| Social Studies GLEs | Essential Questions | Resources |
| People
of America before Columbus |
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| 2A Summarize the viability and diversity of Native American Cultures before Europeans came | 1.
What would life be like in North America if the Europeans never came? 2. How did early people meet their needs for food, clothing , and shelter? 3. How might the Native Americans of the past have influenced your life today? 4. Why is it important to have a variety of people on an expedition or journey? 5. If you were a Native American before the 1700's would you have welcomed the "white man"? |
Native North America |
| Revolution and a New Nation | ||
| Explain the American Revolution, including the perspectives of patriots and loyalists and factors that explain why the Americans were successful | 1.
How could political issues or ideas ever become more important than family
loyalties? 2. Compare and contrast the perspectives of the Loyalists and Patriots. 3. Create a time line of the critical events leading to the American Revolution. 4. How did the French and Indian War influence the colonists? 5. What would lead you during colonial times to trust or distrust people? 6. How might a war affect the lives of the people at this time? 7. If you were a spy in the Revolutionary War, how would you carry out your mission? 8. What would life be like today if the colonists had never decided to take a stand and declare their independence from England? |
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| Identify important principles in the Declaration of Independence, such as inalienable right as and government by consent of the governed | 1.
What is the Declaration of Independence and why was it important? 2. Why do you think the colonists had the right or good reason to write the Declaration of Independence and fight in the Revolutionary War? |
Declaration of Independence |
| 1
Relate the drafting of the Constitution and the formation of a new nation |
1.
What values and principals are basic to our democracy? |
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| Identify important principles in the Constitution including: limited government, rule of law, majority rule, minority rights, separation of powers, checks and balances | 1.
Explain the purpose of the Constitution? 2. How would you explain rule of law? 3. Which of the three branches of government is the most important and why? 4. Which branch of the government is most needed in the running of our country? 5. When rights are in conflict, how do we decide which constitutional right should prevail? 6. Why has the Constitution endured? 7. What is the role of a citizen in society? 8. Do the checks and balances limit the effectiveness of the national government? |
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| Identify
important principles in the Bill of Rights, such as basic rights and freedoms
(for rights listed, see Amendments 1-8, for rights not listed, see Amendment
9) |
1.
What values and principals are basic to our democracy? |
Bill of Rights |
| Identify limited and unlimited government | ||
| Distinguish
between powers and functions of local, state, and national government |
1.
How were the colonies financially tied to Europe? 2. How does the state or federal government acquire the income to provide services? 3. What is the role of a citizen in society? 4. Why do people participate in government? |
|
| Identify
human characteristics, such as people's education, language, diversity,
economics, religions, settlement patterns, ethnic background and political
system |
1. Why did immigrants choose to settle where they did? | Immigrants |
| Geography |
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| 5
Use geographic research sources to acquire information and answer questions |
1.
Why are maps important? 2. How do maps help us? |
Five
themes of geography |
| Construct Maps | ||
| Locate
cities of Missouri and the United States |
1. Why is it important to be able to locate cities in the United States and Missouri? | Interactive Map of the U.S. |
| Locate
states and major topographic features of the United States |
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| Locate
and describe real places using absolute and relative location |
1. Why would you need to know the absolute and relative location of different places? | Relative and Absolute Location |
| Identify
human characteristics, such as people's education, language, diversity,
economics, religions, settlement patterns, ethnic background and political
system |
1.
Why did immigrants choose to settle where they did? 2. How are we like the immigrants and how are we different? |
|
| Identify major patterns of population distribution, demographics and migrations in the United States | 1. If you could choose, which type of community would you live in - urban, rural, or surban? Why? | |
| Identify
different kinds of regions in the U.S. |
1. Which region do you believe is the most important in the U.S.? Defend your answer. | |
| Use
geography to interpret the past, explain the present and plan for the future |
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| Identify physical characteristics, such as climate, topography, relationship to water and ecosystems | 1. What are the
natural resources in your area and how are they used? 2. Who survives in an ecosystem? |
Climate
map of United States |
| Arrival
of Europeans |
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| Outline the discovery, exploration and early settlement of America | 1.
Why were enslaved Africans brought to the Americas? 2.Why did Europeans want to settle in the Americas? 3.What did immigrants find in their new country that changed their lives? 4. How would history have been altered without European contributions? |
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| Examine cultural interactions among these groups: Native Americans, Immigrants from Europe, Africans brought to America | 1.Why
did Europeans want to settle in the Americas? 2. Why did explorers venture west from Europe? 3. What did explorers expect to gain through exploration? 4. How did the encounter between native and non-native peoples shape early colonization? |
|
| Identify
major patterns of population distribution, demographics and migrations in
the United States |
1.
Why were European nations competing for land in the new world? 2. Why were enslaved Africans brought to the colonies? 3. How did exploration affect the native cultures of the Americas? |
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| Expansion of the Nation | ||
| Identify
major patterns of population distribution, demographics and migrations in
the United States |
1.
How did geographical features influence the colonist's way of life? 2. Why did colonists choose to settle where they did? |
|
| Identify different kinds of regions in the U.S. | 1. America - is it really a land of opportunity? | Regions |
| Use
geography to interpret the past, explain the present and plan for the future |
1. How would you use the construction of maps, charts, and other resources to analyze colonial settlement patterns and relationships? | |
| Investigate the causes and consequences of Westward Expansion including: Texas and Mexican War, Oregon Territory, The California Gold Rush | 1.
How did the California Gold Rush help in the expansion of the United States?
2. What would life be like without the Pony Express? |
|
| Examine
cultural interactions among these groups: Native Americans, Immigrants from
Europe, Africans brought to America |
1.What
similarities and differences do present day immigrants have with those of
yesteryear? 2. Why were enslaved Africans brought to the Americas? |
Slavery to Freedom |
| Identify
physical characteristics, such as climate, topography, relationship to water
and ecosystems |
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| Identify
human characteristics, such as people's education, language, diversity,
economics, religions, settlement patterns, ethnic background and political
system |
1.
How are we alike and different? 2. What is the role of scarcity in decision making? 3. How are environmental issues related to economics? |
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