NY Social Studies Standards (Grade 5)

The countries of the Western Hemisphere have varied characteristics and contributions that distinguish them from other countries. Students will explore key cultural characteristics, such as the languages, religions and contributions, of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and one Caribbean or one South American country. Students will compare and contrast key cultural characteristics and contributions associated with the United States with those associated with Canada, Mexico, and a country in either the Caribbean or South America.

Countries in the Western Hemisphere face a variety of concerns and issues specific to the region. Students will investigate a current issue that two or more Western Hemisphere countries are facing together. Some examples include environmental issues, immigration, and trade.

Civilizations share certain common characteristics of religion, job specialization, cities, government, language and writing systems, technology, and social hierarchy. Students will locate the complex societies and civilizations of the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas on a map, and students will determine when these societies and civilizations occurred. Students will investigate the characteristics of the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas, noting similarities and differences.

Complex societies and civilizations adapted to and modified their environment to meet the needs of their people. Students will compare how the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas adapted to and modified their environment to meet the needs of the people, examining the clothing, farming, shelter, and transportation systems for each.

Political states can take different forms, such as city-states and empires. A city-state is comprised of a city with a government that controls the surrounding territory, while an empire is a political organization developed when a single, supreme authority conquers other geographic and/or cultural regions beyond its initial settlements. Students will compare and contrast political states of the Maya and the Aztec, noting the territories that they controlled, the type of rule each had, and how the ruler attempted to unify the people.

Various forms of scientific evidence suggest that humans came to North America approximately 25,000 to 14,000 years ago and spread southward to South America. Students will examine the various theories of the migration routes by which the first humans may have arrived, including the Bering land bridge, using maps and archaeological evidence.

Human populations that settled along rivers, in rainforests, along oceans, in deserts, on plains, in mountains, and in cold climates adapted to and made use of the resources and environment around them in developing distinct ways of life.

Early peoples living together in settlements developed shared cultures with customs, beliefs, values, and languages that give identity to the group. These early peoples also developed patterns of organization and governance to manage their societies. Students will examine maps that show the variety of different Native American groups located in the Western Hemisphere, noting that there are many different culture groups in many different types of physical, climate, and vegetative regions. Students will select one Native American culture group from the United States, one from Canada, and one from the Caribbean region and compare and contrast them by examining how each of these groups adapted to and used the environment and its resources to meet their basic needs, and by examining elements of their culture, including customs, beliefs, values, languages, and patterns of organization and governance.

Different types of economic systems have developed across time and place within the Western Hemisphere. These economic systems, including traditional, market, and command, address the three economic questions: what will be produced, how it will be produced, and who will get what is produced? Students will explore the characteristics of a traditional economy used by the Inuit, the market economy of the United States or Canada, and the command economy of Cuba, noting similarities and differences.

Peoples of the Western Hemisphere have engaged in a variety of economic activities to meet their needs and wants. Students will identify the major natural resources of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and one Caribbean or one South American country to determine the major industries of those countries in relation to available resources. Students will examine why certain products are manufactured in particular places, taking into account the weight, transportation availability, and costs and markets (e.g., soda pop).

Countries trade with other countries to meet economic needs and wants. They are interdependent. Students will examine products that are imported into markets within the United States based on demand for these products, noting how this affects the United States economy. Students will examine products that are exported from the United States to other markets in the Western Hemisphere, noting how this affects the United States economy.

Europeans traveled to the Americas in search of new trade routes, including a northwest passage, and resources. They hoped to gain wealth, power, and glory. Students will investigate explorers from different European countries and map the areas of the Western Hemisphere where they explored, including Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, Pedro Cabral, and Vasco Nunez de Balboa. Students will map the key areas of the Western Hemisphere that were colonized by the English, Dutch, French, Portuguese, and Spanish, comparing the locations, relative sizes, and key resources of these regions.

Europeans encountered and interacted with Native Americans in a variety of ways. Students will examine how Native Americans viewed the newcomers. Students will examine European interactions with Native Americans, using these examples: conquests by Cortez and Pizarro and the resulting demographic change; French in Canada and the fur trade.

The transatlantic trade of goods, movement of people, and spread of ideas and diseases resulted in cultural diffusion. This cultural diffusion became known as the Columbian Exchange which reshaped the lives and influenced the beliefs of people. Students will map the movements of people, plants, animals, and disease between Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Students will examine the effect of diseases introduced to the Western Hemisphere.

Africans were captured, brought to the Americas, and sold as slaves. Their transport across the Atlantic was known as the Middle Passage. Students will investigate why sugar was brought to the Americas, noting where it was grown and why, and the role of supply and demand. Students will examine the conditions experienced by enslaved Africans during the Middle Passage.

Physical maps reflect the varied climate zones, landforms, bodies of water, and natural resources of the Western Hemisphere.

The Western Hemisphere can be divided into regions. Regions are areas that share common, identifiable characteristics such as physical, political, economic, or cultural features. Regions within the Western Hemisphere include: North America (Canada and the United States), Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America), Caribbean, South America.

The physical environment influences human population distribution, land use, and other forms of economic activity. Students will map the regions within the Western Hemisphere and locate major physical features within each region. Students will create a political map of the Western Hemisphere, noting which countries are in which region, and a political map of the United States showing the location of the states. Students will use physical, climate, and vegetation maps in combination with population density, land use, and resource distribution maps to discern patterns in human settlement and types of economic activity.

Government structures, functions, and founding documents vary from place to place in the countries of the Western Hemisphere. Students will examine the basic structure of the United States federal government, including the president, Congress, and the courts. Students will examine the foundational documents of the United States government for evidence of the country’s beliefs, values, and principles. Students will compare and contrast the government structures and functions of the United States government with those of Canada, Mexico, and one other country in either the Caribbean or South America.

Legal, political, and historic documents define the values, beliefs, and principles of constitutional democracy. Students will examine the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, the British North America Act, and the Canadian Bill of Rights in terms of key values, beliefs, and principles of constitutional democracy.

Across time and place, different groups of people in the Western Hemisphere have struggled and fought for equality and civil rights or sovereignty. Students will examine at least one group of people, such as Native Americans, African Americans, women, or another cultural, ethnic, or racial minority in the Western Hemisphere, who have struggled or are struggling for equality and civil rights or sovereignty.

Multinational organizations and nongovernmental organizations in the Western Hemisphere seek to encourage cooperation between nations, protect human rights, support economic development, and provide assistance in challenging situations. Students will examine multinational organizations and nongovernmental organizations and their roles in promoting cooperation, peace, and cultural understanding.