PEIMS Course Title/Number:

Social Studies 5/02660050

Prerequisite Requirements:

Course completion or grade placement.

Course of Instruction/Lesson Description:

K¹²'s Fifth-Grade History/Social Studies program examines major themes, concepts, and skills in history, geography, civics, and economics, primarily through the stories of great people, great civilizations, and great places. Students study the biographies of famous men and women, as well as basic traditions of our own culture and of far-off people and places.

The American History Before 1865 program provides an overview of the history of the United States. Students study a variety of Native American peoples. They examine the founding and development of the United States, from colonial times through the 19th century.

The instructional plan includes readings and activities on a range of topics and skills integrating history, geography, civics, economics, and cultural studies. A typical lesson includes the following:

• Get Ready: A warm-up activity to reinforce content from the previous lesson and focus attention on the current lesson.
• Teaching Activity: The main text of the lesson, the "story" in history, often including an "online book" with illustrations, photographs, and media that help convey the content.
• Show You Know: Usually three to five short-answer questions that serve as a lesson assessment to help ensure understanding and track students' progress through the course.
• History Notebook: A journal that consists of writing a few sentences explaining the lesson's main ideas.
• Activity Choice: A "hands-on" part of the lesson that gives students a choice of activities that reinforce the lesson objectives. Activities include arts and crafts projects, drawing original pictures or coloring printed sheets of scenes relevant to the lesson content, dramatization and role playing, delivering a speech, and writing in various formats.
• Beyond the Lesson: An optional activity that offers an additional learning opportunity for any student who wants to further explore the topics introduced in the lesson.

Major course expectations include the following.

History

Students will:

• Describe how individuals have shaped the history of various communities.
• Identify major characteristics and accomplishments of selected world civilizations (including Renaissance Europe).
• Associate leaders from history with their major accomplishments.
• Describe major causes and consequences of the European colonization of North America.
• Explain major causes and events leading to American independence.
• Summarize the events leading to the writing of the Constitution of the U.S., including problems with the Articles of Confederation.
• Understand major political, economic, and social changes in the United States in the 19th century, including westward expansion and its effects on Native Americans, the causes and consequences of the Civil War, and the effects of industrialism and technology.
• Understand major political, economic, and social changes in the United States in the 20th century, including new technologies (electricity, airplane, automobile), World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and civil rights.

Geography

Students will:

• Demonstrate an ability to use a variety of maps and geographic tools to obtain and analyze information.
• Understand how to use legends, symbols, scales, and latitude and longitude.
• Understand the patterns and forces that shaped human settlement.
• Recognize how people adapt to and modify their environment.
• Understand the concept of regions and describe regions that are relevant to historical studies (for example, Native American cultural regions).
• Locate the fifty states on a map and identify regions (as defined by groupings of states, for example, New England, the Midwest).
• Compare historical maps to show how a place has changed over time.

Civics and Government

Students will:

• Discuss representative government in the colonies (for example, the Mayflower Compact, colonial assemblies).
• Understand important ideas in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
• Understand the fundamental rights of American citizens guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and other amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
• Recognize that the U. S. Constitution employs three branches of government and a system of checks and balances.
• Describe typical responsibilities of state governments and the federal government.
• Identify current leaders in national government.
• Understand important American customs, symbols, and celebrations.
• Understand how individuals can participate in the democratic process.

Economics

Students will:

• Understand economic reasons for colonization, settlement, and expansion.
• Describe the characteristics of the colonial economy.
• Understand the basic concepts of free enterprise and economic interdependence.
• Understand the basic concepts of supply and demand.
• Explore the relationship between geographic and economic factors in the development of the United States.
• Explore economic implications of developments in industry, transportation, communication, and technology.

Culture

Students will:

• Become familiar with major artistic and architectural achievements from various cultures.
• Compare and contrast the beliefs and values of various cultures.
• Describe major contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups.
• Use problem-solving, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills in gathering, organizing, and evaluating information.
• Analyze varying points of view about an issue or topic.

Lesson Numbers/Duration:

144 total.

Online Importance:

K¹²'s elementary History/Social Studies program provides step-by-step guidance in each lesson. Some activities are presented online, while others are presented offline.

Online lesson content includes "online books" that narrate important events or introduce the lives of significant historical figures. Important activities are only available online, such as animations, reviews, and slide shows.

The Teacher Guide provides the teacher with an outline of the lesson as well as information about assessment and supplemental material that can help the teacher support each student.

Monitoring Student Progress:

At the end of many lessons, students are asked to write an entry in their History Notebook. This journal reinforces learning, serves as a review tool, and helps track student progress.

Most History/Social Studies lessons include an assessment. The assessment helps the teacher gauge whether the student has met the lesson objectives.

Some of these assessments are completed online, with results automatically recorded by the K¹² Online School, while other assessments are completed with pencil and paper, and then results are entered online.

Students and parents can access student-specific screens to determine 1) progress in the number of lessons completed, 2) the lesson assessment (percentage mastered), 3) the semester assessment (percentage mastered), and 4) the number of times the student has taken the assessment instruments. Families who enroll their children in the eCP program have the benefit of help and guidance from an experienced teacher. The teacher will contact students daily through email and phone conferences. Consistent progress-monitoring by the teacher will be undertaken throughout the project period.

Schedule for Monitoring Student Progress:

Each teacher will establish a daily contact schedule for his or her assigned students at a time of day that is reasonably convenient for both parties. Contacts may be asynchronous/synchronous or one-on-one/in groups. The avenues of teacher-initiated contact will be adjusted as determined by the progress that a student makes through his or her learning plan. Parent- and student-initiated contact with teachers can happen at any time. The Acting Director (or designee) will monitor the communication logs to ensure that parents are being routinely supported and informed regarding the student's ongoing progress and participation.

In addition, teachers will monitor progress in mastery of objectives and lesson completion on a weekly basis. Continuous progress-monitoring by the assigned teacher ensures that parents are informed on a regular basis regarding progress and participation.

Required Instructional Materials:

Materials K¹² provides:

• Online lessons and assessments
• America 1942(Kids Discover magazine)
• Inflatable globe
• U.S./world map
• National Geographic Map Essentials
• The U.S. Constitution and Youby Syl Sobel

Other materials:

• Arts and crafts supplies for projects
• Notebook

Standardized Assessment Instruments:

End-of-Course Exams developed by Texas Tech, University of Texas, or K12 Inc.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Compliancy:

Side-by-side comparisons of TEKS and the content of each course have been developed and reviewed to ensure that the online curriculum meets or exceeds TEKS.

Grading/Credit Award Criteria:

A course grade in the content areas will be determined by the score on the End-of-Course Exam (from either Texas Tech University or the University of Texas). The course grade in art, music, health, and PE will be determined by the percentage of lessons completed and mastered. A student will be promoted to the next grade level by passing three of the four End-of-Course Exams (administered in a proctored environment), and the average of the four End-of-Course Exams must be at least 70%.

Contact Information:

Students will be assigned a teacher upon acceptance into TXVA@SW. The teacher will provide the student and family with telephone and email contact information. The student and/or family may contact help desk at 1-886-YOUR K¹² for additional technical, material, or logistical support. Students will be provided with online assistance 24/7 through the TXVA website.