responsible for personal belongings
Optional Activities:
-organizing and using art materials in a purposeful way
-recycling
-Block building
-Let’s Pretend Room
3. How do I trade to get what I want and need?
Understandings:
-Develop an awareness of the value of exchange in a variety of media
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Identify and demonstrate exchanges through negotiation and compromise
Optional Activities:
-Discussion of social justice
-Snack
-Play
-Food pantry contribution
-Garden Shop
-Post Office
Kindergarten Social Studies Units
Strand #3: History
Established goals:
-To develop a sense of belonging and connectedness to family, heritage, school,
community, nation, and world
-To develop an awareness of relationships between people and events in time and space
Essential Questions:
1. What are the important events that affect me and my world? When did they happen?
Understandings:
-Students will develop a sense of our past through conversations and projects
about family and school.
-Students will develop a sense of time
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Identify personal/school events, incidents, historical events connected to present
day happenings
Optional Activities:
-Daily calendar (days and months of the year)
-Memory wall and book
-Portfolio collections: photos, pieces of child’s work throughout the year
-Birthday celebrations
-Show and Tell/Sharing
2. How do I celebrate and remember important events and people?
Understandings:
-Students will develop awareness of holidays and special events
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Recognize and/or celebrate holidays
Optional Activities:
-Discussions of family traditions
-Reading books about holidays
-Recognize holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Thanksgiving,
Veteran’s Day, and President’s Day
-Discuss special events such as the Presidential election
-Dramatic Play
-Block Building
Kindergarten Social Studies Units
Strand #4: Geography
Established goals:
-To develop an understanding of the relationship between geographical factors such as
location and physical features
-To develop an awareness of animal habitats in our neighborhood
Essential Questions:
1. How do I identify places, supplies in my classroom, school building, playground?
Understandings:
-Students will build an awareness of the location of the classroom learning centers
-Students will build an awareness of the location of the playground equipment and
boundaries
-Students will build an awareness of the various locations within the school
building such as the nurse’s office, principal’s office, gymnasium, auditorium,
etc.
-Students will build an awareness of home in relation to school
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Identify places and supplies in their classroom, school building and playground
Optional Activities:
-Gingerbread Hunt
-Tour of classroom, school building and playground
2. What animal habitats are in my neighborhood?
Understandings:
-Students will build an awareness of the animal habitats in our neighborhood
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Identify animal habitats
Optional Activities:
-Monarch Butterfly
-Winter Birds
-Penguins
-Squirrels
-Insects
3. How can we represent our surroundings?
Understandings:
-Students will be aware that there are ways to visually represent a place in their
world
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Observe and draw surroundings
Optional Activities:
-Mapping the classroom and playground
-Building with various materials
-Dramatic play
-Drawing
4. In what ways does the weather and the change of seasons affect me and my
environment?
Understandings:
-Students will develop an awareness that there are four seasons in the year
-Students will develop an awareness that certain clothes and activities are suited
to the different seasons and weather conditions
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Describe how people dress for various activities and weather conditions
-Observe and describe the weather
-Describe the four seasons of the year
-Observe changes in the natural vegetation of their neighborhood during the four
seasons
Optional Activities:
-Discuss and/or draw pictures of changes of their environment during the four
seasons
-Getting dressed for weather conditions
-Discussing the weather at calendar time
-Sharing nature at Show and Tell
5. What can I use to learn about my world?
Understandings:
-Students will be aware that there are tools which represent and describe places in
their world
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Use models such as globes, maps, books, photographs, magazines, and videos to
learn about their world
Optional Activities:
-Look at maps and globes in relation to units of studies and vacations
-Read non-fiction books, magazines and show videos related to units of studies
and vacations
-Display tools for children’s usage
Kindergarten Social Studies Units
Strand #5: Social Science/Culture
Established goals:
-To identify relationships among people
-To begin to form an understanding and acceptance of similarities and differences of
individuals
-To gain an awareness of animal communities in the neighborhood
Essential Questions:
1. How are people alike and different?
Understandings:
-Students will begin to develop an awareness of similarities and differences
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Identify similarities and differences
Optional Activities:
-Self portraits
-Reading books
-Sharing stories, traditions, photos, illustrations
-Discussions
2. How do individuals learn from one another?
Understandings:
-Students will begin to develop respect needed for fair play, self-expression and
varying capabilities
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Describe how they learn from one another
Optional Activities:
-Students teach others how to make a project or play a game
-Peer interactions (discussions, helping one another, playing together)
3. What are the unique customs and traditions in our families?
Understandings:
-Students will begin to develop an awareness of celebrations, holidays and
cultural/religious differences
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Compare and contrast family customs and traditions
Optional Activities:
-Sharing customs and traditions in our family
-Art
-Play
-Birthdays
-Cooking
-Music
-Stories
4. How do we recognize and understand the interdependence of family and animal
communities?
Understandings:
-Students will begin to recognize and understand the interdependence of family
and animal communities
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to
-Describe how their actions affect animals and their surroundings
Optional Activities:
-Native Americans
-Class pets
-Monarchs
-Winter Birds
1
ME AND HOW I CAN IMPACT MY WORLD – FIRST GRADE
Political Science Economics History Geography Social Science/Culture
How do we cooperate at
home, in school and in
our neighborhoods?
Why do we have rules at
home and at school?
What are those rules?
What roles and
responsibilities do we
have at home, school,
and in our
neighborhood?
What are the roles and
responsibilities of other
people at home, school,
and in our
neighborhood?
How do I make
decisions as a member
of a group?
What are goods and
services?
What goods and services
do families and school
members want and
need?
Where do our goods
come from?
What human, natural,
and capital resources are
involved in making a
product?
How do we use money?
What holidays and
traditions do we
celebrate at home and at
school?
How can I organize
important events?
How have/has my
family, school, and
others changed over
time?
How can we use maps
and globes to learn
about the world?
How do changes in our
environment impact our
lives?
Describe ways the
environmental changes
impact people?
Where did our families
come from?
Locate places in our
world where our
families come from.
How are families alike
and different?
How do individuals
learn from one another?
How do our actions
impact the world?
What are the basic needs
to survive?
What do we need to do
to take care of our earth
for the future?
Essential Questions: How do I belong?
How do others belong?
How are we alike and different?
Unifying Themes: Roles/Belonging
Individuals have the potential to make a difference in the world
Context/Units: Families and friends, neighborhoods and schools, Taking care of our earth, City/farm,
People and events (past and present) that impact our world.
Teacher Note: While the
strands appear separate in
the middle of the
document, this simply
serves as a means of
developing focus questions
for discussion and inquiry.
The sample performance
tasks blend the strands
back into cohesive culminating experiences.
POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE TASKS:
Teacher observations and anecdotal records.
Group and individual projects.
Informal and formal evaluations of daily interactions with others and their
environment.
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS:
We rely on the land and earth.
Our actions have an impact on others and on the earth.
We explore the self, ideas, points of view, and the earth.
First Grade Social Studies Unit – City/Farm
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
-Students will understand that there are similarities and differences between city and farm
life.
-Students will understand how farms impact their lives as well as how their choices
impact the world around them.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
- Differences between farm and barn
- Changes in the environment impact lives
- Farms have changed over time
- How farms impact their lives and can
have an impact on their world
Essential Questions:
- What are the roles and responsibilities of
a producer and consumer?
- What goods and services do farms
provide?
- How are we alike and different?
- How do changes in our environment
impact our lives?
Students will know:
- What are producers and consumers
- Where farms are located and why.
- What a farm needs to function.
Students will be able to:
- Explain how things (life) on a farm are
alike and different.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
- Draw a picture of a farm at the
beginning of the study and at the
end. (What is a farm?)
- Build a farm and city using blocks
and manipulatives.
Other Evidence:
- Journal writing/ stories
- Drawings
- Book Choice
- Play
- Class Discussions/ Chart
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
- Farm Book
- Planting a crop (science)
- Kernel Counting (place value/math)
- Field Trip to a Working Farm
- Seed Study
- Visit a farmer’s market
- Animal Story Problems
- Measuring a corn stalk/ ear of corn
- Weighing an ear of corn
- Show how farms have changed over time. Have children draw and build.
- Show pictures of farms and cities: Discuss
- Show pictures of barns and farms: Discuss
- Discuss where food comes from.
- Discuss buildings on farms and their use.
- Discuss the different kinds of farms, i.e. Dairy farms, wheat, soybean, etc.
- Discuss how farms have changed over time.
- Video
- Visit Whole Foods or another grocery store
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Books: Town and Country
All the Places to Love
Farming
Chester’s Barn
Once Upon a Farm
Eating the ABC’s
The Little House
Video: Let’s Go to the Farm
My Neighborhood/ My Community
Materials: Blocks
Barn
Farm Machinery
Growing Supplies
Ears of Corn
Stalks
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Barn vs. Farm
Silo
Farm House
Pasture
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS: Working Farm, Whole Foods, and Farmer’s Market
First Grade Social Studies Unit-Famous People Who Make a Difference
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
- Students will understand that individuals in their lives have had an influence on the
world.
- Students will understand that individuals, currently and historically, have influenced the
world.
-Students will recognize and respect individual qualities within others.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
- Individuals have the potential to
make a difference in the world.
- Students will understand that they,
as individuals, have the potential to
influence their community (family,
classroom, school).
Essential Questions:
- How can individuals make a
difference in their world?
- How can students make a difference
in their world?
Students will know:
- Several influential figures
(historical and current) who have
influenced the world.
- That children can influence their
community (family, classroom,
school).
Students will be able to:
- Identify people in their lives that
influence their world.
- Simply identify how those
individuals (people) influenced the
world.
- Brainstorm strategies that children
can use to influence their world.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
- Journal writing/stories
- Drawings
- Book Choice
- Play
- Class Discussions
- Role Play
- Timeline
Other Evidence:
- Journal writing/stories
- Drawings
- Book Choice
- Play
- Class Discussions
- Role Play
- Timeline
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
- Veterans Day- Research a family member
- Martin Luther King Jr. (biographies)
- Rosa Parks/Bus Boycott re-enactment
- Lunch Counter Sit-In
- Ruby Bridges
- Voting
- Relevant Current Events
- Artistic Expression of MLK’s Dream
- Martin Luther King’s Big Words/Our Big Words Vocabulary
Activity
- United Playground Video
- I Have a Dream Video
Service Project:
- School-wide project (Earth Day)
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Read Alouds:
Martin’s Big Words
0-8234-0619-9 Martin Luther King Jr. Free at Last
087499165x A Picture Book of MLK Jr.
059020517x I Have a Dream
0-8239-2415-7 Martin Luther King, Jr.
If a Bus Could Talk
Rosa by Nikki Giavonni
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
Student Books:
0-6898-5398-x A Lesson for Martin Luther King Jr.
0-8368-4467-x Martin Luther King, Jr. (People We Should Know)
1-5776-5592-3 Martin Luther King, Jr.
0-7614-2163-7 The Courage to Make…
0-516-23436-6 Martin Luther King, Jr.
0-516-22517-0 Martin Luther King, Jr.
0-7660-2300-1 Read About Martin Luther King Jr.
0-7565-0114-8 Martin Luther King, Jr.
0822534770 MLK Life of Determination
0822546744 Martin Luther King Jr.
0822534789 Rosa Parks A Life of Courage
0141307102 I am Rosa Parks
0516258761 Rosa Parks
0836847555 Rosa Parks (People We Should Know)
0-7565-0792-8 Rosa Parks
0439513626 Let’s Read About Ruby Bridges
RELATED VOCABULARY:
- Boycott
- Segregation
- Discrimination
- Protest
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
- Various performing groups within the community
1
COMMUNITY- SECOND GRADE
Political Science Economics History Geography Social Science/Culture What are the rules in our
classroom, school and
community?
Explain and follow rules.
How do I make decisions
as a member of a
community?
Discuss ways in which
groups make responsible
decisions.
