NYCDOE: Passport to Social Studies - grade 5, Canada case study

Note to Teachers: To help with remote and hybrid learning, digital materials for this unit are available on the NYCDOE TeachHub. Access these materials by following these instructions.

This is a Social Studies unit for Canada relating to the grade five scope and sequence, titled Canada Case Study. It was developed by a team of NYCDOE staff and teachers, in collaboration with scholars of the humanities and social sciences as well as museum curators. Students will immerse themselves in the topic by discussing focus questions, reading and analyzing a rich collection of diverse primary and secondary sources, examining artifacts and lyrics, and interpreting images, such as: paintings, photographs, maps, and atlases.

This guide offers a multitude of perspectives on the geography, history and cultural practices of the United States’ northern neighbor and second largest nation in the world. Topics of representative lessons in this unit include how the culture and beliefs of Canadian provinces are a reflection of the people who make up the specific region, the challenges and opportunities Canada faces in its growth and transformation, interpreting visual and textual documents to evaluate events surrounding the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s, considering different viewpoints about the Canadian national anthem and debate the pros and cons of changing its lyrics, and exploring the local issue of the mining of the Alberta tar sands to determine the long- and short-term effects the issue has on the economy, environment, and the health of the local community

To evaluate student mastery of content knowledge, cognitive processes, and critical thinking skills, this unit includes formative assessments, and a performance-based assessment activity, which has students examining maple syrup production in Canada to distinguish between long- and short-term causes and effects, then decide whether to buy a maple farm.

Please note: the complete set of NYCDOE K-8: Passport to Social Studies Core Curriculum materials include a wide-range of trade books and primary documents, in addition to this unit of study. In order to support rigorous social studies instruction and student inquiry, we recommend that teachers integrate these resources into their daily instruction and assessments plans.

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