Essential Questions:

1. How is bigger not always better?
2. How is change both good and bad?
3. How does a nation earn worldwide respect?

Success Criteria:

• Determining the importance of the Lewis & Clark Expedition
• Identifying what lands were added to our country (Louisiana Territory)
• Evaluating the impact that expanding westward had on technology, society, and relationships with Native Americans
• Comparing and contrasting states and territories
• Analyzing the causes & effects of the War of 1812 (both within the country and our relationship with other countries)
• Analyzing how foreign affairs policies (Monroe Doctrine) affected the US's relationships with other countries
• Understanding key vocabulary: state, territory, agrarian, confederacy, embargo, impressment, corps, nationalism

Our goal is to be able to explain how change can be both positive and negative, but how one responds to conflicts can earn them respect.

How can you help at home?

• Go over the notes in their Social Studies binder and the activities on Social Studies Google Classroom. They also have access to the Discovery Education TechBook online by using their Holmdel Google account login.
• Ask your child about what Inquiry Project they have selected and why. This paper can be found in their binder as well as on Google Classroom. Help them to create a time-management plan for working on this at home throughout the unit.
• Encourage your child to read about current events or watch kid-friendly news programs. You can find some links to kid-friendly news websites on the Useful Links page.
• Help them to better conceptualize time/dates of events by drawing timelines and/or associating historical events with personal/family/familiar events.