There is an awful lot of material to cover in History and we have limited time to accomplish it all. Because of this, I will be "embedding" History into other areas such as reading comprehension and writing. We will try to do as much History as possible in school but I will be assigning homework to help us get through the material that we need to get through.
We do a lot of group work in class, partner work and hands on activities that you have probably do not have much experience in. Working with other kids can be fun, but it can also be challenging. Learning to work together is super important to your futures. It is hard. Sometimes you will get to work with friends other times you will be asked to work with kids you don't know very well. You will learn that it is sometimes easier to work with people you don't know very well...it's all a learning process. Because of all the new things you are learning first quarter will be at a slower pace in order to get used to what I expect to be done.
In order to complete the material by the end of the year we must really kick it into high gear and push hard through the school year in History. It will be worth it though. History is a very exciting and interesting class. I hope you will like it as much as I do.
The Scope and Sequence of History this year:
Unit One: In 5th grade our focus is U.S. History. We begin the school year in Unit One with a study of our land formation and waterways in the various regions of the United States. Unit One will take us from the introduction to the textbook through the regions of the USA. Unit Two: Unit Two will begin with the first Americans, stone age people from Asia, farming and settled life, early people of the Southwest, Indians of North America, We continue to work throughout each of the units on map skills. Unit Three: Unit Three will cover the exploration and settlements of the New World, while Unit Four: Unit Four will cover life in the American colonies. Unit Five: Unit five and six covers the New Nation and Unit Seven: Unit seven dives into the Civil War. Unit Eight and Nine: Units 8 and 9 cover modern times.
The time frame for completion of these topics is tentative. I will try to stay on schedule, but this may change depending upon the pace of the students. Please be sure to check the weekly newsletters for actual assignments as they may change. First Quarter: Unit One and Unit Two Second Quarter: Unit Three and Unit Four Third Quarter: Unit Five, Six and Seven Fourth Quarter: Unit Eight and Nine
U. S. History Curriculum The curriculum we use in 5th grade is The United States, It's History and Neighbors, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, and We The People, The Citizen and The Constitution, The Center for Civic Education- U. S. Congress. We also do daily geography mini lessons and use multiple supplemenatary sources and textbooks as necessary.
Special Projects in History:
Wall of Honor: Because we are 5th graders, our focus is the United States and because our entire existence as a nation, and the freedoms we have, rests on the shoulders of those who have served our country (whether it is in the military, police, fire department, teachers, or other "service" toward making our country strong) we will have a wall in the classroom devoted to those friends and families of people you know who have served in some way. Feel free to bring in a photo of your friend, family or loved one to put on the wall.
5th graders were asked to sing together at the November 11th, Veteran's Day Assembly last year. I hope that we get to do that again this year. Watch the video! Thank you to those who have served, or who are serving our country!
The Nifty Fifty State Reports
During the first quarter of the school year, students will continue their practice of learning how to gather data from resources and practice the writing process of PLANNING, REVISING, EDITING and FINALIZING a report by doing a State Report. Students will draw a State's name in the beginning of the quarter and will spend time inside and outside of school working on this report. The students will be taught strategies to help them during the course of writing class and they will learn about different states and regions during history class. The final report will be due at the end of first quarter. They will have to do an oral presentation of their State. The computer teacher and I will be coordinating lessons around this report. You will likely do some research on the computer and will likely be asked to work on a power-point presentation for his class.
During the second quarter of the school year, students will practice learning how to gather data from resources and practice the writing process of PLANNING, REVISING, EDITING and FINALIZING a report by doing a President Report. Students will draw a President's name in the beginning of the quarter and will spend time inside and outside of school working on this report. The students will be taught strategies to help them during the course of writing class and they will learn about "some" presidents during history class. The final report will be due at the end of the quarter. Students will also do an oral presentation the last week of the quarter. The computer teacher and I will be coordinating lessons around this report. You will likely do some research on the computer and will likely be asked to work on a power-point presentation for his class.
In the beginning of the third quarter, students will have to choose the person that they want to do their Expert Report and Living Wax Museum presentation on. This is the "big" project of the year for 5th grade. By the end of the year, we will have discussed many different people, explorers, founders and "famous" Americans. We will begin work on the "Living Wax Museum" - which I like to call "Expert Reports" in the third quarter and will spend the last half of the year on this project.
What do you do for the Expert Report/LWM? You will choose one person from American history who has had a significant impact on society. The person can be living or dead. You will do research on the person, you will write a full report (following specific guidelines) becoming an "expert" on the person. Then...the fun part...you will share what you learned about the person with the rest of the school by dressing up like the person, setting up your own personal "booth" about the person using/making/finding "props" to use that will help tell your story.
The final report will be due in the fourth quarter. You will present your materials in the fourth quarter to the entire school and we will invite family and friends to come tour the LWM as well.
I must approve the person you do for your Expert Report.
Finally, at the end of the school year, we will visit the Civil War reenactment at Eagle Island. It is a really interesting and exciting field trip into the past. This is a field trip that is worth having dads, moms, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents and family friends come to. The more the merrier! See photos below from 2013. See the section on Civil War to see photos from last year.