Grades 3-5
Social Studies Practices
Overview: Students will apply these skills to create and address questions that will guide inquiry and critical thinking.
These practices should be regularly applied throughout the year. Students will progress through the inquiry cycle
(SSP.01-SSP.04) by analyzing primary and secondary sources to construct and communicate their conceptual
understanding of the content standards and to develop historical and geographic awareness (SSP.05- SSP.06).

SSP.01
Gather information from a variety of primary and secondary sources, including:
● Printed materials (e.g., literary texts, newspapers, political cartoons, autobiographies, speeches,
letters, personal journals)
● Graphic representations (e.g., maps, timelines, charts, artwork)
● Artifacts
● Media and technology sources
SSP.02
Critically examine a primary or secondary source in order to:
● Summarize significant ideas and relevant information
● Distinguish between fact and opinion
● Draw inferences and conclusions
● Recognize author’s purpose, point of view, and reliability

SSP.03
Organize data from a variety of sources in order to:
● Compare and contrast multiple sources
● Recognize differences between multiple accounts
● Frame appropriate questions for further investigation

SSP.04
Construct and communicate arguments supported by evidence to: 

● Demonstrate and defend an understanding of ideas
● Compare and contrast viewpoints
● Illustrate cause and effect
● Predict likely outcomes
● Devise new outcomes or solutions

SSP.05
Develop historical awareness by:
● Recognizing how and why historical accounts change over time
● Recognizing how past events and issues might have been experienced by the people of that time,
with historical context and empathy rather than present-mindedness
● Identify patterns of continuity and change over time, making connections to the present

SSP.06
Develop geographic awareness by:
● Determining relationships among people, resources, and ideas based on geographic location (local,
national, global)
● Determining the use of diverse types of maps based on the purpose
● Analyzing the spatial relationships between people, circumstances, and resources
● Analyzing interaction between humans and the physical environment
● Examining how geographic regions and perceptions of the regions change over time

 

Industrialization, the Gilded Age, and the Progressive Era (1870s-1910s)
Overview: Students will explain the key shifts in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
including: immigration, industrialization, the nation’s role in world affairs, and the Progressive Era.

5.01 Explain the need for the South’s move toward industrialization after the Civil War. C, E, G, H,
T

5.02 Examine the appeal and challenges of settling the Great Plains from various cultural
perspectives, including: settlers, immigrants, Buffalo Soldiers, and American Indians. C, G, H, T

5.03 Analyze the ideas and events of the Gilded Age, including economic disparity (e.g., mistrust of
money) and industrial capitalists (e.g., John D. Rockefeller). C, E, H, P

5.04 Explain the role of labor unions and the American Federation of Labor in changing the standards
of working conditions. C, E, H, P

5.05 Examine the contributions and impact of inventors on American society, including: Alexander
Graham Bell, George Washington Carver, and Thomas Edison. C, E, H

5.06 Examine the impact of important entrepreneurs on American society, including: Andrew
Carnegie, Henry T. Ford, and Cornelius Vanderbilt. C, E, H, P

5.07
Analyze the causes, course, and consequences of the Spanish-American War, including:
 Imperialism
 Rough Riders
 USS Maine
 Yellow journalism
C, E, G, H

5.08 Describe the challenges of the journey and process for successful entry into the U.S. through
Ellis Island and Angel Island, and examine the role of immigrants in the development of the U.S. C, E, G, H

5.09
Analyze the major goals, struggles, and achievements of the Progressive Era, including:
Prohibition (18th Amendment), women’s suffrage (19th Amendment), and the lack of child labor
laws.
C, E, H, P

Wor

ld War I and the Roaring Twenties (1920s-1940s)
Overview: Students will analyze U.S. involvement during World War I as well as the cultural, economic, and political
developments of the 1920s.

5.10 Summarize the events leading to U.S. entry into World War I, including the attack on the RMS
Lusitania and the Zimmerman Telegram. C, G, H, P

5.11
Locate the major countries of the Central and Allied Powers during World War I, including:
 Austria-Hungary G
 France
 Germany
 Great Britain
 Russia

5.12 Describe the impact of U.S. involvement on World War I. C, E, H
5.13 Explain the aims of world leaders in the Treaty of Versailles and why the U.S. Senate rejected
President Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations.
C, E, G, H,
P

5.14
Examine the growth of popular culture during the “Roaring Twenties” with respect to the following:
 Music, clothing, and entertainment
 Automobiles and appliances
 Harlem Renaissance
C, E, H

5.15
Identify the causes of the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover’s role, and its impact on
the nation, including: C, E, H, P,
T  Consumer credit and debt
 Mass unemployment
 Hoovervilles
 Soup kitchens

5.16
Describe how New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt impacted American society
with government-funded programs, including: Social Security, expansion and development of
the national parks, and creation of jobs.
C, E, G, H,

World War II (1930s-1940s)
Overview: Students will analyze U.S. involvement during World War II as well as the impact of the war at home.

5.17 Explain the structures and goals of the governments in Germany and Japan in the 1930s. C, G, H, P

5.18 Determine the significance of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and its impact on the U.S. G, H, P

5.19
Identify and locate the Axis and Allied Powers, including:
G
 Germany
 Italy
 Japan
 France
 Great Britain
 Soviet Union

5.20 Examine the reasons for the use of propaganda, rationing, and victory gardens during World
War II. C, E, H, P

5.21 Analyze the significance of the Holocaust and its impact on the U.S. C, G, H, P

Post-World War II and the Civil Rights Movement (1940s-1960s)
Overview: Students will examine the cultural and political developments in the U.S. after World War II and during the
Civil Rights Movement.
5.22
Examine the growth of the U.S. as a consumer and entertainment society after World War II,
including:
 Suburbs
 Increased access to automobiles
 Interstate Highway System
 Television, radio, and movie theaters
C, E, G, H,
P, T
5.23
Examine how Cold War events impacted the U.S., including:
C, E, G, H,
P
 Arms race
 Berlin Wall
 Cuban Missile Crisis
 Space Race
5.24
Analyze the key people and events of the Civil Rights Movement, including:
 Martin Luther King Jr. and non-violent protests
 Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rosa Parks
 Brown v. Board of Education and Thurgood Marshall
 Freedom Riders and Diane Nash
C, E, H, P,
T, TCA
5.25 Explain the impact of John F. Kennedy’s presidency on the country, including: passage of the
Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, the space program, and his assassination.
C, H,