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Georgia Standards of Excellence

Grade 5 Social Studies Standards

Everything Georgia expects Grade 5 students to learn in Social Studies, on one page. These are the official Georgia Standards of Excellence: the same goals teachers plan from.

44 standards · Open in the interactive explorer · Plain-text version

Historical Understandings

Historical Understandings

SS5H1Turn-of-Century American Life

Describe how life changed in America at the turn of the century.

Across the grades →

  • SS5H1.a

    Describe the role of the cattle trails in the late 19th century; include the Black Cowboys of Texas, the Great Western Cattle Trail, and the Chisholm Trail.

  • SS5H1.b

    Describe the impact on American life of the Wright brothers (flight), George Washington Carver (science), Alexander Graham Bell (communication), and Thomas Edison (electricity).

  • SS5H1.c

    Explain how William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt expanded America's role in the world; include the Spanish-American War and the building of the Panama Canal.

  • SS5H1.d

    Describe the reasons people immigrated to the United States, from where they emigrated, and where they settled.

SS5H2WWI and Postwar America

Describe U.S. involvement in World War I and post-World War I America.

Across the grades →

  • SS5H2.a

    Explain how German attacks on U.S. shipping during the war in Europe (1914-1917) ultimately led the U.S. to join the fight against Germany; include the sinking of the Lusitania and concerns over safety of U.S. ships, U.S. contributions to the war, and the impact of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

  • SS5H2.b

    Describe the cultural developments and individual contributions in the 1920s of the Jazz Age (Louis Armstrong), the Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes), baseball (Babe Ruth), the automobile (Henry Ford), and transatlantic flight (Charles Lindbergh).

SS5H3Great Depression and New Deal

Explain how the Great Depression and New Deal affected the lives of millions of Americans.

Across the grades →

  • SS5H3.a

    Discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, and soup kitchens.

  • SS5H3.b

    Analyze the main features of the New Deal; include the significance of the Civilian Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

  • SS5H3.c

    Discuss important cultural elements of the 1930s; include Duke Ellington, Margaret Mitchell, and Jesse Owens.

SS5H4U.S. in World War II

Explain America's involvement in World War II.

Across the grades →

  • SS5H4.a

    Describe German aggression in Europe and Japanese aggression in Asia.

  • SS5H4.b

    Describe major events in the war in both Europe and the Pacific; include Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima, D-Day, VE and VJ Days, and the Holocaust.

  • SS5H4.c

    Discuss President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

  • SS5H4.d

    Identify Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, Hirohito, Truman, Mussolini, and Hitler.

  • SS5H4.e

    Describe the effects of rationing and the changing role of women and African Americans or Blacks; include "Rosie the Riveter" and the Tuskegee Airmen.

  • SS5H4.f

    Explain the role of Eleanor Roosevelt and the U.S. in the formation of the United Nations.

SS5H5Cold War Origins and Consequences

Discuss the origins and consequences of the Cold War.

Across the grades →

  • SS5H5.a

    Explain the origin and meaning of the term "Iron Curtain."

  • SS5H5.b

    Explain how the United States sought to stop the spread of communism through the Berlin airlift, the Korean War, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

  • SS5H5.c

    Identify Joseph McCarthy and Nikita Khrushchev.

  • SS5H5.d

    Discuss the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War.

SS5H6America 1950–1975 Overview

Describe the importance of key people, events, and developments between 1950-1975.

Across the grades →

  • SS5H6.a

    Analyze the effects of Jim Crow laws and practices.

  • SS5H6.b

    Explain the key events and people of the Civil Rights movement: Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, and civil rights activities of Thurgood Marshall, Lyndon B. Johnson, Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • SS5H6.c

    Describe the impact on American society of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • SS5H6.d

    Discuss the significance of the technologies of television and space exploration.

SS5H7America 1975–2001 Developments

Trace important developments in America from 1975 to 2001.

Across the grades →

  • SS5H7.a

    Describe the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the role of Ronald Reagan.

  • SS5H7.b

    Describe the events of September 11, 2001, and analyze their impact on American life.

  • SS5H7.c

    Explain the impact of the personal computer and the Internet on American life.

Geographic Understandings

Geographic Understandings

SS5G1Important U.S. Places

Locate important places in the United States.

Across the grades →

  • SS5G1.a

    Locate important man-made places; include the Chisholm Trail; Pittsburgh, PA; Kitty Hawk, NC; Pearl Harbor, HI; Montgomery, AL.; and Chicago, IL.

SS5G2Spatial Economic Patterns

Explain the reasons for the spatial patterns of economic activities.

Across the grades →

  • SS5G2.a

    Locate primary agricultural and industrial locations between the end of the Civil War and 1900 and explain how factors such as population, transportation, and resources have influenced these areas (e.g., Pittsburgh's rapid growth in the late nineteenth century).

  • SS5G2.b

    Locate primary agricultural and industrial locations since the turn of the 20th century and explain how factors such as population, transportation, and resources have influenced these areas (e.g., Chicago's rapid growth at the turn of the century).

Government/Civic Understandings

Government/Civic Understandings

SS5CG1Constitutional Rights Protections

Explain how a citizen's rights are protected under the U.S. Constitution.

