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Fifth Grade - Social Studies
Activities
Career Tree
Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers
Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 1: Students will understand how the exploration and colonization of North America transformed human history.
All Objectives
For this activity, students design a "career tree" based on the occupations of the people in their family.
Design a “career tree” based on the occupations of your family members. Place yourself, brothers, and sisters in the base along with the occupation you/they are interested in or have already chosen. Go back as many generations as you can.
When students have completed the worksheet, have them write each occupation/career on the back of the paper and write 2-3 sentences next to each explain why they would or would not choose that career.
Career Tree Worksheet (pdf)
No Extra Room on the Mayflower
Financial and Economic Concepts: Scarcity and Choices Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 1: Students will understand how the exploration and colonization of North America transformed human history.
Objective 1: Describe and explain the growth and development of the early American colonies.
Instruct students to picture themselves as English Pilgrims in 1617. They are a people persecuted for their religious beliefs. Tell students to imagine that their families have just gained passage on a ship called the Mayflower, bound for America. They will need to start packing for the long voyage, but they must keep in mind that the Mayflower is not a large ship, and there will be 101 other people on the ship. Tell them to pack only the important items.
To help students gain background knowledge about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower, have them explore the following Web site:
*For the youngest students, teachers guide the exploration of this site and help with the task of reading it.
This site will take the students step by step through the Mayflower. There are 10 different parts of the ship to explore. Each section of the ship is described in kid-friendly language and with a picture. Section eight describes the area the Pilgrims lived in for the entire voyage.
After visiting the site, lead the class in a discussion of life on the Mayflower. Ask the students if they think they would have liked living on the Mayflower. Talk with them about how little space the Pilgrims had to live in. Explain that the limited space is an example of scarcity. Scarcity is not having all the goods and services people want. In this case, the people on the Mayflower did not have all the space they wanted.
Suggestion: Conduct a brainstorming session in which the task is to list things the Pilgrims would need in the new land. Ask the students if they have ever packed a suitcase to stay for an overnight visit. Explain that, as they imagine themselves in the role of Pilgrims, they will have limited space in their suitcases, just like the Pilgrims had limited space. Below are some questions that can be used in discussion after the students have toured the Mayflower.
- What would the trip have been like?
- What would you have missed the most?
- Why didn't the Pilgrims bring everything they wanted with them?
- How does the idea of scarcity help to explain why we can't always get what we want? What was scarce on the Mayflower?
Complete Lesson Plan and Assessment
E-Commerce Evolution
Financial and Economic Concepts: Online Commerce Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 4: Students will understand that the 19th century was a time of incredible change for the United States, including geographic expansion, constitutional crisis, and economic growth.
Objective 4: Understand the impact of major economic forces at work in the post-Civil War.
View the E-Commerce Evolution video as a class.
Conduct a class discussion and have students write three paragraphs about their experiences with on line commerce.
Sample discussion questions:
- Describe the era before online commerce.
- What year did online commerce begin?
- Why do you think those who were willing to explore online commerce for their companies had to work so hard?
- How would you describe the future of e-commerce?
Popcorn Economics
Financial and Economic Concepts: Economic Reasoning/Scarcity and Choices Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 4: Students will understand that the 19th century was a time of incredible change for the United States, including geographic expansion, constitutional crisis, and economic growth.
Objective 4: Understand the impact of major economic forces at work in the post-Civil War.
In this lesson, students experience scarcity through an activity. Following the activity, students relate the concept of scarcity to situations in school and their community. Students learn that people make choices because of scarcity.
Complete Lesson Plan and Discussion Questions
The South's Decision to Secede
Financial and Economic Concepts: Economic Reasoning Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 4: Students will understand that the 19th century was a time of incredible change for the United States, including geographic expansion, constitutional crisis, and economic growth.
Objective 4: Understand the impact of major economic forces at work in the post-Civil War.
Your students will consider the following questions:
- In deciding to secede from the Union in 1861, did the South violate its own self-interest and thus disprove the basic economic principle that people seek to further their self-interest in the decisions they make?
To get at the question, each student will assume the role of an ardent secessionist. Acting in this role, the students will apply principles of economic reasoning and use a decision grid to weigh the benefits and costs of the South's effort to create a new nation in which slavery and state's rights would forever be guaranteed by law.
Complete Lesson Plan - including visuals, worksheets, assessments, etc.
Start From Scratch
Financial and Economic Concepts: Online Commerce Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 4: Students will understand that the 19th century was a time of incredible change for the United States, including geographic expansion, constitutional crisis, and economic growth.
Objective 4: Understand the impact of major economic forces at work in the post-Civil War.
Ask students to pretend that they are a member of a family which, due to a disaster, has lost all of their belongings except the clothes they are wearing.
Working individually or in small groups, students should "shop" online for 10-15 items which they will need or want to reestablish their lives.
Students should list the items they would choose to purchase and then discuss their choices.
Suggested questions for class discussion:
- What must we have in order to exist?
- What are some items which are not necessary to make life more comfortable?
- Which of the things you picked out to purchase are necessary to exist?
- How would people acquire these items in the 1950s?
- What things have influenced how we acquire what we need? (Internet, postal service, downloads, computers)
Next to each item on the list, have students explain why they would need or want that item and how it would influence their life.
You’re Going to College
Financial and Economic Concepts: Career Management, including earning an income Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 5: Students will address the causes, consequences and implication of the emergence of the United States as a world power.
Objective 2: Assess the impact of social and political movements in recent United States history.
As students start to think about what they will do after high school graduation, they begin to think about college. Do they plan to go to college? If so, what school do they want to attend? Concerns about money will influence their thinking as they answer these questions. This lesson is designed to help students understand the costs of attending college. Most importantly, it introduces options for covering these costs. By preparing early, students will find that they have many choices for continuing their education after high school graduation.
Assessment Activity - Students drag and drop items to the matching dollar amounts to better understand the cost of college.
Assessment Activity (results can be e-mailed)
Human Capital
Financial and Economic Concepts: Career Management Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 5: Students will address the causes, consequences and implication of the emergence of the United States as a world power.
Objective 3: Evaluate the role of the United States as a world power.
This 3 minute video clip explains the concept of human capital and how it affects earning an income.
Have students fill in the following worksheet as they watch the clip.
Human Capital Worksheet and Answer Key (pdf)
How the Economy Works
Financial and Economic Concepts: Economic Reasoning Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 5: Students will address the causes, consequences and implication of the emergence of the United States as a world power.
Objective 3: Evaluate the role of the United States as a world power.
Use the Scholastic News Online Special Report on the economy to help students understand both general economic terms and the roots of the current crisis.
I Want it Now!
Financial and Economic Concepts: Career Management Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 5: Students will address the causes, consequences and implication of the emergence of the United States as a world power.
Objective 3: Evaluate the role of the United States as a world power.
Present a table or graph on the board using a projector or pass out individual work sheets with the same information.
Ask questions relating to reading these sources of information.
Sample Questions:
- Which group makes the least?
- Which group would earn $350,000 in a lifetime?
When satisfied that students can read the information, ask them to draw conclusions about the statistics.
Suggested questions for class discussion:
- Does education relate to income?
- Why does income go up as education increases?
- How can this information be useful in making future plans?
Math problems can be constructed to demonstrate differences. Attention should be paid to the years the information was gathered.
Safe Online Shopping
Financial and Economic Concepts: Online Commerce Fifth Grade – Social Studies
Standard 5: Students will address the causes, consequences and implication of the emergence of the United States as a world power.
Objective 3: Evaluate the role of the United States as a world power.
After viewing the video, discuss with your class how online commerce has influenced the United States as a world power.