How do we cooperate at
home and at school?
Describe ways we
cooperate at home and at
school.
Why is it important to
have rules and laws?
Explain why it’s important
to have rules and laws.
Who are our community
leaders and how do we
choose them?
Identify community
leaders and how they are
chosen.
What does it mean to be
a responsible citizen in
my community?
Describe the
characteristics/responsibili
ties of a good citizen in a
community.
What are the goods and
services available in our
community?
Identify goods and
services available in our
community.
What are needs and
wants?
Identify the difference
between what we need and
what we want.
Would Winnetka be able
to meet its own needs and
wants?
Discuss ways in which
Winnetka depends on
other communities.
Who provides goods and
services in our
community and for our
community?
Identify people who
produce goods and
services in our community.
How have the school and
community changed over
time?
Identify key individuals,
groups and events in the
development of our
community.
What evidence do we see
in our community of past
customs and cultures?
Explore past traditions
found within the
community.
How did people in our
community make a living
in the past?
Describe how people in
our community made a
living in the past.
What are the important
events that took place in
our community?
Describe important events
in our community’s
history.
What are the physical
features of our school
and community?
Locate and describe the
physical features of our
community.
What information is
needed to make a map?
Identify basic features of a
map.
How is our community
related to the world?
(city, state, country,
continent…)
Describe the relative
location of my community
and world.
How do we have an
impact on our
environment?
Describe and perform
actions that help protect
our environment.
What important events
take place every year in
our school and
community and in other
schools and
communities?
Describe annual events in
our community.
What stories, music and
cultural experiences are
parts of our school and
community? How does
this compare to other
communities?
Explore the stories, music,
and cultural experiences in
our community.
Essential Questions:
What is a community?
How are community members responsible to each other?
How are people who live in a community alike and different?
Unifying Themes:
Individuals depend on one another.
Members of communities have responsibilities.
Context/Units:
Classroom community, School community, historical Winnetka, modern-day
Winnetka, a modern day community outside of Winnetka
Teacher Note: While the
strands appear separate in
the middle of the
document, this simply
serves as a means of
developing focus questions
for discussion and inquiry.
The sample performance
tasks blend the strands
back into cohesive culminating experiences.
POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE TASKS: Take a scavenger hunt around your school to identify important architectural, historical, and cultural features of the building.
Actively participate as a member of the classroom community.
Build a model of Winnetka based upon the five categories of buildings (commercial, governmental, educational, recreational,
and residential).
Write and illustrate a book describing the history of Winnetka.
Write and illustrate a book describing daily life in another community.
Incorporate economic principles into the creation of a class store.
Use profits of the store, and take a field trip to a local grocery store to purchase food for the New Trier Food Pantry.
Participate in an action project to contribute to preserving our environment.
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS:
Participate in a “community exchange.”
Write to pen pals outside of Winnetka.
Participate in the Flat Stanley project.
Compare and contrast folktales from around the world.
Use resources such as Wake up World and PBS DVD series to compare the daily
routines of children of Winnetka to children in towns in other countries.
Second Grade Social Studies Unit – Looking at a Community
This framework should be used to explore Historical Winnetka, Modern-
Day Winnetka, and a Modern-Day Community Outside of Winnetka.
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• To have a greater understanding of the five major components of a functioning
community (recreational, educational, commercial, governmental, and residential) as
a framework for looking at community.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
- A community is a group of people
living together in one place.
- The culture and values of the
people living within the community
help make it what it is.
- Members of a community depend
on one another.
- Different people have different
responsibilities within a
community.
- Communities usually have a place
for you to live, a place for you to
play, and a place for you to learn.
- a community has a way to provide
for what you need.
Essential Questions:
- What is a community?
- How are community members
responsible to each other?
- How are people who live in a
community alike and different?
Students will know:
- There are five major components of
a community and how to recognize
them.
- How to compare and contrast the
various roles within a community.
- We are dependent on one another.
Students will be able to:
- Provide examples of each of the
major components of a community.
- Explain how community members
depend on one another.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
- Write and/or speak about their
understanding of community.
- Select and describe several
important community roles (child
selects method for demonstrating).
- Create a new community (choice of
construction, painting, drawing,
paragraphs).
Other Evidence:
- Anecdotal observations
- Classroom discussion
- Journal entries
Second Grade Social Studies Unit – Looking at a Community
This framework should be used to explore Historical Winnetka, Modern-
Day Winnetka, and a Modern-Day Community Outside of Winnetka.
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
- Exposure to, and practice with, a variety of maps (schoolhouse, community, state,
country, world)
- Reading and classroom discussion
- Review and construction of community timeline
- Interviews with community leaders
- Construct a model of our community
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Books
Me on the Map
Where Do I Live?
Mapping Penny’s World
Somewhere in the World Right Now
What is a Community from A to Z?
Community Helpers from A to Z
Technology
Neighborhood Map Machine
Other
Historical slides and prints
“Families of the World” video series
Winnetka Historical Society
RELATED VOCABULARY:
commerce
community
education
government
location
neighbor
neighborhood
partnership
recreation
residence
responsibility
role
service
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
Trolley Tour
Walking tour of downtown
Visit to post office, fire department, or local businesses
1
BEYOND OUR COMMUNITY– THIRD GRADE
Political Science Economics History Geography Social Science/Culture
How did the organization of
past and present communities
affect the relationships among
these different communities?
Identify the organization and
relationships of past and present
communities.
How are the roles and
responsibilities of community
leaders alike and different?
Compare and contrast the roles
and responsibilities of leaders in
communities.
How can/did individuals make
a difference in Chicago and in
our State? Describe ways that individuals
can make a difference through
their roles and responsibilities.
What are the human and
natural resources? How are
they unique?
Compare and contrast human,
natural and capital resources.
How do/did goods and services
differ from one area to
another?
Compare and contrast goods and
services.
How did the differing
communities interact with one
another?
Define past and present
communities and describe the
interactions between them.
How did the Trade industry
effect growth, population and
the economics of the Chicago
and Illinois?
Investigate the history of
Chicago’s growth and it’s
development through the Trade
period.
How have individuals and
ideas shaped different
communities throughout our
history?
Identify individuals and ideas
that have shaped Chicago and
the State of Illinois.
(biographies, legends, folklore)
What factors cause
communities to change over
time? How are individuals in
communities impacted by these
changes?
Describe changes in Illinois and
identify factors that contributed
to these changes.
Who are the peoples who have
been involved in the
community changes within our
region?
Recognize the different cultures
and peoples of Illinois history.
How has location affected past
and present communities?
Compare and contrast the
locations of past and present
communities.
How can we use maps and
other geographical tools to
learn about different
communities?
Use maps and other geographical
tools.
Where is our extended
community, Chicago, Illinois
and our country located in the
world?
Locate our extended community
including Chicago, Illinois in
relationship to the rest of our
country and the world.
How do we interact with and
impact our environment?
Investigate human interactions
and impact on the environment
in different communities
throughout the State.
How have traditions and
customs changed over time in
various communities?
Compare and contrast past and
present traditions and customs in
various communities.
What makes past and present
communities unique?
Describe the uniqueness of past
and present communities.
How are problems within
different communities
addressed by social
institutions?
Describe the role of social
institutions within communities.
Essential Questions:
How do communities change over time?
How are communities alike and different?
What makes a community a community?
Unifying Themes:
Communities are alike and different.
Communities change over time.
Context/Units:
Chicagoland/Illinois
Native Americans
Pioneers
Teacher Note: While the
strands appear separate in
the middle of the
document, this simply
serves as a means of
developing focus questions
for discussion and inquiry.
The sample performance
tasks blend the strands
back into cohesive culminating experiences.
POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE TASKS:
Describe the societal changes of Illinois’ history.
Recognize and describe historical cultures and communities.
Simulation of Native cultures.
Dramatization of Pioneer life.
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS:
Trade industry connections through the building of Chicago.
European influence to the Native cultures.
European migration and its connection to Westward Expansion.
Current events.
Third Grade Social Studies Unit - Chicagoland / Illinois
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Describe the history and growth of Chicago and its influence on Illinois.
• Explain the changes of Chicago over time.
• Build awareness of Chicago’s rich diversity.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
• Chicago’s resources and location
attracted people of diverse groups
throughout history.
• Chicago’s growth as a city
influenced the expansion of the
United States.
Essential Questions:
• What was already established
before the city?
• What were some of the reasons
people settled in Chicago?
• Who settled Chicago?/When?
• Who had important roles in the
development of the city?
• How did the trade industry impact
the change and development of
Chicago?
• How did people make a living in
Chicago Land?
• What are the geographical benefits
of Chicago?
Students will know:
• Basic geography (i.e., lakes and
waterways)
• Key people in developing Chicago
• Key events that changed Chicago
over time
• Chicago vocabulary terms
Students will be able to:
• Recognize, define and use Chicago
vocabulary terms
• Use research skills to find out about
early life in Chicago
• Use map skills to identify important
geography in Chicago
• Express findings orally and in
writing
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Possible Performance Tasks:
• Comparing and contrasting the job
industry of old Chicago to modern-
day Chicago
• Creating a detailed map,
highlighting important
transportation routes, use of
waterways, and distribution of
goods along these routes
• Creating a display of the World’s
Fair grounds; a key person in
Other Evidence:
• Oral and written responses to
Essential Questions
• Use of Chicago vocabulary in
context
• Articulation of facts about
Chicago’s history and geography
• Artwork related to the
Understandings and Essential
Questions
Chicago’s history; etc.
• Journal/letter writing documenting
an individual’s move to Chicago
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities: • Use K-W-L to assess students’ prior knowledge and identify learning goals for the
unit
• Include fictional readings linked to the identified content standards or
understandings
• Create a timeline map of the development of Chicago during the late 1800s
• Add nonfiction sources to accommodate various reading levels
• Include websites to explore and research historical facts
• Field Trips (Chicago Historical Society/History Museum, DuSable Museum,
Trolley Tour)
Third Grade Social Studies Unit – Native Americans
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Understand the Native Americans’ relationship with their environment.
• Appreciate the structures of the Native American communities, with a focus on
Plains and Woodlands tribes.
• Realize the significance and impact of the interactions among Native Americans,
Europeans, and Pioneer cultures.
Understandings:
Students will understand:
• The settlement of the United States
threatened the lifestyles and culture
of Native Americans
• That Native Americans depended
on their environment for their way
of life
• The historical connections of
Native Americans to Illinois
Essential Questions:
• How and why did Native
Americans come to settle in North
America?
• How did environmental regions
influence Native Americans’
groupings and ways of living?
• What happens when cultures
collide?
• What were the roles of individuals
in Native American communities?
• What Native American cultures
were indigenous to Illinois?
Students will know:
• Key facts about Plains and
Woodlands Indians and their
interactions with settlers
• The roles within a Native American
community
• That Native American groups were
diverse
• Key facts about the environments in
which the Plains and Woodlands
Indians lived
Students will be able to:
• Consider multiple perspectives of
the different peoples
• Identify differences among tribes
and cultural groupings (i.e.,
Woodlands vs. Plains)
• Identifying words and vocabulary
that are rooted in Native American
languages
• Use mapping skills
• Express their findings orally and in
writing
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Possible Performance Tasks:
• Engage in a Pow Wow
• Create a map of Native American
regions highlighting tribal names
within regions
• Create a piece of writing from the
Other Evidence:
• Oral and written responses to
Essential Questions
• Artwork related to Understandings
and Essential Questions
• Articulation of facts about the
perspective of a Native American,
describing his or her views on the
settlers
• Debate the reasons for and against
settlers moving into the Native
Americans’ territory
environments and cultural attributes
of Plains and Woodlands Indians
• Participation in class discussions
• Use of Native American vocabulary
in context
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities: • Mapping • Cooking • Crafts and artifacts • Literature • Simulations • Field Trips (The Field Museum, The Grove, The Mitchell Museum) • Discussion: “What should we do when threatened with relocation – flight, flee, or
agree to move (to a reservation)? What effect would each course of action have
on our lives?”
