Fifth Grade

Social Studies

Books: The Ancient World

Mrs. McQueen

2007-2008

 

Skills

The skills exercised in this class will include reading textbooks, reading and interpreting primary sources, note-taking, highlighting, summarizing, debating, information search techniques, presentations, essay writing, planning for and completing projects, participation in class discussions and groups, discussion of journal articles and chapters, public speaking, involvement in an Ancient Egypt simulation, weekly homework and discussion of current events and the use of maps.

Geography

Trimester 1

¯    Continents and Oceans

¯    Central America

¯    Five themes of geography

á      Location

á      Place

á      Human-Environment Interaction

á      Movement

á      Regions

¯    Five Theme Tour Major River Project

¯    Reading Atlases and Creating an atlas of Mesopotamia

 

Trimester 2

¯    Map of Europe

¯    Map Skills

á      Making maps

á      Reading Charts

á      Map Keys

á      Understanding latitude and longitude

 

Trimester 3

¯    Map of the Middle East

¯    Map of South Asia

 

History

Trimester 1

¯    Introduction to history and geography

Ÿ    What is history and how is it practiced?

Ÿ    What is geography?

Ÿ    How do cultures develop and change?

Ÿ    How does physical geography influence history?

¯    Mesopotamia

Ÿ    What are the key elements of a civilization?

Trimester 2

¯    Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece

Ÿ    What is an empire and why do rulers want them?

Ÿ    What is government?

o     What major forms does it take?

¯    Ancient Egypt simulation

Ÿ    Geography, resources, and climate of ancient Egypt and the Nile River

Ÿ    Ancient Egyptian history, beliefs, customs, architecture, art and language

Ÿ    Various levels of contributions in society: nobility, priests, artisans, scribes and farmers

Ÿ    Achievements of ancient Egyptians

    Trimester 3

¯    World Religions

Ÿ    Hinduism

Ÿ    Judaism

Ÿ    Islam

Ÿ    Christianity

Ÿ    Sikhism

Ÿ    Buddhism

Test, Quizzes, Rubrics, Homework and Projects

Ÿ    Geography tests will be given each trimester accompanied by a study guide.

Ÿ    Quizzes pertaining to history will be given throughout the trimester. The girls will be given one week to prepare.

Ÿ    Time for Kids (current events) homework is assigned weekly.

Ÿ    Projects will primarily be done in the classroom; however, there will be instances when the girls will be asked to gather materials or information from home.

Ÿ     Rubrics and personal comments will be given in lieu of grades.