GradeFive

Grade Five Curriculum Related Sites:

American History

Primary Sources WikiSearch for Primary Sources
Primary Access has movie narratives based on primary sources. Primary Access is an online tool that allows students and teachers to combine text, visual, and sound elements, which are then combined to convey information about their chosen historical event or time frame. A library of Primary Access movies is available through a catalog by historical time period. Have students choose a historical event or time frame to research and synthesize their information through a Primary Access movie.
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center | online access to the 200,00 maps & 5,00 atlases at the Boston Public Library, zoom in to inspect details of early maps
By state from the Library of Congress
Ancestry.com | Four centuries and over 90 million war records from NARA dating from Jamestown through the Viet Nam War, 37 million images, Civil War pension records and more. Also, immigration records, census data and birth, marriage and death records.
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History | The Gilder Lehrman Institute offers a growing variety of resources to assist teachers and students. The Institute has pioneered new models of history schools and programs, with proven success in improving academic achievement. It offers professional development opportunities for educators, provides documents and exercises for classroom use, and encourages excellence in student writing with essay prizes.
Immigration to the U.S., 1789-1930 (Harvard site) | Harvard University's Open Collections Program has launched " Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930," a web-based collection of approximately 1,800 books and pamphlets, 6,000 photographs, 200 maps, and 13,000 pages from manuscript and archival collections selected from Harvard's library, archives and museums. The collection is available to Internet users everywhere. By incorporating diaries, biographies and other writings capturing diverse experiences, the collected material provides a window into the lives of ordinary immigrants. In addition to thousands of items now accessible, the collection includes contextual information on immigration and quantitative data.
History Websites by period
Massachusetts Digitized Primary Source Collections | he documentary heritage of Massachusetts is essentially intact from its founding, and much rich information and documentation exists. Throughout the Commonwealth, repositories house irreplaceable collections of books and private and public documents that serve as a rich resource for researchers involved in local, state, regional, national, and international studies. Library staffs in public and academic libraries and in other repositories have long collected materials that document their immediate and adjoining locales as well as focusing on specific collecting areas. Although much of this material is monographs and pamphlets, a significant portion is manuscript material (personal and organizational papers), photographs, posters, ticket stubs, broadsides, etc.
Stages of a Historical Research Project This would be useful to give students at the planning stage of a research assignment.
The History Lab Build your own lessons with primary sources at this interactive site.
History Toolkit This links on this site are useful for specifics such as graveyards, deeds, diaries, oral histories etc.
Historical Google Videos approximately 250 video clips that are about 10 minutes in lengththat have been made available from NARA (National Archives) and they can be played directly online through your computer
Primary Sources Lesson Framework This site has good criteria for selection of primary sources to be used such as reading level, ideas for lessons and assessments.
Smithsonian Source Resources for Teaching American History The site is divided into three main sections: Teaching with Primary Sources, Historical Topics, and Primary Sources. Five teaching strategies for using primary sources in the classroom, such as Jigsaw and Graphic Organizers, are featured in the first section. The historical topics include: Civil Rights, Colonial America, Native American Society, Transportation, Invention, and Westward Expansion. Each topic includes several lesson plans that are organized by grade level and use primary documents to engage students in learning history. The teacher-developed, standards-based lesson plans include links to the documents, vocabulary, activities, assessments, handouts, and extension activities. Also included is a thematic video to go along with each topic and DBQs (Documents and Questions) that can be used independently of the lesson plan.
NARA Great analysis worksheets available on this site!
NARA Teaching with Documents Lesson plans by era
MassMoments.org | Digital Commonwealth |
Maryland Historical Society Great analysis worksheets available on this site!
OpenVault provides online access to unique and historically important content produced by public television station WGBH for individual and classroom learning. The ever-expanding site contains video excerpts, searchable transcripts, a select number of complete interviews for purchase, and resource management tools.
PrimarySourceLearning | Helping educators quickly find and use primary sources related to specific curriculum standards with Best Instructional Practices for all subjects.
How to Read a 200-year old Document and other FAQs Good write-up and explanations for students about primary sources.

A merican Journeys-Eyewitness Accounts of Early American Exploration & Settlem ent | American Memory Collection Finder Search | American Memory Activities to become Familiar | America's Freedom Documents | Core Documents of U.S. Democracy | Cornell's Making of America Digital Library of Primary Sources | Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents | Antebellum-Reconstruction Periods Primary Documents | Civil War Images | Digital Treasures Central Massachusetts | Documenting the American Sout h | Early America | History First Hand (Using Primary Resources) | How to Use Primary Sources | Living History Farms | Making of America | NARA Digital Classroom | Past Portal-Colonial Williamsburg's Portal to American History | Primary Sources on the Web | Primary Sources on the Web | Repositories of Primary Sources | Social Issues Digital Collection (NW US) | Turn of the Centuries Exhibit | Understanding Primary Sources Lesson: The Erie Canal | US & World History Primary Sources on the Web | US Historical Documents | Our Documents | Primary Source Investigation-Children of Yesteryear | Photo Gallery-Children of Yesteryear | Primary Sources on the Web | Primary Source | Memorial Hall Museum-American Centuries Views from New England | NPS Teaching with Historic Places | Picturing Modern America | Repositories of Primary Sources | The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources | Primary Source Learning: Discover, Learn, and Teach with Historical Documents* |

AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1. How and why were the thirteen colonies founded?
2. Why was there an American Revolution?
3. What freedoms took root during theAmerican Revolution?
4. What revolutionary changes are occurring today in our homes, schools, town, state, etc.?

U.S. GOVERNMENT
1. What is government?
2. How do the three branches of government protect democracy?
3. How has our government evolved and how does it continue to evolve?
4. What are the rights and responsibilities between the individual, various groups, and the government?

WESTWARD MOVEMENT
1. Why did people move west?
2. How did weather and seasons affect the pioneers' travels?
3. What events led to the expansion and growth of the United States?

CIVIL WAR
1. What caused the Civil War?
2. How could both the North and South claim to be justified in fighting the war?
3. How can an individual influence the course of history?
4. Is civil unrest occurring today in our country and the world?

ROCKETS AND MOVING OBJECTS - no longer to be taught
1. How is a rocket affected by Newton's third Law of Motion?
2. How does flight affect our lives now and how will it affect us in the future?

INVERTEBRATES AND VERTEBRATES
1. How do animals differ from each other?
2. How does an animal's structure help it to survive?
3. How does a change in the environment affect an animal species?