Third Grade Social Studies Unit - Pioneers
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Understand the impact of Western Expansion on Illinois and the United States.
• Demonstrate the establishment of community during Pioneer times.
• Realize the significance and impact of the interactions between the Native
American and Pioneer cultures.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
• People move for many reasons
• Pioneers relied on collaboration,
courage, and ingenuity to
successfully overcome hardships
and challenges
• Many considerations and decision-
making went into planning a
journey west
• Pioneers and Native Americans
experienced different interactions
with one another, based on personal
view points
• Westward movement was essential
for the country’s expansion
Essential Questions:
• What is a pioneer?
• Why did people leave their homes
and head west?
• How did geography influence their
travels and destinations?
• What was daily life for a pioneer
like?
• What was the relationship between
pioneers and Native Americans?
• How did westward expansion shape
the country and its people?
Students will know:
• Key facts about westward
movement, pioneer life on the
prairie, and interactions with Native
Americans
• Pioneer vocabulary and terms
• Basic geography
Students will be able to:
• Recognize, define, and use pioneer
vocabulary in context
• Use research skills to learn about
life while traveling on a prairie
• Express findings orally, in writing,
and through role-playing
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Possible Performance Tasks:
• Participate in role-playing the daily
life of a pioneer while at the
Pioneer Room
• Create a realistic fiction pioneer
family with peers
• Create a Pioneer Journal,
documenting daily life on the trail
Other Evidence:
• Oral and written responses to
Essential Questions
• Use of pioneer vocabulary in
context
• Articulation of facts about
westward expansion, life on the
prairie, and related geography
• Artwork related to the
Understandings and Essential
Questions
• Explanation of the possible
performance tasks
• Collaborative interactions while
role-playing within families
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities: • Pioneer Crafts (i.e., Candle dipping, weaving, applesauce/jam, horn books)
• Literature
• Maps
• Packing wagon
• Family tree
• Situations along the trail
• Computer programs/websites (Oregon Trail)
• Jenny Armstrong workshops
• Field Trips (i.e., Graue Mill, The Grove, The Bog)
• Science integrated activities
Vocabulary:
• Butter Churn
• Cards/Wool
• Conestoga Wagon
• Frontier
• Hearth
• Homestead
• Hornbook
• Loom
• Pioneer
• Prairie
• Primer
• Settle
• Spinning Wheel
• Wagon Train
• Whittle
1
Essential Questions:
How and why do people come to different regions of North America?
How are the regions and people of North America unique?
How and why are the regions of our North America interconnected?
Unifying Themes:
Diversity and Interconnectedness
Context:
States/Regional Studies-comparative studies
Immigration- African American, European, Latino, and Asian Experience
African American History and Forced Migration
PEOPLES OF NORTH AMERICA– FOURTH GRADE
Political Science Economics History Geography Social Science/Culture Compare and contrast
governments and explain
why the government and
leadership role of the US
was a draw to international
immigrants.
Identify consistencies and
insistencies between
expressed US political
traditions and ideas and
actual practices.
(Civil Rights)
Look at how individuals
and groups influence and
change public policy.
Analyze and explore how
economic structures in a
government affect the
movement of people to
meet their needs.
How do the resources
within geographic
regions of North America
define the economic
opportunities?
How did slavery and
indentured servitude
influence the early
economy of the US?
Look at the contributions
of immigrants to our
economic and business
development.
Learn from primary
documents about the
nature of our government
and the stories of our
nation’s people.
Identify the stories of
significant people who
influenced communities
and the course of history.
How do those stories
change over time?
Identify turning points in
history and place them on
the timeline.
Studies stories of current
people and events that are
shaping the stories of the
present and will influence
the future
Use maps to learn more
about the world and
develop geographic
literacy.
Identify environmental
factors that drew
immigrants and settlers to
a region.
Describe how people in
early cultures adapted to
their respective
environment and contrast
that to current society.
Using maps and other
geographic representations
compare and contrast the
physical features of
regions.
Study the interaction of
human endeavors and
physical forces shape the
physical nature of our
earth.
Exploration of a culturally
diverse US.
Study the elements of
culture in diverse groups.
Do regions express
cultural differences?
Study the expressions of
culture through the arts of
individual groups.
Observe or study how
diverse cultures have
adapted to change.
How have they maintained
or lost cultural traditions
and practices.
How has technology
influenced the course of
history and culture
today?
Teacher Note: While the
strands appear separate in
the middle of the
document, this simply
serves as a means of
developing focus questions
for discussion and inquiry.
The sample performance
tasks blend the strands
back into cohesive culminating experiences.
POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE TASKS:
Develop and role-play the life story of an immigrant.
Describe how an immigrant group affects a region.
Compare/Contrast the difference between physical, political, population, natural
vegetation, landform, and climate maps.
Compose a written piece, such as poetry, from a slave’s point of view.
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS:
Study students’ family origins.
Look at the cultural contributions various groups have made to the different regions of
North America.
Look at forced immigration past and present.
Bring in relevant current events.
Fourth Grade Social Studies Unit - States and North American Regional
Studies
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals: Understand how and why regions/peoples of North America are unique and how they are
connected.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
• The five themes of geography:
location, place, region,
environment, human interaction and
movement.
• Various environmental factors drew
immigrants and settlers to a
particular region.
• People in early cultures adapted to
their respective environment.
• Maps of various kinds and other
geographic representations can
compare and contrast the physical
features of a region.
Essential Questions:
• How do the stories of individuals
and groups lead to the
understanding of
interconnectedness.
• How and why do people come to
different regions of North America?
• How are the regions of North
America unique?
• How and why are the regions of
North
• America connected?
Students will know:
• Names of regions and cultures.
• Factors that affect the human
environment and interaction.
• Geographical vocabulary.
Students will be able to:
• Interpret maps and globes for
information.
• Compare and contrast the regions
and people who lived there.
• Express their findings artistically,
creatively, orally and in writing.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Make a Venn diagram comparing
and contrasting the regions.
• Create a display of a 2 or 3
dimensional nature which
demonstrates understanding of
people and cultures of various
regions.
Other Evidence:
• Able to use geographical
vocabulary in context.
• Create a 3-D representation of
North America or specific parts of a
region and its landforms.
• Oral or written response to the
essential questions.
• Create a mural.
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
• Use K.W.L. and Venn diagrams
• Make a map or a state book
• Study landform flashcards
• Use Our Country curriculum
• Read Time For Kids or other current news sources
• Use fiction and nonfiction books to enhance students’ understandings
Fourth Grade Social Studies Unit – Immigration
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Students will understand how immigrants have shaped North America over time.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
• Environmental, political, religious,
and economic factors drew
immigrants to North America.
• Immigrants made substantial
contributions to North America.
Essential Questions:
• How do the stories of individuals and
groups lead to the understanding of
interconnectedness?
• How and why do people come to
different regions of North America?
• How are the regions of North
America unique?
• How and why are the regions of
North America connected?
Students will know:
• How laws and attitudes have changed
over time.
• The time periods of various
immigrant waves.
• How immigrants entered the U.S.
legally and illegally and how that has
changed over time.
Students will be able to:
• Identify push and pull factors of
immigration.
• Compare and contrast immigrant
stories.
• Research and share their own
family immigration stories.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Research family history.
• Simulate an immigration experience
including post-arrival.
• Connect own experience to general
immigration history.
Other Evidence:
• Oral/written response
• Narrative journals
• Drawings
• Identify vocabulary, location, and
time periods significant to history
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
• Chart pushes and pulls from the countries of origin from family
• Use fiction, non fiction, readers theaters, and news media to enhance students’
understanding
• Huddled-masses cafe
• Trip to the National Museum of Mexican Art
• Bring in an immigrant guest speaker
Fourth Grade Social Studies Unit - African American History and
Forced Migration
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
Understand the forced migration of Africans and the effects on North American society
and culture.
Understandings:
• Students will understand three
themes of slavery; rebellion(1),
liberation(2) and empowerment(3).
• Africans were brought against their
will, by the millions, for the
economic benefit of others
including North Americans,
Europeans, and Africans.
• African Americans in our country
sought ways to empower their
community through, the arts and
economic opportunities.
• African Americans continually
contributed to and influenced
American society and culture.
Essential Questions:
• How do the stories of individuals
and groups lead to the
understanding of
interconnectedness.
• How and why do people come to
different regions of North
America?
• How are the regions of North
America unique?
• How and why are the regions of
North America connected?
• How does history shape the
present?
Students will know:
• What a slave is.
• Vocabulary/terminology of the
slavery movement.
• How the Underground Railroad
operated.
• How the North American society
changed drastically after the slavery
movement ended.
• How slavery destroyed the African
family unit.
• How slavery affected the lives of
slaves/slave owners.
Students will be able to:
• Identify the different forms of
slavery throughout time, such as
indentured servitude.
• Interpret/analyze art, music,
poetry, and the writings of slaves.
• Identify important figures of the
Underground Railroad and
abolitionist movement.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Use multiple media to understand
the slave experience from capture in
Africa to life in the U.S.
• Research famous African American
Other Evidence:
• Journal writing
• Research paper
• Interpret images through poetry
writing
and be able to identify contributions
to society
• Publish an Underground Railroad
newspaper
• Oral discussion/debate
• Create quilts
• Write a letter to Lincoln
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities: • Read slave ship narratives
• Watch and discuss edited version of "Roots"
• Watch "Escape to Freedom"
• Read: African Folk Tales
• Night John -Gary Paulsen
• Jumpship to Freedom- Collier
• Amos Freeman
• Jacob Lawrence's Biography and Art (various books)
• *Readers Theaters (Publications)
Books and Stories on Rebellion
• Story of Toussaint L'Overture
• The Underground Railroad
• National Geographic Booklets
• Study spirituals and songs.
Books on Civil Rights Movement
• Watsons go to Birmingham -Christopher Paul Curtis
• Mississippi Bridge- Mildred Taylor
• The Friendship- Mildred Taylor
• Mayfield Crossing-Vaunda Nelson
Fieldtrips
• The Du Sable Museum (make sure it is age appropriate)
• Color of Justice Center East
• Freedom Train - Copernicus Theater
1
EXPLORATION AND ENCOUNTERS- FIFTH GRADE
Political Science Economics History Geography Social Science/Culture
• What were the
motivations for
exploration?
• How did
governments and
leaders influence
exploration?
• What were the
benefits of
exploration on a
world stage?
• What was the
political climate in
Europe at the time of
exploration?
• What did leadership
look like in the new
settlements? How
were decisions
made?
• What were the
political gains/losses
for the people in the
lands explored?
• What were the roles
and responsibilities
of the leaders of the
settlements and
indigenous nations?
• What were the
different ways that
individuals made a
difference through
their roles and
responsibilities?
• What were the
motivations for
exploration?
• Who funded
exploration and what
were their reasons?
• What were the
economic
gains/losses for the
originating
countries?
• What were the
economic
gains/losses for the
people in the lands
explored?
• How did exploration
affect trade?
• What were the
benefits and perils of
migrating to a new
location as a result
of exploration?
• What were the
peoples’ wants and
needs?
• What were the
human, natural and
capital resources
throughout the
colonies?
• What were the
trading practices of
the colonies?
• How did taxes
finance government
operation and
provide public goods
and services, as well
as cause conflict?
• What were the
motivations for
exploration?
• How did the
exploration affect
the originating
country’s history?
• What historical
events precipitated
exploration?
• What were the
benefits and perils of
migrating to a new
location as a result
of exploration?
• What historical
events transpired as
a result of
establishing
settlements?
• What conflicts
emerged between the
settlers and the
indigenous people?
• What conflicts
emerged between
settlements,
homelands,
indigenous people,
and within the
colonies and
settlements?
