Module 1: The United States of America- Social Studies 5 - Course Guide

Module Overview:

In this module, learners will use latitude and longitude to locate geographical elements, including cities, on a map of the United States and name the capitals of the 50 United States. They will categorize the 50 states into regions of the United States. They will learn about the regions of the United States and its territories.

Module Materials:

Lesson # Lesson Title Material(s)
1 The 50 United States *Social Studies 5A Workbook, ISBN 978-1-63916-168-3 (optional);
2 Regions of the United States None
3 The New England Region None
4 The Mid-Atlantic Region None
5 The South None
6 The Midwest None
7 The Mountain Region None
8 The Southwest None
9 The Pacific Coast Region None
10 Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. Territories None

Module Objectives:

Lesson # Lesson Title Objective(s)
1 The 50 United States
  1. Use latitude and longitude to locate geographical elements, including cities, on a map of the United States.
  2. Name the capitals of the 50 United States.
2 Regions of the United States
  1. Categorize the 50 United States into regions based on various factors.
  2. Create a presentation that illustrates multiple ways to group states in the United States.
3 The New England Region
  1. Describe the defining characteristics of the New England region.
  2. Assess how the defining characteristics of the New England region impact those who live there.
  3. Create a map of important physical features in the region.
4 The Mid-Atlantic Region
  1. Describe the defining characteristics of the Mid-Atlantic region.
  2. Assess how the defining characteristics of the Mid-Atlantic region impact those who live there.
  3. Create a map of important physical features in the region.
5 The South
  1. Describe the defining characteristics of the Southern region.
  2. Assess how the defining characteristics of the Southern region impact those who live there.
  3. Create a map of important physical features in the region.
6 The Midwest
  1. Describe the defining characteristics of the Midwest region.
  2. Assess how the defining characteristics of the Midwest region impact those who live there.
  3. Create a map of important physical features in the region.
7 The Mountain Region
  1. Describe the defining characteristics of the Mountain region.
  2. Assess how the defining characteristics of the Mountain region impact those who live there.
  3. Create a map of important physical features in the region.
8 The Southwest
  1. Describe the defining characteristics of the Southwest region.
  2. Assess how the defining characteristics of the Southwest region impact those who live there.
  3. Create a map of important physical features in the region.
9 The Pacific Coast Region
  1. Describe the defining characteristics of the Pacific Coast region.
  2. Assess how the defining characteristics of the Pacific Coast region impact those who live there.
  3. Create a map of important physical features in the region.
  4. Design a travel brochure that introduces the defining characteristics of a region of the United States.
10 Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. Territories
  1. Describe the defining characteristics of Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. territories.
  2. Assess how the defining characteristics of Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. territories impact those who live there.
  3. Create a map of important physical features in the region.
  4. Compare and contrast regions of the United States.

Module Key Words:

Key Words
United States of America
capital cities
geography
regions
New England
Appalachian Mountains
Mid-Atlantic
Southern United States
Mississippi River
delta
river mouth
Gulf of Mexico
the Midwest
Great Lakes
Great Plains
Mountain region
Rocky Mountains
Great Continental Divide
Great Basin Desert
Southwest region
Rio Grande
Grand Canyon
Pacific Coast region
Pacific Ocean
Cascade Range
Crater Lake
Mount Whitney
Alaska
Hawai'i
American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands

Module Assignments:

Lesson # Lesson Title Page # Assignment Title
1 The 50 United States 3 50 States Map Worksheet
2 Regions of the United States 5 U.S. Regions Presentation Assignment
3 The New England Region 3 New England Region Worksheet
4 The Mid-Atlantic Region 3 Mid-Atlantic Region Worksheet
5 The South 3 The Southern Region Worksheet
6 The Midwest 3 The Midwest Region Worksheet
7 The Mountain Region 3 The Mountain Region Worksheet
8 The Southwest 3 The Southwest Region Worksheet
9 The Pacific Coast Region 3 The Pacific Coast Region Worksheet
9 The Pacific Coast Region 7 U.S. Region Travel Brochure Assignment
10 Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. Territories 4 Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. Territories Worksheet
10 Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. Territories 6 U.S. Regions Comparison Chart Assignment

Learning Coach Notes:

Lesson # Lesson Title Notes
1 The 50 United States Ask your learner to name the 50 state capitals and to explain what latitude and longitude are.
2 Regions of the United States Ask your learner to name the regions of the United States, describe where they are on the map, and explain the characteristics of each region.
3 The New England Region Ask your learner to describe the characteristics of the New England region and what states are a part of this region.
4 The Mid-Atlantic Region Ask your learner to describe the characteristics of the Mid-Atlantic region and what states are a part of this region.
5 The South Ask your learner to describe the characteristics of the South and what states are a part of this region.
6 The Midwest Ask your learner to describe the characteristics of the Midwest region and what states are a part of this region.
7 The Mountain Region Ask your learner to describe the characteristics of the Mountain region and what states are a part of this region.
8 The Southwest Ask your learner to describe the characteristics of the Southwest and what states are a part of this region.
9 The Pacific Coast Region Ask your learner to describe the characteristics of the Pacific Coast region and what states are a part of this region.
10 Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. Territories Ask your learner to describe the characteristics of the Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. Territories.

Module Guiding Questions:

When a student starts a lesson ask them questions to check for prior knowledge and understanding and to review concepts being taught. At the end of the lesson ask the questions again to see if their answer changes.

Lesson Title Question
The 50 United States
  1. What is latitude and longitude?
Regions of the United States
  1. How is the United Stated divided geographically?
The New England Region
  1. What are the characteristics of the New England Region?
The Mid-Atlantic Region
  1. What are the characteristics of the Mid-Atlantic Region?
The South
  1. What are the characteristics of the South?
The Midwest
  1. What are the characteristics of the Midwest?
The Mountain Region
  1. What are the characteristics of the Mountain Region?
The Southwest
  1. What are the characteristics of the Southwest?
The Pacific Coast Region
  1. What are the characteristics of the Pacific Coast Region?
Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.S. Territories
  1. What are the characteristics of the Alaska, Hawai'i, and the U.
  2. S.
  3. Territories?

Module Video Questions:

When a student watches a video take time to ask them questions about what they watched. Suggested questions for the videos in this module are listed here. Suggestion: Have the student watch the entire video first all the way through. Then have them watch the video a second time, as they watch it pause the video and ask the questions.

Lesson Title Video Question

Module Suggested Read Aloud Books:

Take time to read to your student or have them read aloud to you. Read a different book each day. While reading the book point out concepts being taught. You may purchase these books or find them at your local library. Suggested things to discuss while reading the book:

  • What is the main idea?
  • What are three things new you learned?
  • How does this book relate to what you are learning about?

# Book Author Lexile Level
1 The 50 States: Explore the U.S.A. with 50 fact-filled maps! Gabrielle Balkan
2 The 50 States: Fun Facts: Celebrate the people, places and food of the U.S.A! Gabrielle Balkan
3 State Capitals Sara Mulvanny
4 People and Places of the Southeast John Micklos, Jr.
5 People and Places of the West Danielle Smith-Llera
6 People and Places of the Northeast John Micklos, Jr.
7 People and Places of the Southwest Danielle Smith-Llera
8 People and Places of the Midwest Kassandra Radomski

Module Outing:

Take some time to apply what your student is learning to the real world. Suggested outings are below.

# Outing