Across the grades →

  • SS5CG1.a

    Explain the responsibilities of a citizen.

  • SS5CG1.b

    Explain the concept of due process of law and describe how the U.S. Constitution protects a citizen's rights by due process.

SS5CG2Constitutional Amendment Process

Explain the process by which amendments to the U.S. Constitution are made.

Across the grades →

  • SS5CG2.a

    Explain the amendment process outlined in the Constitution.

  • SS5CG2.b

    Describe the purpose for the amendment process.

SS5CG3Amendments and Democracy

Explain how amendments to the U. S. Constitution have maintained a representative democracy/republic.

Across the grades →

  • SS5CG3.a

    Explain how voting rights are protected by the 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th amendments.

Economic Understandings

Economic Understandings

SS5E1Basic Economic Concepts

Use the basic economic concepts of trade, opportunity cost, specialization, productivity, and price incentives to illustrate historical events.

Across the grades →

  • SS5E1.a

    Describe opportunity costs and their relationship to decision-making across time (e.g., decisions by individuals in response to rationing during WWII).

  • SS5E1.b

    Explain how price incentives affect people's behavior and choices (e.g., decisions to participate in cattle trails because of increased beef prices).

  • SS5E1.c

    Describe how specialization can improve standards of living and productivity (e.g., how Henry Ford's use of the assembly line reduced the price of automobiles).

  • SS5E1.d

    Describe how trade and voluntary exchange promotes economic activity (e.g., how the Panama Canal increases trade among countries).

SS5E2Four U.S. Economic Sectors

Describe the functions of four major sectors in the U. S. economy.

Across the grades →

  • SS5E2.a

    Describe the household function in providing resources and consuming goods and services.

  • SS5E2.b

    Describe the private business function in producing goods and services.

  • SS5E2.c

    Describe the bank function in providing checking accounts, savings accounts, and loans.

  • SS5E2.d

    Describe the government function in taxation and providing certain public goods and public services.

SS5E3Consumer-Producer Interaction

Describe how consumers and producers interact in the U. S. economy.

Across the grades →

  • SS5E3.a

    Describe how competition, markets, and prices influence consumer behavior.

  • SS5E3.b

    Describe how people earn income by selling their labor to businesses.

  • SS5E3.c

    Describe how entrepreneurs take risks to develop new goods and services to start a business.

SS5E4Personal Budget Basics

Identify the elements of a personal budget (income, expenditures, and saving) and explain why personal spending and saving decisions are important.

Across the grades →

Map and Globe Skills

Map and Globe Skills K-12

SSMGS1Compass Rose Cardinal Directions

Use a compass rose to identify cardinal directions. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSMGS2Intermediate Compass Directions

Use intermediate directions. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSMGS3Letter/Number Grid Location

Use a letter/number grid system to determine location. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSMGS4Map Feature Categories

Compare and contrast the categories of natural, cultural, and political features found on maps. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSMGS5Map Scale Distances

Use graphic scales to determine distances on a map. (Mastery)

Across the grades →

SSMGS6Map Key and Legend

Use map key/legend to acquire information from historical, physical, political, resource, product, and economic maps. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSMGS7Geography's Impact Applied

Use a map to explain impact of geography on historical and current events. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSMGS8Map-Based Generalizations Applied

Draw conclusions and make generalizations based on information from maps. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSMGS9Latitude and Longitude Location

Use latitude and longitude to determine location. (Developing)

Across the grades →

SSMGS10Maps Over Time and Perspective

Compare maps of the same place at different points in time and from different perspectives to determine changes, identify trends, and generalize about human activities. (Mastery)

Across the grades →

SSMGS11Maps with Data Sets

Compare maps with data sets (charts, tables, graphs) and /or readings to draw conclusions and make generalizations. (Mastery)

Across the grades →

Information Processing Skills K-12

Information Processing Skills K-12

SSIPS1Comparing Similarities and Differences

Compare similarities and differences. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSIPS2Chronological Organization

Organize items chronologically. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSIPS3Problems and Alternative Solutions

Identify issues and/or problems and alternative solutions. (Mastery)

Across the grades →

SSIPS4Fact vs. Opinion

Distinguish between fact and opinion. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSIPS5Main Idea and Cause-Effect

Identify main idea, detail, sequence of events, and cause and effect in a social studies context. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSIPS6Primary and Secondary Sources

Identify and use primary and secondary sources. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSIPS7Timelines, Charts, and Tables

Interpret timelines, charts, and tables. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSIPS8Social Studies Reference Resources

Identify social studies reference resources to use for a specific purpose. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSIPS9Charts and Tables Construction

Construct charts and tables. (Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSIPS11Drawing Conclusions and Generalizations

Draw conclusions and make generalizations.(Apply and Improve Mastered Skills)

Across the grades →

SSIPS13Dates to Centuries and Eras

Translate dates into centuries, eras, or ages. (Mastery)

Across the grades →

SSIPS14Research Question Formulation

Formulate appropriate research questions. (Mastery)

Across the grades →

SSIPS15Information Relevancy Evaluation

Determine adequacy and/or relevancy of information. (Mastery)

Across the grades →

SSIPS16Information Consistency Checks

Check for consistency of information. (Mastery)

Across the grades →