• What are the reasons
various settlements
formed?
• What were the
views, lives and
contributions of
significant people
and groups like?
• What were the
motivations for
exploration?
• What were the
geographical
obstacles affecting
exploration?
• What knowledge of
physical geography
was gained from
exploration?
• What gains in
cartography were
gained from
exploration?
• What were the
geographical
obstacles of the new
lands?
• How was land
shared or controlled
amongst the settlers
and the indigenous
people?
• What were the
characteristics of
settlement locations
as compared to their
homelands (i.e.
physical geography,
climates, natural
resources?)
• What were the
characteristics of
different settlements
and how did it affect
their way of life?
• What were the
motivations for
exploration?
• What cultural
changes occurred in
the originating
countries as a result
of exploration?
• What cultural
changes occurred
within indigenous
cultures as a result of
exploration?
• What were the
cultural aspects of
the new settlements
and how did it
compare to the
originating
countries?
• What cultural
aspects were adopted
by either the settlers
or the indigenous
people?
• What were the
challenges of daily
life in the colonies?
Essential Questions:
What motivates people to explore, conquer, and migrate?
What happens to people who are conquered?
How did the United States become a nation?
Unifying Themes:
Power, Control, and Movement
Context:
Exploration, Encounters, Settlements and Colonization
Teacher Note: While the
strands appear separate in
the middle of the
document, this simply
serves as a means of
developing focus questions
for discussion and inquiry.
The sample performance
tasks blend the strands
back into cohesive culminating experiences.
PERFORMANCE TASKS:
Student presentations using a variety of media
Student participation in simulations
Creation of maps
Student participation in debates and role-plays
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS:
Swaziland, South Africa, Antarctica, Hong Kong – modern day colonization
examples
World Geography and European influence
Study of Current events
Fifth Grade Social Studies Unit- Explorers and the Birth of Maps (1490-
1600)
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Understand that maps were created for different purposes and from different
perspectives
• Recognize motivation for exploring and conquering
• Acknowledge multiple viewpoints and perspectives
• Understand link between environment and lifestyle
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
• People explore for a variety of reasons.
• Individual maps were based on that
individual’s experiences and
perspectives.
• Peoples’ perspectives of the world were
very different in the 1490s.
• Environment affect peoples’ actions
Essential Questions:
• What motivates people to explore and
conquer (from a variety of viewpoints)?
• What happens to the indigenous people
being conquered?
• How was cartography affected by
exploration?
• How does the environment and
geography motivate people to explore?
Students will know:
• How to use, read and analyze maps.
• Explorers explored for a variety of
reasons (including geography,
economical, myth, and religion).
• What areas were explored during this
time frame.
Students will be able to:
• Compare and contrast historical maps
• Analyze the cause and effects of
exploration from multiple viewpoints
• Recount/share knowledge of explorers,
indigenous people and their impact on
each other from various perspectives
• Compare and contrast the world in
1492 and the world now
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Share/present knowledge of a particular
exploration and/or explorer
(construction, debate, PowerPoint,
dramatization, newspapter, etc.)
• Create a map from multiple
perspectives
• Begin a cumulative piece of work that
will flow between the historical time
periods
• Create a large map where explorer’s
routes can be traced.
Other Evidence:
• Oral/written response while using
vocabulary in context to one of the
essential questions (double entry
journal, personal journal, pen-pals,
letters, etc.)
• Artistic response to an essential
question (poster, travel brochure, comic
book etc.)
• Self-reflection and student-selected
piece for the portfolio
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities: • Elicit background knowledge (KWL, Venn Diagram, etc.)
• The History of US: Volume 1-
o Chapter 8-Reviews regions/areas of the New World in the 15th
century. Have
students locate all places mentioned in the chapter on a blank map (label, draw
in, describe, etc as a group or individual activity)
o Chapter 15 Use it as an introduction to maps and longitude and latitude.
o Chapter 27 Use it to introduce and give background knowledge for the
Galleon simulation.
• Galleon simulation (By Lester Tillema)
• Make an “Explorer’s Notebook” (see http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/newworld/
for ideas) with an accompanying calendar.
• Research an explorer of their choice.
• Inquiry Project
• Simulations
• Make a reference book of maps.
• Explorer advertisements
STAGE 4- RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
• www.mnh.si.edu/vikings/
• http://library.thinkquest.org/J002678F/why.htm (Why Explorer’s Explored the World
Website)
• Galleon simulation By Lester Tillema (*3 sets in kit)
• Aronson, Mark and Glenn, John W. The World Made New: Why the Age of
Exploration Happened & How it Changed the World. 2007. (*25 copies in kit)
• DK Eye Wonder-Explorer (*25 copies in kit)
• Betsy and Giulio Maestro, Exploration and Conquest: The Americas After Columbus:
1500-1620 (*15 copies in kit)
• Arnold, Nick. Voyages of Exploration. (*15 copies in kit)
• Stefoff, Rebecca. Accidental Explorers. Surprises and the Side Trips in the History of
Discovery. (*15 copies in kit)
• Michael Johnstone, The History News: Explorers (*15 copies in kit)
• Kids Discover- “America 1492” (*25 copies in kit)
• Easy Simulations-Explorers, by Barley (*3 copies in kit)
• The Explorers and Settlers: A Source Book on Colonial America (*3 copies in kit)
• Life and Times: Columbus and Age of Exploration, Ross (*3 copies in kit)
• Jill Lepore, Encounters in the New World: A History in Documents
• Joy Hakim, The History of US: Volume 1
• Russell Freedman, Who Was First?: Discovering the Americas
• Stefoff, Rebecca. Accidental Explorers. Surprises and the Side Trips in the History of
Discovery.
• Wirkner, Linda. Learning about America’s Colonial Period through Graphic
Organizers
• Ross, Stewart. Life in Times: Columbus and the Age of Exploration
• McGovern, Ann …If YOU SAILED ON The Mayflower in 1620
• The Explorers and Settlers: A Sourcebook on Colonial America
• Smith, Carter. A Sourcebook on Colonial America. Battles in a New Land.
Debatable Issues in US History: From Colonies to a Country 1635- 1790: Vol. 1
• Kathryn Lasky Dear America:A Journey to the New World:The Diary of Remember
Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620
Fifth Grade Social Studies Unit - Encounters and Settlements (1600-
1700)
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Understand that there were different types of encounters
• Recognize motivation for migrating and settling
• Acknowledge multiple viewpoints and perspectives
• Understand link between environment and lifestyle
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
• Different people encountered
indigenous peoples in different ways
• People settled for a variety of reasons
• Cultural beliefs and practices were
affected by both sides of the encounter
• Historical events that transpired as a
result of establishing settlements
Essential Questions:
• What happens as a result of these new
settlements (from a variety of
viewpoints)?
• How did the environment and
geography motivate people to settle and
affect their lifestyle?
Students will know:
• Explorers settled for a variety of
reasons (including geography, wants
and needs, communal similarities)
• What areas were settled during this
time frame?
• Historical events transpired as a result
of the new settlements
Students will be able to:
• Create and analyze maps
• Analyze the cause and effects of
encounters and settlements
• Recount/share knowledge of settlers,
indigenous people and their impact on
each other from various perspectives
• Compare and contrast the world in
1600 and the world now
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Share/present knowledge of a particular
settlement (construction, debate,
PowerPoint, dramatization, etc.)
• Create a map from multiple
perspectives
• Cumulative piece of work that flows
between the two historical time periods
with emphasis on greater independence
Other Evidence:
• Oral/written response while using
vocabulary in context to one of the
essential questions (double entry
journal, personal journal, pen-pals,
letters, etc.)
• Artistic response to an essential
question (poster, travel brochure, comic
book etc.)
• Self-reflection and student-selected
piece for the portfolio
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities: • Elicit background knowledge
• KWL
• Venn Diagram
• Diorama of forts
• 3D maps of settlements
• First person journal of a settler or a native
• Calendar of first year in new land
• Inquiry project
• Dramatic presentations
• Little Books
STAGE 4- RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Novels: (* indicates favorites)
• The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World, Philbrick (difficult)
• Sign of the Beaver, Speare (Massachusetts)
• Morning Girl, Dorris (Carribean)
• *Sees Behind Trees, Dorris (Jamestown) (25 copies in book closet)
• Double Life of Pocahontas, Fritz (Challenging, but wealth of information)
• *Pocahontas and the Strangers, Bulla (easy) (25 copies in book closet)
• *Blood on the River, Carbone
• *Pocahontas, Sullivan (biography)
• *Childhood of Famous Americans-Pocahantas, Peacemaker (easy)
• A Lion to Guard Us, Bulla (easy
• *Pocahontas, Holler (high, non-fiction)
• Encounter Jane Yolen (25 copies in book closet)
Box Contents:
• Jamestown- Hands on Projects About One of America’s First Communities, Quasha
(3 copies in box)
• Don’t Know Much About the Pilgrims, Davis (15 copies)
• Cobblestone Pilgrims to a New World (15 copies)
• The Very First Thanksgiving Day, Greene (3 copies)
• Samual Eaton’s Day, Waters (25 copies)
• Sarah Morton’s Day, Waters (25 copies)
• Giving Thanks- The 1621 Harvest and Feast, Waters (15 copies)
• Tapenum’s Day, Waters (25 copies)
• P is for Pilgrim, Crane (3 copies)
• Three Young Pilgrims Harness (15 copies)
• Who’s That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? Fritz (1 copy)
• 1621-A New Look at Thanksgiving, Grace and Bruchae (15 copies)
• Life in 1627 Plymouth-Plimoth Plantation (2 copies)
• Investigating “The 1st Thanksgiving”, Plimoth (2 copies)
• Journey to the New World Plimoth (2 copies)
• If you Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 McGovern (3 copies)
• Disks-Powerpoint of Plimoth pictures from Louisa (3 copies)
• Louisa’s toys, DVDs, and reproductions (2 sets)
Fifth Grade Social Studies Unit – Colonial Life (1700-1770s)
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Understand that there are different types of colonies
• Recognize motivation for establishing a colony
• Acknowledge multiple viewpoints and perspectives
• Understand link between environment and lifestyle
Understandings:
Students will understand:
• The difference between a settlement
and a colony and the process of
establishing a colony
• Different colonies interacted with
Native Americans in different ways
• Cultural practices evolved in
relation to their place of origin
• Historical events that transpired as a
result of colonization
• The economic impact of
establishing a colony
Essential Questions:
• What happens as a result of
colonization (from a variety of
viewpoints)?
• How did the United States take the
first steps to becoming a nation?
• What events led up to the
Revolutionary War?
• What happened to Native
Americans as a result of
colonization?
Students will know:
• The reasons why people came to
the colonies
• Historical events transpired as a
result of colonization
• How leadership and decision
making looked different in each
colony
• The political gains and losses for
colonists, the British, and other
nations
• The roles and responsibilities of
colony members, Native
Americans, and slaves
Students will be able to:
• Analyze the causes and effects of
colonization
• Compare and contrast the different
colonies
• Recount/share knowledge of the
impact of colonists, Native
Americans, and slaves on each
other
• Understand the impact of the
European governments on the
colonies
• Identify why the colonies came
together to establish a single
government
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Present knowledge of colonization
(daily schedule, reenactments,
models, dramatization, debate,
Powerpoint, etc.)
Other Evidence:
• Oral and written responses to one of
the essential questions using
vocabulary in context (Double entry
journal, diary entry, pen pal letters,
• Cumulative piece of work that
flows between the three historical
time periods with an emphasis on
greater independence
etc.)
• Artistic response to an essential
question (travel brochure, poster,
comics, etc.)
• Tests or quizzes on key concepts
• Self-reflection and student selected
materials for portfolio
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
• Compare and contrast the colonies in the 1770’s and the world now (include
modern day colonization of Swaziland, S. Africa, Antarctica, Hong Kong, etc.)
