ED 344- Social Studies Unit Project

Sierra Kelly
ED 344- Teaching and Learning Social Studies and Arts in Elementary School
Social Studies Unit Plan
Subject: Social Studies and Literacy
Lesson Title: Back to the Future: Exploring American History from 1950-1990s
Grade: 5th
Learning Goals:
Compose an informational text on a decade during mid to late 1900s
Identify and synthesize key details from informational texts
Restate, in own words, they key details of a specific decade
Use illustrations to support their text
Differentiate important aspects of different decades from the 1950s-1990s
Identify reliable sources on the internet
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2 Write informative/ explanatory text to examine a topic and convey
ideas and information clearly
CCSS.ELA.Literacy.W.5.2b Develop a topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations,
or other information and examples related to the topic.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more
individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on
specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.6 Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting
important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources,
demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem
efficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.9 Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to
write or speak about the subject knowledgeably
Introduction:
This is a student centered unit that focuses on creating independent learners. It is used to
introduce the second half of the 20th century before students dive in and learn about each decade
separately. Students will have the opportunity to explore different time periods in American

ED 344- Social Studies Unit Project

Sierra Kelly
history during the mid to late 1900s. During this unit, students will choose a decade; collaborate
with their peers; and use online resources to research their topics. Students will be encouraged to
express originality in their cumulative projects by creating expository text to share their findings
with classmates, families, or other school faculty members.
Cumulative Project
Throughout the unit students will be working on a cumulative project that consists of creating an
expository text for a chosen decade from the mid to late 1900s. These projects are meant for
students to show what they have learned and for them to express their creativity. Students will
include important information they have gathered and use expository text features to complete
their projects. They may design a hand written book or create one online, record a video, write
poetry, write a blog, etc. They may choose whichever way they would like to display their
projects as long as they still follow the guidelines in their rubrics.
DAY 1
The classroom will be set up into five stations. Each station will represent a decade from the
second half of the 20th century (1950s-1990s). Each station will include primary sources from
that specific decade. Sources may include photographs, newspaper articles, comics, poems, song
lyrics, and excerpts from books. The stations will also include handouts that provide some
important information about the decade so that students have some knowledge on events, people,
pop culture, and norms during the time era.
Once the students are split up into five groups, they are ready to travel back in time. The main
reason for this activity is to get the students thinking of what time in American history they find
to be the most interesting. After the students have completed their time travel, they will decide
which decade they want to research.
Materials
Primary sources from the 1950s-1990s
Writing materials for note taking
DAY 2
Today, students will be doing research on their chosen decades. Since the students will be
conducting research online, there will be a mini lesson and we will discuss how we know
something is a credible source or not.
Students will divide into groups based on the decades they chose. At the tables, the materials
from the previous days decade stations will be provided to assist students during their research.

ED 344- Social Studies Unit Project

Sierra Kelly
Students can work collaboratively in their groups, but each child must produce his/her own text.
Each group will be provided with a laptop and a list of possible sites they may use, but they are
not limited to these sites.
Students will be given the grading rubrics so they know what is expected from their expository
texts. Students will also be provided with graphic organizers to help guide them in their
research. These organizers will help students think about events, politics, historical figures, and
pop culture within their decades.
Materials
Computers
List of websites
Rubrics
Graphic Organizer
Primary Sources
Writing materials
DAY 3
The class will take part in a mini lesson about the features of an expository text. Possible features
include: table of content, glossary, graphs/charts/tables, maps, timeline, illustration, title,
headings, subheading, and captions.
Students will spend class time to continue researching their topics. Students are given sufficient
time to research so that they may have very detailed texts to share. They are becoming the
experts in their chosen era and will have the opportunity to communicate what they have learned
with their classmates or others within the school or at home.
Materials
Computers
Graphic Organizer
Rubrics
Primary Sources
Writing Materials
DAY 4
Today students will have some of the class period to finish up on their research if needed. But
most of the class time should be spent working on their expository text.

ED 344- Social Studies Unit Project

Sierra Kelly
Before they begin working on their text we will briefly discuss the rubrics they were given and
what should be included in their books.
On the cover page the books should include a title, an illustration, and the authors name. Within
the books, students will take the information they have gathered from their research and
synthesize it into an informational text. Topics should include:
Major events (politics events, civil rights movements, wars, etc)
Pop culture (styles, movies, music, television, etc.)
Important historical figures (people who have had a major influence during the time era)
Students will have the option to include social norms of the time period.
Students will be asked to provide two examples for each category so that the reader can acquire a
good understanding of the important aspects of the decade. (For students who may struggle with
the assignment, they will only be required to provide one example for each category if students
want greater challenge, they may provide more than two).
We will also discuss which text feature should be included. They will be required to include a
title, headings, table of contents, and illustrations. They will not be required to include the other
features, but for students who want more of a challenge, they can include more of the text
features we have discussed.
Materials
Computers
Graphic Organizer
Rubrics
Primary Sources
Writing Materials
Art Supplies (markers, crayons, pencils, paper, etc.)

DAY 5
Students will use the final day of the unit to complete their expository texts. Half of the class
period will be used to finish their books and the last half of class will be used for the students to
present their projects to the class. The main reasons for students sharing their work are the
opportunity to practice their presentation and speak skills, but also so that classmates can learn
about the decades they did not research. This allows students the chance to learn from one
another. It is encouraged that throughout the presentations students raise questions that will be
answered by the presenter and/or other classmates.
Materials

ED 344- Social Studies Unit Project

Sierra Kelly
Computers
Graphic Organizer
Rubrics
Primary Sources
Writing Materials
Art Supplies (markers, crayons, pencils, paper, etc.)

Formative Assessment
This will take place as the students are researching and writing their books. As I walk around the
room, I will check to see if the students are on topic and they are collecting information that is
relevant to the time period they have chosen. I will check to see if students are using reliable
sources as they conduct research. If students are struggling with any of these aspects, I will help
guide them. If the students are struggling and not using their graphic organizers, I will
encourage them to use the organizer for more assistance. We may review what is required from
them in this assignment or work together to figure out what historical content they should
include from their time period.
Summative Assessment
Summative assessment will include the students cumulative projects and their presentations. The
rubrics students were given at the start of the unit will be used to evaluate the students work. As
the students present their projects to the class I will be assessing whether they included all of the
required features of an expository text and the required historical information. I will also be
looking for whether they used originality in their projects and expressed creativity.