GRADES 5-6

Overview

Students in the fifth and sixth grades are interested in the ways different groups of people have developed and in the cultures represented in American society. These students begin to examine and question the nature of culture and its influence on human belief systems. While they are not yet skilled at abstract reasoning, fifth and sixth graders are beginning to formulate more focused questions about the emerging American society. This curiosity can be channeled to help students compare how different groups have addressed human needs and concerns and how they have interacted over the course of history in the United States. Fifth and sixth graders are interested in human behavior and historical change and their effects on the environment.

Effective instruction capitalizes upon these natural propensities to help students build on previous understandings of rights and responsibilities and apply them in more complex contexts as they expand their knowledge of economic concepts, patterns of historical change and continuity, and the uses of land. Fifth- and sixth-grade content standards require students to examine and explain the interactions between states and nations and their cultural complexities. These learners are able to think about themselves as persons in civic roles as they grow in the recognition of their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

The main focus of social studies in these grades is a study of the chronological development of the United States through a two-year sequence, as recommended by the National Council for the Social Studies. Through an integrated approach that includes economic, geographic, historic, political, social, and cultural perspectives, these courses emphasize the roles various groups played in the development of American society. The key concepts of chronology, change, conflict, and complexity are addressed, showing connections among the strands of economics, geography, history, and political science.

The effective teacher utilizes a variety of instructional strategies and assessment tools to address various learning styles. Rather than providing all the answers, teachers help students to reason through questions and issues and encourage students to understand and evaluate their own opinions as well as those of others. A strong need for a sense of belonging indicates that students in these two grades benefit from cooperative learning that enables them to develop a deeper sense of identity and to share responsibility with others.

Cherokee County Schools: The content standards, bullets and examples contained within this local version of the Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies are minimum content and are required for instruction. The activities and resources listed in this document are not all-inclusive, but are a representation from which one can pick, choose and blend with activities and resources already employed within the fifth and sixth grade settings. Resources are from state/county adopted textbooks and relevant websites. Content standards are listed; bullet information from the state course of study is labeled A, B, C, and etc.