• Build an awareness of colonies in other parts of the world at the same time.
• Research roles and responsibilities of colonial community members
• Salem witch trial
• Debate debatable issues of the time
• Map of the 13colonies
• First-person journal
• Inquiry project
• Simulation
• Graphic organizer
• Colonial life fair (simulation)
• Colonial Times newspaper
STAGE 4- RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Hermes, Patricia. My Side of the Story Salem Witch. Excellent historical fiction that uses
dialog from the time period to show two different points of view on the same events in
Salem. One story told from an educated Quaker girl’s point of view. The other is from a
well-educated Puritan boy’s point of view. The boy’s father is one of the judges.
Phillis Wheatley: Young Revolutionary Poet by Borland & Speicher (novel)
A Voice of her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet by Lasky (picture book)
Dear American Series (NOVEL)
Debatable Issues in US History: From Colonies to a Country 1635- 1790: Vol. 1
Age appropriate: well written: Roger Williams and the Puritans, King Philip’s
War, Bacon’s Rebellion. The Salem Witch Trials,
McGovern, Ann …If you Lived in Colonial Times
Smith, Carter. A Sourcebook on Colonial America. Battles in a New Land. (1991).
Emma’s Journal by Moss (NOVEL)
Learning about America’s Colonial Period with Graphic Organizers by Wirkner
MOUNT VERNON Hands-on History (teacher activities)
Cobblestone: Colonial Craftsman
Colonial Times (Chronicle of America): by Masoff
Voices from America: Massachusetts 1620 – 1776 by Burgan (National Geographic)
Kids Discover: Colonial America
The Woodworkers by Kalman
Historic Communities: Colonial Home by Kalman & Crossingham
The Blacksmith by Kalman
Colonial Life by Kalman
Your Travel Guide to Colonial America by Day
Hands-on America Vol. II by Merrill
Settlement Bin (Main/Community)
Books
My Side of the Story: Salem Witch 1 copy
1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving 1 copy
Giving Thanks: The 1621 Harvest Feast 1 copy
Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times 1 copy
America in the Time of Columbus 1 copy
America in the Time of Pocahontas 1 copy
James Towne: Struggle for Survival 1 copy
New Beginnings: Jamestown and the Virginia Colony 1 copy
1607: A New Look at Jamestown 1 copy
Teacher Resources
Investigating “The First Thanksgiving” 1 copy
The History Magazine for Young People: Cobblestone 1 copy
PP Educational Materials: Journey to the New World 1 copy
The Trial of Anne Hutchinson 1 copy
My Name is America: The Journal of Jasper Jonathan Pierce 1 copy
Historic Communities: Home Crafts 1 copy
Historic Communities: Visiting a Village 1 copy
Toys
Plimoth Plantation Poppet 1 bag
Quoits (Ring Toss) 1 bag
Whipping Top 1 bag
Button and String Puzzle 1 bag
Peg Top 1 bag
Toys and Games from Times Past booklet 1 copy
Historical Replica Coins 1 bag
Old Documents and Maps: Authentic Reproductions 1 bag
Feather Pen 1 bag
The Voyage of the Mayflower Game 1 copy
Movies
America the Living Dream: The History of our Nation A.’s Beg. 1 copy
Other
Settlement Bin 1
See Main/Community Bin for other materials that are not in bins 1, 2 or 3
Books
National Geographic 1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving 1 copy
If you Sailed on The Mayflower in 1620 1 copy
Sarah Morton’s Day 5 copies
Kids Discover: America 1492 5 copies
Three Young Pilgrims 1 copy
The Very First Thanksgiving Day 1 copy
Who’s that Stepping on Plymouth Rock? 1 copy
Samuel Eaton’s Day 5 copies
P is for Pilgrim: A Thanksgiving Alphabet 1 copy
Don’t Know Much About The Pilgrims 5 copies
Teacher Resources
Sail America Teacher Guide 1 copy
Sail America Student Guide 25 copies
PP: Journey to the New World (Blue Book) 1 copy
PP: Life in 1627 Plymouth 1 copy
The History Magazine for Young People Cobblestone 1 copy
Toys
Movies
PP: 1621: Beyond the Myth of the First Thanksgiving DVD 1 copy
PP: Two Peoples, One Story DVD 1 copy
Other
Exploration Bin (Main/Community)
Books
Calliope 1 copy
You Wouldn’t Want to Sail With Christopher Columbus! 1 copy
The Great Ships 1 copy
Who Was First? Discovering the Americas 1 copy
Great Explorers Discovering the World 1 copy
Teacher Resources
Toys
Movies
16th
& 17th
Century Turning Points in U.S. History Volume 1 1 copy
16th
& 17th
Century Turning Points in U.S. Histiry Volume 2 1 copy
Schlessinger: Explorers of the World A History of Exploration 1 copy
Schlessinger: Explorers of the World Spanish Explorers 1 copy
Schlessinger: Explorers of the World English Explorers 1 copy
Other
Exploration Bin 1
See Main/Community Bin for other materials that are not in bins 1, 2 or 3
Books
Encounter 1 copy
Encounters in the New World: A History in Documents 1 copy
The World Made New 5 copies
Scholastic Easy Simulations Explorers 1 copy
Exploration and Conquest: The Americas After Columbus: 1500-1620 5 copies
Teacher Resources
Galleon Teacher Guide 1 copy
Galleon Student Simulation 25 copies
Explorers Teacher Guide 1 copy
Explorers Student Guide 25 copies
Toys
Movies
Other
Colonial Times (Main/Community)
Books
Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons 1 copy
Diary of Anna Green Winslow: A Boston School Girl of 1771 1 copy
Phillis Wheatley 1 copy
Young Americans Colonial Williamsburg: Ann’s Story 1747 1 copy
Young Americans Colonial Williamsburg: Nancy’s Story 1765 1 copy
Young Americans Colonial Williamsburg: Caesar’s Story 1759 1 copy
Children’s Manners and Morals booklet 1 copy
Easy to Make Early American Folk Dolls booklet 1 copy
Sons of Liberty Comic Book 1 copy
Paul Revere’s Ride 1 copy
American Community Early American Villages 1 copy
Holidays and Celebrations in Colonial America 1 copy
What’s the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? 1 copy
Why don’t you get a horse, Sam Adams? 1 copy
Can’t You Make Them Behave, King George? 1 copy
If You Lived in Colonial Times 1 copy
Outrageous Women of Colonial America 1 copy
A Visual Dictionary of a Colonial Community 1 copy
A Coloring Book of the 13 Colonies 1 copy
Easy Make and Learn Projects Colonial America 1 copy
Primary Sources Teaching Kit Colonial America 1 copy
A Voice of Her Own 1 copy
The African American Experience 1 copy
Boston Tea Party 1 copy
You Wouldn’t Want to be at the Boston Tea Party! 1 copy
The Boston Tea Party 1 copy
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere 1 copy
The Many Rides of Paul Revere 1 copy
National Geographic Voices from Colonial America Massachusetts 1 copy
Kids Discover: Colonial America 25 copies
Great Colonial America Projects 2 copies
Colonial Voices Hear Them Speak 1 copy
Teacher Resources
American Kids in History Colonial Days 1 copy
Colonial Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in the New World 1 copy
Slave to Poet: Phillis Wheatley – A Guide for Teachers 1 copy
Tea is Brewing – A Guide for Teachers 1 copy
Toys
Jaw Harp 1 bag
Light Infantry Signal Whistle 1 bag
Made for Trade Game 1 copy
Movies
Schlessinger Colonial Life: Jamestown 1 copy
Schlessinger Colonial Life: The Spanish & Colonial Santa Fe 1 copy
Schlessinger Colonial Life: Roger Williams & Rhode Island 1 copy
Schlessinger Colonial Life: Plimoth Plantation 1 copy
Schlessinger Colonial Life: The Dutch & New Amsterdam 1 copy
Schlessinger Colonial Life: The French & Colonial Quebec 1 copy
Schlessinger Colonial Life: William Penn & Pennsylvania 1 copy
Schlessinger Colonial Life: St. Augustine 1 copy
Schlessinger Colonial Life: Settling the New World 1 copy
Schlessinger U.S. History: The Era of Colonization 1585-1763 1 copy
PBS Home Video: Colonial House 1 copy
Other
Music from the 18th
Century Theatre: Encore 1 CD
A Colonial Williamsburg Musical Sampler 1 CD
Colonial Williamsburg: Mapping Colonial America CD-ROM 1 copy
Colonial Times Bin 1
See Main/Community Bin for other materials that are not in bins 1, 2 or 3
Books
History from the Hearth: A Colonial Michilimackinac Cookbook 1 copy
If You Lived in Colonial Times 1 copy
Your Travel Guide to Colonial America 1 copy
The History Magazine for Young People Cobblestone Colonial Craftsmen 1 copy
National Geographic Voices from Colonial America Massachusetts 1 copy
Colonial People: The Wood Workers 1 copy
Colonial People: The Blacksmith 1 copy
Historic Communities: Colonial Life 1 copy
Historic Communities: Colonial Home 1 copy
Hands-on America Volume 2 Art Activities 1 copy
Mount Vernon Hands-on History 1 copy
Emma’s Journal 1 copy
Teacher Resources
Discovery Teacher Guide 1 copy
Discovery Student Guide 35 copies
Toys
Bilbo Catcher 1 box
Feather Pens 3 pens
Folkwear Kinsale Cloak 1 bag
Embroidered Linen Pocket Kit 1 bag
Soap 1 block
Hardy Card Maker 1 box
Wood Dice 1 bag
Girl’s Pockets 2 bags
Leather bag 1 bag
British Coin Bag 1 bag
Powdered Ink 1 bag
Makin Candles 1 block
Ink Bottle 1 dish
Movies
Other
Tea Brick 1 block
Historical Documents: Battle of Bunker Hill 1775 1 env.
Historical Documents: Midnight Ride of Paul Revere 1775 1 env.
Historical Documents: Boston Tea Party 1773 1 env.
1
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS – SIXTH GRADE
Political Science Economics History Geography Social Science/Culture
Why do people form
governments?
How are governments of
ancient civilizations
similar and different?
How does type of
leadership affect how a
civilizations evolves?
What kinds of roles and
rights did individuals
have in ancient
civilizations?
How do ancient
civilizations provide for
the wants and needs of
their people?
What is the impact of
specialization on an
economy?
Why did ancient
civilizations trade with
one another?
How are the needs of the
society at large balanced
with the desires of
governments or leaders?
How do civilizations
pay for the needs of the
society?
How do we know with
accuracy the history of
ancient civilizations?
What events tend to be
turning points in
history?
What has brought
civilizations into conflict
with each other?
What are some
significant
accomplishments of
ancient civilizations?
How does geography
affect the growth and
development of a
civilization?
How do civilizations use
and/or control their
environment?
How do societies’ belief
systems originate?
How are a civilization’s
beliefs and culture
reflected in its art,
music, literature and
architecture?
What aspects of ancient
civilizations’ cultures
are still reflected in
societies today?
What within a culture
allows for creativity and
innovation?
Essential Questions:
How do civilizations originate and organize?
How and why do civilizations innovate and evolve?
Unifying Theme:
Enduring characteristics civilizations
Context:
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece/Rome, Middle Ages (with exposure to Islamic
Civilization)
Teacher Note: While the
strands appear separate in
the middle of the
document, this simply
serves as a means of
developing focus questions
for discussion and inquiry.
The sample performance
tasks blend the strands
back into cohesive culminating experiences.
PERFORMANCE TASKS:
Research Projects
Map activities
Drama/Simulation/Role-playing activities
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS:
Comparison of ancient and contemporary political maps
Introduction to Islam
Study of Current Events
Sixth Grade Social Studies Unit – Ancient Egypt
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Realize the importance of how a civilization organizes around natural resources
and geographical areas.
• Understand the way a civilization originates and how the people of the civilization
attempt to explain the origination.
