Public learning track
Geography and Map Skills of North America
10 lessons
Goal
Apply geographic tools, spatial thinking, and regional analysis to understand North America's physical and political landscape.
10 lessons
0 of 10 done
- Hemispheres, Continents, and Oceans of the WorldUp next
- Reading Grid Systems: Latitude and LongitudeNot started yet
- Decoding Map Elements: Scales, Legends, and Compass RosesNot started yet
- Major Physical Regions of North AmericaNot started yet
- River Systems and Waterways of the United StatesNot started yet
- Climate Zones and Vegetation Across North AmericaNot started yet
- Political Boundaries: States and Capitals of the United StatesNot started yet
- Analyzing Thematic Maps: Population and ResourcesNot started yet
- Comparing Primary and Secondary Sources in Social StudiesNot started yet
- Historical Timelines and Chronological ThinkingNot started yet
Standards Covered
- 5.T1.4Massachusetts Social Studies Standards · Social Studies · Grade 5 (target) · Grade 5On a map of the United States, locate the first 13 colonies and describe the impact of regional differences in climate on the types of crops that could be grown or harvested profitably in the Northern, mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies; describe varied sources of labor (e.g., self-employed colonists, apprentices, employees, indentured servants, free and enslaved Africans).
- 5.T1.1Massachusetts Social Studies Standards · Social Studies · Grade 5 (target) · Grade 5Explain the early relationships of English settlers to Native Peoples in the 1600s and 1700s, including the impact of diseases introduced by Europeans in severely reducing Native populations, the differing views on land ownership or use, property rights, and the conflicts between the two groups (e.g., the Pequot and King Philip’s Wars in New England).
- 5.T2.4Massachusetts Social Studies Standards · Social Studies · Grade 5 (target) · Grade 5Read the Declaration of Independence (1776), explain its main argument, the reasons given for seeking independence, the meaning of the key ideas on equality and natural and legal rights, and the rule of law.
Curriculum Framework
4th Grade · Social Studies · US-MA-SS
1
10 lessons
Geography and Map Skills of North America
Apply geographic tools, spatial thinking, and regional analysis to understand North America's physical and political landscape.
2
10 lessons
Indigenous Nations and Early European Encounters
Analyze the diverse cultures of Indigenous nations and evaluate the multifaceted impacts of European contact and colonization.
3
7 lessons
Founding the Thirteen Colonies: Leaders and Settlements
Examine the establishment, key leaders, and motives behind the founding of early English settlements across North America.
4
5 lessons
Colonial Life: Regional Economies and Labor Systems
Compare the geographic environments, economic systems, and forms of labor across the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies.
5
11 lessons
Slavery, the Middle Passage, and Colonial Labor
Examine the origins, expansion, and institutionalization of slavery across the colonies, the transatlantic slave trade, and forms of Black resistance.
6
11 lessons
The Road to Revolution and the Declaration of Independence
Explain the ideological, economic, and political causes of the American Revolution and analyze the core arguments of the Declaration of Independence.
7
7 lessons
The Revolutionary War: Battles, Campaigns, and Victory
Analyze key military leadership, turning-point battles, the French alliance, and the path to victory culminating in the Treaty of Paris.
8
5 lessons
Perspectives of the American Revolution: Diverse Voices and Divided Loyalties
Examine the diverse roles, motivations, and viewpoints of Loyalists, Patriots, African Americans, Native nations, women, and British leaders during the Revolutionary War.
9
11 lessons
Creating a New Government: Articles of Confederation and Constitution
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, the significance of Shays' Rebellion, and the foundational compromises of the U.S. Constitution.
10
11 lessons
Westward Growth: The Louisiana Purchase and Corps of Discovery
Evaluate the geopolitical importance of the Louisiana Purchase and trace the scientific, geographic, and diplomatic journey of the Corps of Discovery.
11
10 lessons
The War of 1812 and American Nationalism
Analyze the causes, naval conflicts, major land battles, and nationalistic aftermath of the War of 1812.
12
8 lessons
Early American Industry and Global Commerce
Analyze New England's early industrial revolution, maritime trade networks, and the economic links between northern mills and southern slavery.
13
5 lessons
Native American Resistance and the Indian Removal Act
Examine 19th-century Indigenous resistance movements, legal battles for sovereignty, and the impact of federal Indian removal policies.
14
8 lessons
Indigenous Sovereignty: Mashpee Resistance and the Trail of Tears
Explain how Indigenous nations fought for self-government and resisted forced removal, focusing on the Mashpee Revolt in Massachusetts and the Trail of Tears in the Southeast.
15
10 lessons
Northern Abolition, Western Expansion, and the Domestic Slave Trade
Analyze the state-by-state abolition of slavery in the North, the ban on transatlantic slave importation in 1808, and the expansion of the domestic slave trade into the western states.