Western Hemisphere (Grades 5-8)

History Students examine the connections of their own environment with the past and develop an understanding of how people and events of the past and present influence what happens in the world.

Geography Students explore geographic relationships between physical, environmental characteristics and distinctive cultural features of their community, state, nation and world.

Civic/Government Students learn that they are citizens of their community, nation and world and the importance of the contributions they make to be a responsible, engaged citizen. Students gain understanding in how people create, interact with, and change structures of power, authority and governance that protect the rights of people.

Economic Students explore how people organized and use resources and depend on one another for the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

Discipleship: Students understand the impact of Catholic faith on all aspects of the study of interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, past and present.

Historical Thinking and Skills

Early Civilizations

Heritage

Spatial Thinking and Skills

Places and Regions

Human Systems

  Civic Participation and Skills

Roles and Systems of Government

Economic Decision Making and Skills

Scarcity

Production and Consumption

Markets

Financial Literacy

Evangelization

Social Justice

Living the Faith

Multiple-tier timelines can be used to show relationships among events and places

Early Indian civilizations (Maya, Inca, Aztec, Mississippian) existed in the Western Hemisphere prior to the arrival of Europeans. These civilizations had developed unique governments, social structures, religions, technologies, and agricultural practices and products

European exploration and colonization had lasting effects which can be used to understand the Western Hemisphere today.

Globes and other geographic tools can be used to gather, process and report information about people, places and environments. Cartographers decide which information to include in maps.

Latitude and longitude can be used to make observations about location and generalizations about climate.

Regions can be determined using various criteria (e.g., landform, climate, population, cultural or economic)

Variations among physical environments within the Western Hemisphere influence human activities. Human activities also alter the physical environment.

American Indians developed unique cultures with many different ways of life. American Indian tribes and nations can be classified into cultural groups based on geographic and cultural similarities.

Religious, political, environmental, social and economic factors cause people, products and ideas to move from place to place in the Western Hemisphere in the past and today.

The Western Hemisphere is culturally diverse due to American Indian, European, Asian and African influences and interactions, as evidenced by religion, artistic expression, language, and food.

Individuals can better understand past and current public issues by gathering and interpreting information from multiple sources. Data can be displayed graphically to effectively and efficiently communicate information.

Democracies, dictatorships and monarchies are categories for understanding the relationship between those in power or authority and citizens. (CST 2, 3)

Information displayed in graphs can be used to show data.

The choices people make have both present and future consequences.

The availability of productive resources (i.e., human resources, capital goods and natural resources) promotes specialization that leads to trade

The availability of productive resources and the division of labor impact productive capacity

Regions and countries become interdependent when they specialize in what they produce best and then trade with other regions to increase the amount and variety of goods and services available.

Workers can improve their ability to earn income by gaining new knowledge, skills and experiences.

The influence of missionary work of the Catholic church in the Americas

The importance of defending the dignity of people past and present in the Americas. (CST 1, 4)

The contributions of various Catholic historical figures in the Western Hemisphere