• Demonstrate the importance of innovation with regards to the longevity of a
civilization.
• Understand that a civilization evolves over time.
Students will understand that:
• The annual flooding of the Nile
River provided the foundation
needed for any civilization -- a
surplus of food, which allowed for
labor specialization and permanent
settlements.
• Egypt invested all power into the
hands of a single pharaoh, which
limited the rights and power of all
other members of society.
• The Nile provided economic
stability to Egypt and conquest and
exploration led to further economic
resources and wealth.
• Egyptian advancements in
architecture, science, mathematics,
and writing influenced other
civilizations’ innovations in these
areas.
• Egyptians believed their lives were
largely a preparation for their
eternal afterlife.
Essential Questions:
• How did the Nile River impact the
development of Egyptian
civilization?
• How did Egypt being a monarchy
effect its development?
• What factors influenced the
evolution of Egypt’s economy?
• What aspects of Egyptian history
have influenced world history?
• How were Egyptian beliefs
reflected in their lives and
development of their culture?
Students will know:
• The chronology of Egyptian history
(Old, Middle, and New Kingdom)
• The geography of the Nile
• Basic Egyptian mythology and
religious practices
• Achievements in architecture (i.e
pyramids, tombs, temples, etc.)
Students will be able to:
• Select appropriate and credible
research materials for a topic of
inquiry
• Evaluate Internet resources
critically
• Plan for an inquiry project
• Research efficiently by critically
• The importance of the development
of writing
• The legacy of some famous
Egyptians (i.e. Tuthankhamen,
Hatshepsut, Ramses II, etc.)
reading for important information
• Create useful and organized notes
• Cite sources used in research
• Utilize and interpret maps to create
understandings within and between
civilizations
• Synthesize research into their own
words in written and oral
communication
• Collaborate with peers to
accomplish a common goal for a
social studies project
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Reflect: What innovations from
Egyptian society influence the way
we live today?
• Create a museum exhibit that
includes an interactive, visual and
written component related to an
inquiry about Egypt.
• Conduct and present research in the
form of a news show that depicts
the important historical events that
shaped ancient Egypt.
• Read The Golden Goblet to make
connections to ancient Egypt;
develop a picture book from the
perspective of an ancient Egyptian.
• Create an ancient Egyptian tomb
that contains student-made artifacts
representative of what would be in
a pharaoh’s tomb; give a tour of the
tomb to parents and students
detailing the importance of the
artifacts.
• Discuss the role the afterlife played
in ancient Egyptian’s lives.
Other Evidence:
Explain
• The benefits the Egyptians gained
from the flooding of the Nile
Interpret
• The writing and pictographs found
on artifacts
• The representative items found in a
pharaoh’s tomb
Apply, by
• Planning for the afterlife
See from the points of view of
• A pharaoh and people from other
classes within Egyptian society
Empathize with
• The people who depended on the
Nile River
Reflect on
• Egyptian advancements in
architecture, science, mathematics
and writing
• The effect that the Nile’s flooding
had on their economic structure
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
Ancient Egyptian Learning Activities
Individual Paired Small Group Whole Class
Knowledge
1. List knowledge
of ancient Egypt
in a KWL chart
2. Define Egyptian
vocabulary
(flashcards, quiz,
etc.)
Label the important
geographical
locations of ancient
Egypt
Watch the
David McCally
videos while
modeling
notetaking
skills.
Comprehension
Paraphrase
research findings
Retell the story of
going to the
afterlife
Summarize the life
of a famous
Egyptian by
writing a script
from that person's
perspective
Application
1. Research
information on the
British Museum
website and
answer questions
about important
information. 2.
Construct and
translate the
writing on a
Cartouche 3.
Write a journal
entry from the
perspective of
Hatshepsut after
watching a video
about her
Interpret a map of
ancient Egypt to
determine how the
geography effected
the civilization
Dramatize the
process of reaching
the afterlife
Analysis Compare a map of
ancient Egypt to a
map of Egypt
today
Differentiate
between the three
kingdoms of
ancient Egypt by
making a
chart/timeline/Venn
diagram
Deduce what the
mummification
process would be
for a human from
the
"mummification"
of an apple
Evaluation
Determine
arguments for or
against moving
from the Nile River
valley
Estimate the
time and man-
power required
to build a
pyramid by
marking actual
measurements
outside
Synthesis
Formulate
discussion
questions from
National
Geographic
readings
Create meaning for
artifacts of today to
represent our
civilization to
future ones
Develop a
campaign and a
marketing
strategy for a
Pharaoh
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
National Geographic Book (small paperback): The First Civilizations
Facts on File Book (blue hardbound): Ancient Egypt
Human Heritage Book (tan hardbound): A World History
British Museum Website: Ancient Egypt
David McCauley Video (available in RC): “Pyramid”
DVD (available in RC): “Mysteries of Egypt”
DVD (available in RC): “The Lost Queen” (Hatshepsut)
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Nile embalming Upper Egypt Osiris Rosetta Stone
Book of the Dead mummy Lower Egypt Isis Cataracts
Delta hieroglyphs Tutankhamen Journey to the Afterlife
Kingdoms papyrus Khufu Old, Middle, New Kingdom
Ka scribe Natural Resource Shadoof
Pharaoh Hatshepsut Mastabas Hyksos
Pyramids Ramses Step Pyramids Canopic jars
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
Field Museum Exhibit of Ancient Egypt
Sixth Grade Social Studies Unit- Ancient Greece
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Realize the importance of how a civilization organizes around natural resources
and geographical areas.
• Understand the way a civilization originates and how the people of the civilization
attempt to explain the origination.
• Demonstrate the importance of innovation with regards to the longevity of a
civilization.
• Understand that a civilization evolves over time.
Students will understand that:
• Greek government evolved from
kings to oligarchies to tyrants to the
birth of democracy (in Athens).
• Many geographic factors
contributed to Greek economic
success, such use of the sea for
trade, mining of silver (?), and the
exportation of olive oil.
• Victory in the Persian Wars allowed
for the flowering of Greece’s
Golden Age, just as the
Peloponnesian Wars destroyed
Greece from within.
• Unlike Egypt, Greece had a seasonal
climate and mountainous land.
• The influence of Greek architecture,
athletics, theater, art, education,
philosophy, science & mathematics,
and language is seen throughout the
modern world.
• Elements of Greek mythology such
as its language, heroic stories,
themes, and characterization are still
visible in our oral and written
culture today.
Essential Questions:
• How did democracy originate?
• How did the Greeks use their
natural resources to improve their
economic standing?
• What events were the turning
points in the history of Greece and
why?
• How did the specifics of Greece’s
geography and climate impact its
development compared to Egypt’s?
• How do aspects of Greek culture
live on in the world?
• What elements of Greek mythology
have persisted over time?
Students will know:
• The evolution and practice of
democracy
• How to compare and contrast
Students will be able to:
• Select appropriate and credible
research materials for a topic of
inquiry
Athens and Sparta
• The geography & trading history of
the Mediterranean region
• Some background on the Minoan
and Mycenaean civilizations
• The reasons for the Persian and
Peloponnesian Wars and their
effects
• Alexander’s conquests left a Greek
legacy across much of the known
world.
• The three orders of Greek columns
(Doric, Ionic, Corinthian)
• The history of the ancient Olympic
Games
• The invention of theater (tragedy
and comedy)
• Greek use of realism in sculpture
• The Greeks invented the concept of
philosophical inquiry
• Greek contributions to science and
math
• Some famous Greek myths and
representative example of its legacy
in our language and culture
• Evaluate Internet resources
critically
• Plan for an inquiry project
• Research efficiently by critically
reading for important information
• Create useful and organized notes
• Cite sources used in research
• Utilize and interpret maps to create
understandings within and between
civilizations
• Synthesize research into their own
words in written and oral
communication
• Collaborate with peers to
accomplish a common goal for a
social studies project
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Write an article or brochure about a
student-selected topic that
incorporates factual information and
creativity. Compile articles into a
newspaper.
• Develop a webpage about a student-
selected topic. Compile pages into a
website.
• Assess students using a test with
multiple choice, short answer, essay
questions, etc.
• Develop a script for a commercial
about why one should move to
Sparta or Athens.
• Prepare for and participate in a
debate between Spartans and
Athenians.
• Develop a lesson on a student-
selected topic that presents
Other Evidence:
information and incorporates and an
interactive learning activity.
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
Ancient Grecian Learning Activities
Individual Paired Small Group Whole Class
Knowledge Completing an Internet
exploration guide of the
British Museum website
(to assess advanced
research skills using the
Internet).
Label the
important ancient
Greece
geographical
locations and/or
trade routes
and/or Alexander
the Great's
conquests.
1. Participate in a
Jeopardy game
made up of key
facts from ancient
Greece (students
write the
questions!). 2.
Read a Greek-
themed novel
aloud.
Comprehension Paraphrase research
findings.
Summarize the
life of a famous
Grecian.
Simulate the
Olympic games.
Application
Interpret a map of
ancient Greece to
determine how the
geography effected the
civilization.
Develop a visual
interpretation of
a Greek myth.
Examples: Comic
strip, poster,
etc.)
1. Develop a
dramatic
interpretation of
a Greek myth.
(Examples:
Puppet show,
play, etc.). 2.
Create a photo
album of Grecian
influenced
architecture.
Host a talk show in
which characters
are guests.
Students role play
guests and ask
questions as
audience
members.
Analysis
Then and now: ancient
Grecian
inventions/contributions
effect on ancient
Greece and today’s
society.
Synthesis
1. Writing a research
paper and creating an
artifact related to a
selected topic. 2. Write
a news article as if a
myth was a news
event.
Re-write a Greek
myth set in
today's society.
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
D’Aulierres Myths Book (yellow hardbound)
Pink Myth Books
British Museum Website: Ancient Greece
National Geographic Book (paperback): Ancient Greece
Human Heritage Book (tan hardbound)
Allyn and Bacon Book (white paperback): Roman & Greek Civilization
Video (available in the RC): “The Gods & Goddesses of Mt. Olympus”
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Democracy Architecture marathon oracle Aristotle pediment
City-states Corinthian soliloquy Hippocrates Acropolis Socratic
Sparta Doric tragedy Trojan War tyrant Method
Athens Ionic comedy Odysseus Persian Wars oligarchy
Habris Pericles Parthenon Socrates frieze philosophy
Olympics constitution Pythia Plato capital colonnade
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
Architecture trip/tour bus
Restaurant in Greek Town
Architecture walk around Winnetka
Performance related to mythology
Sixth Grade Social Studies Unit – Ancient Rome
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Realize the importance of how a civilization organizes around natural resources
and geographical areas.
• Understand the way a civilization originates and how the people of the civilization
attempt to explain the origination.
• Demonstrate the importance of innovation with regards to the longevity of a
civilization.
• Understand that a civilization evolves over time.
Students will understand that:
• The U.S. system of representative
government and checks and
balances originated in the Roman
Republic.
• The Roman use of a vast road
system was of major benefit to their
economic success.
• Caesar’s rule was born from the
changes in Roman society after the
Punic Wars.
• Rome fell for a variety of reasons,
including economic collapse,
political upheaval, and foreign
invasion.
• The Roman Empire stretched over
multiple continents and absorbed
many different cultures.
• Rome built upon many of the ideas
of the Greeks.
Essential Questions:
• What aspects of the Roman
Republic are seen in U.S.
government?
• How did the Romans coordinate
and organize their economic
system?
• Why did Rome change from a
republic to an empire?
• What can we learn from the Fall of
Rome?
• How did the diverse geography of
the Roman Empire effect its
development?
• What aspects of Roman culture
were absorbed versus self-created?
