Social Studies instruction in Millard Public Schools prepares students to become engaged citizens in local, national, and global societies. We combine highly interactive learning experiences with exploration of informational text to help students explore multiple perspectives, think critically, and make personal and civic decisions.
We achieve state and district standards using materials from Social Studies Alive!: America’s Past published by Teachers’ Curriculum Institute (TCI). Many of the learning experiences require students to work cooperatively in small groups. Essential questions provide the focus for units of study in history, geography, economics, civics, and current events. In fifth grade, our essential questions include:
How do current events influence the decisions we make?
What can we learn from holiday observances?
What information and skills can we learn and develop through historical research?
What can geography teach us about the United States?
How did American Indians adapt to different environments in North America?
How and why did American Indians’ cultural regions differ?
What did explorers take to and from the New World during the Age of Exploration?
How did exploration of the Americas lead to settlement?
What challenges face the first English Colonies?
How were the three colonial regions alike and different?
What was the impact of slavery on Africans?
How do economics affect our life?
What British actions angered the colonists in the 1700s?
What are the main ideas of the Declaration of Independence?
How did the colonists win the American Revolution?
What are the key features of the U.S. Constitution?
What are the basic rights and freedoms of the American people?
How did the expansion of the United States affect people inside and outside of the country?
What drew new settlers to the western part of the United States in the 1800s?
How do events affect the U.S. economy?