Students will know:
• The organization of the Roman
Republic and its class structure
• The extent of the Roman empire
from a geographical standpoint
• The importance of the Punic Wars
to Roman history
• The rise of the army and the story
of Julius Caesar
• Reasons for the birth and fall of the
Students will be able to:
• Select appropriate and credible
research materials for a topic of
inquiry
• Evaluate Internet resources
critically
• Plan for an inquiry project
• Research efficiently by critically
reading for important information
• Create useful and organized notes
Roman Empire
• Roman contributions to art,
entertainment, science and
engineering, city planning, math,
etc.
• Cite sources used in research
• Utilize and interpret maps to create
understandings within and between
civilizations
• Synthesize research into their own
words in written and oral
communication
• Collaborate with peers to
accomplish a common goal for a
social studies project
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Develop a script for and perform a
TV talk show about ancient Rome.
• Write a research paper about a self-
selected topic.
• Create a character from ancient
Rome based on research and attend
a Roman banquet.
• Assess students using a test/series
of quizzes with multiple choice,
short answer, essay questions, etc.
• Write a persuasive essay that
defends the student’s perception of
the Romans.
• Create a group PowerPoint that
responds to questions. Use
presentation to teach the rest of the
class about a topic.
Other Evidence:
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
Ancient Roman Learning Activities
Individual Paired Small Group Whole Class
Knowledge
Various mapping
activities, including
identifying the
Roman Empire's
expanses on a
modern day map.
1. Watch the
David McCally
videos while
modeling
notetaking skills.
2. Watch the
chariot scene
from Ben Hur
and/or Spartacus
and/or Under the
Shadow of
Vesuvius and
discuss as a
class.
Comprehension
1. Reading quizzes
using note cards.
Students organize
note cards based
on their
understanding of
the concepts they
read about. 2.
Reading and
follow-up quiz on
Christianity in
Rome and the Dark
Ages.
Create reading
stations containing
different materials.
At each station,
students will
answer questions
and have
discussions
regarding the
reading.
Application
Create an activity
box that
incorporates
objects, writing,
and activities
related to ancient
Rome.
Analysis Write a paper
comparing Roman
roads to the
Internet.
Compare/contrast
the Roman
Republic and the
United State's
government and
culture.
Evaluation
Write a paper/
have a debate/
visually represent
what you think is
the most important
contribution
Romans made to
society.
Synthesis
Write a postcard
from the
perspective of an
ancient Roman
from something
you witnessed in
Rome. STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
National Geographic Book (small paperback): Ancient Rome
Human Heritage (tan hardbound)
Allyn and Bacon: Greek & Roman Civilization
http://rome.mrdonn.org/games.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/
Facts on File Book (blue hardbound): Ancient Rome
David McCauley Video (available in the RC): “Roman City”
Arizona Smith Video (available in the RC): “Ancient Civilization: Rome”
Laser Disk (available in the RC): “In the Shadow of Vesuvius”
Video: “Ben Hur”
Video: “Spartacus”
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Arch Pompeii vault Latins Carthage
Aqueduct Coliseum senate Paletine Romulus
Auxiliary gladiator canal triumph Remus
Century Octavian Zama Hannibal Ides of March
Checks and balances Constantine missionary triumvirate Vesuvius
Cohort barbarian Apian Way veto Aeneus
Dictator province Patricicus Punic Wars
Forum republic Plebians consuls
Legion empire Tribunes Julius Caesar
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
Art Institute
Sixth Grade Social Studies Unit - Middle Ages
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Realize the importance of how a civilization organizes around natural resources
and geographical areas.
• Understand the way a civilization originates and how the people of the civilization
attempt to explain the origination.
• Demonstrate the importance of innovation with regards to the longevity of a
civilization.
• Understand that a civilization evolves over time.
Students will understand that:
• Rome was not united and was now
vulnerable to invasion, allowing the
barbarians to take over control.
• This chaotic time eventually leads to
the desire for order and organized
society, which led to more stable and
safe times and, eventually, feudalism.
• The church influenced every person’s
daily life and was a dominant force in
medieval society.
• As western Europe began to stabilize,
they formed their own independent
kingdoms, eventually leading to the
formation of nations
• .
• Monasteries played an integral role in
preserving the history of classical
civilization, allowing future
civilizations to thrive off of notable
historical thinking.
• The Crusades allowed for exchange
of cultural ideas between the Islamic
and European peoples.
Essential Questions:
• How did the split of the Roman
Empire impact the development
of the Middle Ages?
• What acts as the bond that holds
the people of Europe together
during the Middle Ages?
• How did the Crusades impact the
development of nations?
• How did the feudal system move
people of the Middle Ages to
fight for and eventually gain
freedom and rights?
• How was the foundation of
western civilization preserved
through these tumultuous times?
Why is this important?
• What were the major
contributions that were made by
the Islamic people during the
Middle Ages? How do those
contributions continue to impact
us today?
Students will know:
• The organization of the feudal
system.
• The importance of the Magna Carta in
England.
• The importance of the Crusades.
• The importance of the rise of the
Students will be able to:
• Select appropriate and credible
research materials for a topic of
inquiry
• Evaluate Internet resources
critically
• Plan for an inquiry project
town.
• The architecture of castles and
cathedrals.
• The creation of chivalry.
• The basics of the birth of Islam
(including the similarities and
differences between Islam and
Christianity).
• Islam’s contributions to modern
society.
• Research efficiently by critically
reading for important information
• Create useful and organized notes
• Cite sources used in research
• Utilize and interpret maps to
create understandings within and
between civilizations
• Synthesize research into their
own words in written and oral
communication
• Collaborate with peers to
accomplish a common goal for a
social studies project
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Develop a script for and perform a
TV talk show about the Middle Ages.
• Write a research paper about a self-
selected topic.
• Create a character from the Middle
Ages based on research and attend a
medieval fair.
• Assess students using a test/series of
quizzes with multiple choice, short
answer, essay questions, etc.
• Write a persuasive essay that defends
the student’s perception of the
Europeans.
• Create a group PowerPoint that
responds to questions. Use
presentation to teach the rest of the
class about a topic.
• Organize a medieval fair.
Other Evidence:
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Possible Learning Activities:
Middle Ages/Islam Learning Activities
Individual Paired Small
Group Whole Class
Knowledge
Go to National Geographic website and
travel through a castle
(www.nationalgeographic.com/castles/enter
castle.html).
Look at Middle
Ages picture
(purple book)
and make
observations/pre
dictions about
the time period.
1) Mr.
Faught
(Dean of
Loyola Law
School) to
speak to the
grade about
the history
of the
Magna Carta
and its
influence on
today's
laws. 2)
Watch David
McCaully
videos
("Castle"
and
"Cathedral")
3. Invite
Musa Al-
Basit come
speak to the
class. 3)
Visit a
mosque and
cathedral.
Comprehe
nsion Role play a medieval job.
Applicatio
n
1) Write a ballad. 2) Write a story
incorporating yourself as a character based
on what you observed at Medieval Times.
Create a coat-of-
arms, stained
glass, or
candles.
Create
a town
and
include
roles
(knight
s,
clergy,
peasant
,
mercha
nt).
1) Prepare
for a
medieval
fair. 2)
Write a class
"Code of
Chivalry." 3)
Compare/co
ntrast a
mosque, a
cathedral,
and the
Bahai
Temple.
Analysis Choose a journey of a knight, merchant,
nun, or peasant and compare/contrast each
group's daily life
(www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/middleag
es/contents.html).
Evaluation
Evaluate role chivalry played in medieval
daily lives.
Use Middle Ages
vocabulary to
identify different
items on the
picture from the
purple book.
Synthesis
1) Re-create
a simulation
of the Black
Plague. 2)
Create a
medieval
newspaper. STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Allyn and Bacon Book (white paperback): Medieval Civilization
Facts on File Book (blue hardbound): The Middle Ages
Viking Book (white hardbound): Medieval Knights
National Geographic Book (paperback): The Middle Ages
Human Heritage Book (tan hardbound)
David McCauley Videos (available in the RC): “Castle” and “Cathedral”
Schlessinger DVDs (available in the RC): “Life in the Middle Ages” and “The Knight”
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Peasants chivalry plague Huns lords
Serfs coat-of-arms Byzantine Vandals serfs
Feudalism cathedral pope clans minstrels
Fief castle siege blood feuds Charlemagne
Manor buttress jihad Arab
Monarchy monastery Islam Muslim
Clergy crusade Magna Carta
Vassal guild Goths counts
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
Trip to a mosque and a cathedral
Medieval Times (if price ever lowers)
Renaissance Festival
1
IDENTITY- SEVENTH/EIGHTH GRADE
Political Science Economics History Geography Social Science/Culture
How do people address
conflicting beliefs and
identities?
What is the proper
balance between local
and national
sovereignty?
How is the US
Constitution a
revolutionary
document?
How does the
Constitution affect civic
participation?
How does government
balance diverse
identities?
How does the
Constitution adapt to the
needs of a changing
society?
In what ways were
rights expanded to be
more inclusive?
How do the actions of
your country impact
who you are?
How has the US tried to
remake the world in its
own image?
What is the political
spectrum?
How do individuals
create their own political
identity?
How have Americans
used the court system to
acquire more rights?
In what ways do non-
state actors play a role in
world affairs?
What should the role of
government be in
distributing resources?
In what ways has
America used human
labor to meet its needs?
How does
socioeconomic status
influence one’s identity?
How is wealth
accumulated and
distributed?
How does the
contemporary world
influence ones identity?
How does a planned
economy differ from a
capitalist economy?
How do economies
affect the political
system?
How are individual
economic rights
balanced within the
larger economy?
How doe economic
conditions cause conflict
between nations?
How do economic
factors influence a
nation’s universe of
obligations?
What role can revolution
play in political change?
Under what conditions
do individuals choose
revolution instead of
compromise?
How do religious
differences affect the
development of
America?
How do diverse
identities impact
governance?
In what ways have
American rights been
exclusive?
In what ways were
rights expanded to be
more inclusive?
In what ways has
immigration changed
America’s identity?
How have political
beliefs impacted
individuals,
communities and the
world?
In what ways have the
ideals of the Declaration
of Independence been
realized for different
groups?
What factors create the
conditions that lead to
genocide?
How has America’s role
in the world changed
throughout history?
How did slavery create
sectional divisions in
America?
How did expansion
affect American self -
perception?
How does geography
influence personal/group
identity?
How do natural
resources influence
national identity?
How does government
inform human
movement?
How have different
regions been affected by
immigration?
How does religion
impact individuals,
communities and the
world?
How did revolution
forge new American
identity?
How does religion affect
a sense of inclusion
and/or exclusion in a
community?
How has our collective
image changed as new
arrivals have become a
part of our culture?
Do different forms of
government shape
culture or vice versa?
How do different
cultures define human
rights?
In what ways have race
and ethnicity defined
who is an American?
In what ways do groups
or nations determine
who is in their universe
of obligation?
As an individual, how
do you choose to
participate?
Essential Questions:
How does identity affect the decisions we make and the communities we create?
Unifying Themes:
Individual and community identity
Context:
Identity, World Religions, Constitution, Revolution (7th Grade)
Identity, Collective Identity and Global Comunity, Rights (8th Grade)
Teacher Note: While the
strands appear separate in
the middle of the
document, this simply
serves as a means of
developing focus questions
for discussion and inquiry.
The sample performance
tasks blend the strands
back into cohesive culminating experiences.
2
PERFORMANCE TASKS:
Research Projects
Map activities
Drama/Simulation/Role-playing activities
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS:
World Religions and Cultures
International Current Events Magazines
Global Community Identities
Seventh/Eighth Grade Social Studies Unit – Identity
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
Students will explore the relationship between the individual and the group in terms of
how people are defined, who makes the determination, and for what purpose.
Students will explore their personal identity, what constitutes it, and how that identity
frames their approach to daily life.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
Membership in groups is a major
component of one’s identity.
A person’s identity is composed of
elements including race, gender, class,
religion, etc.
People define themselves and others define
them in different ways (Stereotypes)
Essential Questions:
How does socioeconomic status influence
one’s identity?
How does geography influence
personal/group identity?
How does identity affect the decisions we
made and the communities we create?
How do I define myself, and how is that
influenced by others?
What constitutes one’s personal identity?
Students will know:
The factors that constitute one’s identity.
The fundamental relationships between
individuals and groups in communities.
The ways in which individuals, family,
friends, and strangers define each other.
Students will be able to:
Express how they view themselves and
how they believe they are viewed by others
Explain how individuals and groups are
identified and defined in society.
Discuss how multiple factors affect their
identities including stereotyping.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
Readings and discussions
Homework assignments
Reflective writing and projects
Other Evidence:
Journal writing
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Learning Activities:
The Bear That Wasn’t
The Story of Your Name- What’s in a name?
Biopoem
Identity Chart – House on Mango Street
Identity Boxes
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Stories of Identity
The Bear That Wasn’t
House on Mango Street
What’s in a name?
Facing History and Ourselves Resource Guide
Facing History and Ourselves Website
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Power Socioeconomic Status
Definition Religion
Membership Perspective
Stereotyping Bias
Family Groups
Identity Names
Community Internal
Race External
Class
Gender
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
Seventh Grade Social Studies Unit – World Religions
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Gain a basic understanding of the world’s five major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism,
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
• Gain a basic understanding of the ways in which religions affect the creation and
development of cultures.
• Gain a basic understanding of the ways in which religions affect individuals,
communities and the world.
• Gain respect for the religious beliefs of people around the world.
• Gain a basic understanding of some current issues in India, Pakistan, China, Tibet,
and the Middle East.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
• Almost all religions share some basic
features: clergy, place of worship,
sacred texts, rituals, etc.
• The five major religions were all
created and developed in different
ways.
• There is a range of how strictly or
flexibly people choose to adhere to the
basic “rules” of their religion.
• Each of the five major religions has
experienced sectarian conflicts;
sometimes the divisions have resulted
in violence.
• Religious, economic, and cultural
differences have caused conflict in
some parts of the world.
Essential Questions:
• How does religion affect individuals,
communities, and the world?
Students will know:
• Children will know the biographies of
Buddha, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and
Muhammad.
Students will be able to:
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• After studying each religion, children
will write a report explaining the main
features and beliefs of the religion.
• Children will create a zen garden.
• Children will take notes on the key
features of each religion, create a study
guide from their notes, and then take an
objective test on the information.
Other Evidence:
• Read and annotate the book The
Homeless Bird.
• Write an essay responding to the book
The Homeless Bird.
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Learning Activities:
• Create a zen garden.
• Watch several movies: The City of Joy, Abraham, The Ten
Commandments (just the last 45 minutes), The Kings of Kings (just the
last 45 minutes), Arabs, Muslims, and Islam.
• Read the book The Homeless Bird
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
• Religion “textbooks”.
• Several movies (those listed above) and several others on current issues
in the Middle East.
RELATED VOCABULARY:
• Clergy, sacred text, sectarian, rituals, caste system, hierarchy.
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
• Islamic Cultural Center in Northbrook, IL
Seventh Grade Social Studies Unit - Constitution
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Students will understand the fundamentals of the United States Constitution.
• Students will learn the basic structure of the three branches of government.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
• The United States is based on a
Federalist system of shared power.
• The United States Constitution
contains control mechanisms
including checks and balances and
procedures for revision.
• The United States government is
charged with protecting the rights
of individuals, communities, and
organizations.
Essential Questions:
• What is the proper balance between
local and national sovereignty?
• How is the US Constitution a
revolutionary document?
• How does the Constitution affect
civic participation?
• How does government balance
diverse identities?
• How does the Constitution adapt to
the needs of a changing society?
Students will know:
• The powers and structure of the
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial
Branches of government
• The relationships the three branches
have with each other.
Students will be able to:
• Explain the powers and structure of
the Federal Government as laid out
in the Constitution.
• Explain the balance between
government and individual citizens.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Objective tests and quizzes
• Research Projects
• Papers
• Homework readings
Other Evidence:
• Class Discussions
• Skits and Performances
• Group work
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Learning Activities: • Class simulations
• Analysis of primary documents
• Discussions of essential questions and key issues
• Historical and civic videos
• Homework readings
• Research projects
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
• Civics in America Textbook
• History Alive: The United States
• Schoolhouse Rock Video
• Nazis in Skokie Video
• 12 Angry Men Video
• The Story of a Trial Video
• The Presidents Video Series
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch
Congress President Supreme Court
House of Representatives Vice President Appeals Courts
Senate Cabinet District Courts
Bills Veto Majority Opinion
Committee Pardon Minority Opinion
Filibuster Commander in Chief Dissenting Opinion
Electoral College Checks and Balances Elastic Clause
Supremacy Clause Redistricting Census
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
Courts visit
Seventh Grade Social Studies - Revolution
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
Students will be able to:
• Create maps of Colonial America, Sectional America
• Identify reasons that Americans started to identify as a distinct community
apart from Britain
• List causes of the American Revolution, Civil War
• Analyze primary source documents
• Debate the merits of the Declaration of Independence, Secession, Civil War
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
• Essential Questions: • How does identity affect the
decisions we make and the
communities we create?
• How did revolution forge new
American identity?
• How do people address conflicting
beliefs and identities?
• What is the proper balance between
local and national sovereignty?
• What role can revolution play in
political change?
• Under what conditions do
individuals choose revolution
instead of compromise?
Students will know:
• The origin of the American
Revolution
• The origin of the Civil War
Students will be able to:
-
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• tests
• projects
• papers
• homework
Other Evidence:
• discussion
• group-work
• concept checks
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Learning Activities: • Students will read historical novels.
• Students will examine relevant primary source documents.
• Students will examine relevant secondary source documents (texts).
• Students will view historical documentaries, dramas.
• Students will participate in historical simulations.
• Students will debate the merits of historical choices.
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
• The Keeping Room, Johnny Tremain, My Brother Sam is Dead, April Morning,
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Soldier’s Heart, An Island Far from Home,
• The Declaration of Independence, The Crisis, The Emancipation Proclamation
• History Alive – the United States, America – The People and the Dream
• 1776, John Adams, The Crossing, Glory, Slavery and the Making of America,
Shenandoah
• The King’s M+Ms Simulation, Revolutionary War Capture the Flag,
Constitutional Convention Simulation, Civil War Songs and Marching, Civil War
Day
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Independence, Sectionalism, Slavery,
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
Civil War Day
Eighth Grade Social Studies Unit - Collective Identity and Global
Community
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Students will gain an understanding of international relations in the 20th
Century.
• Students will gain an understanding of how America’s role in the world has
changed over the course of the 20th
Century.
Understandings:
• Students will gain an understanding
of international relations in the 20th
Century.
• Students will gain an understanding
of how America’s role in the world
has changed over the course of the
20th
Century.
Essential Questions:
How do the actions of your country impact
who you are?
How has the US tried to remake the world
in its own image?
How do political beliefs impact
individuals, communities and the world?
How has America’s role in the world
changed throughout history?
In what ways do groups or nations
determine who is in their universe of
obligation?
Students will know:
• The origins, course, and
consequences of World War I.
• The origins, course, and
consequences of World War II.
• The origins, course, and
consequences of the Cold War
including the conflicts in Korea and
Vietnam.
• The causes and effects of current
global conflicts.
Students will be able to:
• Identify the location of the conflicts
of 20th
century and the current
global hotspots.
• Explain the evolving technological
nature of warfare.
• Research
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Projects
• Papers
• Homework Readings
Other Evidence:
• Group Work
• Discussion
• Concept Check
• Historical Novels
• Tests and Quizes
• Multi-genre Research Paper
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Learning Activities:
• Students will read historical novels and books about the 20th
global conflicts.
• Students will read assigned texts about the material.
• Students will study primary source documents that are relevant
to the unit.
• Students will view historical videos.
• Students will debate the merits of historical choices made by
figures in positions of power.
• Students will participate in historical simulations.
• Students will hear from guest speakers.
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
• All Quiet on the Western Front, Night, The Things They Carried, The
Crisis of Islam
• History Alive Supplemental Materials
• History Alive, America, The People and the Dream
• ABC: The Century, The War, Days That Shook the World, WWI in
Colour, The Forgotton War, Why Vietnam?, Saving Private Ryan
• Mrs. JoAnn King, Mr. Chuck Meyers, Holocaust Survivors, World
War II veterans, Vietnam War veterans
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Imperialism, nationalism, militarism, alliances, propaganda, armistice, treaty, trench
warfare, scapegoats, fascism, dictator, totalitarianism, communism, weapons of mass
destruction, concentration camps, Holocaust, mutual assured destruction, containment,
doctrine, domino theory, subversive, mccarthyism, international organizations, jihad,
supply side economics, détente, perestroika, glasnost, gulag, proxy war
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS: Cantigny, Skokie Holocaust Museum, Hanoi
Eighth Grade Social Studies Unit - Rights
STAGE 1 – DESIRED RESULTS
Established Goals:
• Understand that there are different types of rights, including legal and moral.
• Understand the rights guaranteed to citizens in the US Constitution.
• Understand that the rights of individuals extend beyond national and legal rights
to encompass moral rights.
Understandings:
Students will understand that:
Nationally:
• The Bill of Rights was created to
ensure certain rights to all
Americans.
• Certain groups within American
society have fought and continue to
fight to have equal rights in
America.
• Rights guaranteed to Americans
continue to expand to encompass all
groups within America.
Internationally:
• The rights of individuals differ from
country to country.
• The UDHR was established to
extend Human Rights to all
individuals in all countries.
Essential Questions:
In what ways were rights expanded to be
more inclusive?
In what ways have American rights been
exclusive?
How have Americans used the court
system to acquire more rights?
In what ways have race and ethnicity
defined who is an American?
How do different cultures define human
rights?
Students will know:
• The specific rights granted to
Americans in the Bill of Rights.
• The struggle for civil rights
throughout American history as
applied to Native Americans,
African-Americans, Asian-
Americans.
• The methods used to secure civil
rights throughout American history.
Students will be able to:
• Identify American rights being
exercised in daily life and media.
• Compare and contrast American
rights to the rights granted to
citizens of foreign nations.
• Explain the tools and methods used
to deny rights to groups using de
facto and de jure policies.
• Current civil rights struggles within
the US and abroad.
• The reasons the UDHR was
established.
• The purpose and enforceability of
the UDHR.
• Assess human rights in various
countries.
• Debate and discuss current event
issues concerning civil and human
rights in America and
internationally.
• Assess the impact of various court
rulings on the expansion of civil
rights in America.
• Explain the impact of court rulings
on civil rights in America.
• Identify how rights have been
expanded by Constitutional
Amendments.
STAGE 2 – ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE
Performance Tasks:
• Projects
• Essays
• Quizzes/Tests
• Debates
Other Evidence:
• Class discussions
• Concept checks
STAGE 3 – LEARNING PLAN
Learning Activities:
• Read and analyze Bill of Rights and its modern interpretation.
• Read and discuss UDHR.
STAGE 4 – RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
Videos:
• Eyes on the Prize
• Race: The House We Live In
• Voices of the Civil Rights
Supplemental Readings:
• FHAO Choices in Little Rock
• Race and Membership Resource Book
• Holocaust and Human Behavior Resource Book
• UDHR
• Bill of Rights
Textbooks:
• Civics in America
• Facing History Civil Rights Movement
RELATED VOCABULARY:
Civil
Right
De jure
De facto
Discriminate
Refugee
Rule of Law
Human
Declaration
Ethics
Resolution
Universality
Jim Crow
Civil Disobedience
Nonviolent resistance
Boycott
Sit-in
Teach-in
Freedom Riders
Integration
Black Codes
Redlining
Amendment
POSSIBLE FIELD TRIPS:
Holocaust Museum
Federal Courts