Colorado Academic Standards Online

Use the options below to create customized views of the Colorado Academic Standards. For all standards resources, see the Office of Standards and Instructional Support.

Social Studies - 2022

Fifth Grade, Standard 1. History

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

1. Apply the process of inquiry to examine and analyze how historical knowledge is viewed, constructed, and interpreted.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Analyze primary and secondary sources from multiple points of view to develop an understanding of early United States history.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Recognize how historical context can affect the perspective of historical sources.
Examine significant historical documents. For example: The Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp Act, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and treaties with Indigenous Nations such as the Two Row Wampum Treaty.
Interpret timelines of eras and themes in North America from early Indigenous Peoples through the European Age of Exploration/post-Columbian colonization and the establishment of the United States Government.
Analyze cartoons, artifacts, artwork, charts, and graphs related to eras and themes in early North America.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Make observations and draw conclusions from a variety of sources when studying American history (Media Literacy).
Identify and explain multiple perspectives when exploring events, ideas, and issues in United States history (Global and Cultural Awareness).

Inquiry Questions:

How do sources with varied perspectives help us to understand what happened in the past?
Why is important to understand the historical context of events?
How might history be different without the Declaration of Independence?
Why is it important to understand the perspectives of diverse groups involved in early United States history? For example: African Americans, Indigenous Peoples, and religious and immigrant groups.

Nature and Skills of History:

Historical thinkers analyze and interpret primary and secondary sources to make inferences about various time periods and show cause-and-effect relationships.
Historical thinkers seek people, places, and events that tell the story of history from multiple perspectives.
Historical thinkers examine data for point of view, historical context, distortion, or propaganda.
Historical thinkers apply the historical method of inquiry to continuously interpret and refine history. For example: Political cartoonists portray multiple perspectives of events, and newspapers may be biased in coverage of events throughout time.
Historical thinkers generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities.
Historical thinkers explain why individuals and groups during the same historical period differed in their perspectives.
Historical thinkers explain connections among historical contexts and people’s perspectives at the time.
Historical thinkers summarize how different kinds of historical sources are used to explain events in the past.
Historical thinkers gather relevant information from multiple sources while using the origin, structure, and context to guide the selection.
Historical thinkers use evidence to develop claims in response to compelling questions.

Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:

Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Articulate the most effective options to access information needed for a specific purpose.
Communicate information using technology.
Understanding how rules for respecting others’ belongings apply to digital content and information privacy.

Prepared Graduates:

2. Analyze historical time periods and patterns of continuity and change, through multiple perspectives, within and among cultures and societies.

Grade Level Expectation:

2. Examine the historical eras, individuals, groups, ideas, and themes in North America from early Indigenous Peoples through the European Age of Exploration/post-Columbian colonization and the establishment of the United States Government.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Explain interactions among various groups such as Indigenous Peoples, enslaved individuals (both Indigenous and African), and European colonists. For example: The cultural genocide of Indigenous Peoples, chattel slavery of Africans, the League of the Iroquois, Spanish missions, and trade networks.
Identify and describe the contributions of significant individuals and groups of Indigenous Peoples, enslaved individuals, and European colonists through the American Revolution. For example: Crispus Attucks, Sybil Luddington, Benjamin Banneker, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry.
Describe the political, social, and economic reasons for the settlement of the European and American colonies and how it affected Indigenous Peoples and enslaved Africans.
Analyze important political, social, economic, and military developments leading to and during the American Revolution.
Investigate causes and effects of significant events in early United States history. For example: The establishment of Jamestown, George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River, the French and Indian War, and the Constitutional Convention.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Identify and explain multiple perspectives including African Americans, Indigenous Peoples, Latinos, Asian Americans, Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, LGBTQ, and religious groups when exploring events, ideas, issues in United States history (Global and Cultural Awareness).

Inquiry Questions:

How did historical events and individuals contribute to diversity in the United States?
How did beliefs and values shape the founding documents?
To what extent did individuals and their ideas contribute to the establishment of the United States government?
Whose voices were left out of the process of establishing the United States government? How have omissions in the historical record shaped our perception of history?
Why is it important to understand the perspective of multiple diverse groups involved in early United States history?
How did European colonization affect Indigenous and enslaved African populations?

Nature and Skills of History:

Historical thinkers use chronology to organize and study cause-and-effect relationships across time.
Historical thinkers study people, places, and events to tell the story of history from multiple diverse perspectives.
Historical thinkers examine the context and information from the past to make connections and inform decisions in the present. For example: The concept of liberty continues to be defended by lawyers and citizens; and the rights and responsibilities of citizens continue to evolve through the work of policy makers, legislators, judges, lawyers, and individuals
Historical thinkers generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities.
Historical thinkers explain connections among historical contexts and people’s perspectives at the time.
Historical thinkers summarize how different kinds of historical sources are used to explain events in the past.
Historical thinkers use evidence to develop a claim about the past.
Historical thinkers construct explanations using reasoning, correct sequence, examples, and details with relevant information and data.

Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:

Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Introduce a topic clearly, provide a general observation and focus, and group related information logically; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Communicate information using technology.

Social Studies - 2022

Fifth Grade, Standard 2. Geography

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

3. Apply geographic representations and perspectives to analyze human movement, spatial patterns, systems, and the connections and relationships among them.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Use geographic tools and sources to research and answer questions about United States geography.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Answer questions about regions of North America and the United States using various types of maps.
Use geographic tools to identify, locate, and describe places and regions in North America and the United States and suggest reasons for their location.
Describe the influence of accessible resources on the development of local and regional communities throughout North America and the United States.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Investigate geographic resources to form hypotheses, make observations, and draw conclusions about communities in the United States (Global and Cultural Awareness).

Inquiry Questions:

How can various types of maps and other geographic tools communicate geographic information incorrectly?
How do you think differently about data when it is displayed spatially?
How and why do we label places?
How have places and regions in the United States been influenced by the physical geography of North America over time?

Nature and Skills of Geography:

Geographic thinkers use geographic tools to evaluate data in order to answer geographic questions.
Geographic thinkers locate places and identify resources, physical features, regions, and populations using geographic tools.
Geographic thinkers use geographic technologies to enhance the ability to locate and analyze maps to answer questions. For example: Historians use maps to help recreate settings of historical events, and individuals use maps to learn about different geographic areas.

Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:

Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Prepared Graduates:

4. Examine the characteristics of places and regions, and the changing nature among geographic and human interactions.

Grade Level Expectation:

2. Examine causes and consequences of movement.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Identify variables associated with discovery, exploration, and migration.
Explain migration, trade, and cultural patterns that result from interactions among people, groups, and cultures.
Describe and analyze how specific physical and political features influenced historical events, movements, and adaptation to the environment.
Analyze how cooperation and conflict among diverse groups of people contribute(d) to political, economic, and social divisions in the United States.
Give examples of the influence of geography on the history of the United States.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Consider purpose, formality of context and audience, and distinct cultural norms when planning the content, mode, delivery, and expression of analysis of historical events and movements (Interpersonal Communication).
Identify and explain multiple perspectives when exploring ideas about conflict in the United States (Global and Cultural Awareness).

Inquiry Questions:

What human and physical characteristics have motivated, prevented, or impeded migration and immigration over time?
How can migration and immigration, voluntary and involuntary, be represented geographically?
How has the movement of people and their belongings affected the environment both positively and negatively?

Nature and Skills of Geography:

Geographic thinkers study patterns of human movement.
Geographic thinkers understand how technology has influenced movement to, colonization of, and the settlement of North America.
Geographic thinkers examine how the migration of individuals affects society including economic and environmental impacts.

Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:

Draw evidence from geographic tools or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration the different opinions people have about how to answer the questions.

Social Studies - 2022

Fifth Grade, Standard 3. Economics

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

5. Evaluate how scarce resources are allocated in societies through the analysis of individual choice, market interaction, and public policy.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Explain how patterns of trade shaped the development of Early America.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Identify examples of the productive resources and explain how they are used to produce goods and services. For example: Land, labor, and capital.
Compare ways in which people and communities exchanged goods and services. For example: Barter and monetary exchange.
Identify the goods and services that were traded among different cultures and regions.
Describe how patterns of trade evolved within Early America.
Explain some of the challenges that American colonists faced that would eventually lead them to the creation of commercial banks.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Investigate to form hypotheses, make observations, and draw conclusions about the development of the systems of exchange in the United States (Critical Thinking and Analysis).
Recognize how members of a community rely on each other through trade and exchange (Civic Engagement).

Inquiry Questions:

How did different cultures or communities in Early America interact with each other?
Why do people trade?
Why do most modern societies choose to use money?
How are financial institutions important to society?

Nature and Skills of Economics:

Economic thinkers analyze trade and the use of money.
Economic thinkers describe and study the importance of exchange in a community.
Economic thinkers understand the actions of financial institutions in a market economy.
Economic thinkers make decisions about how to use scarce resources to maximize the well-being of individuals and society.
Economic thinkers voluntarily exchange goods and services when both parties expect to gain as a result of the trade.
Economic thinkers understand that the principles of markets apply to markets for goods and services, labor, credit, and foreign exchange.
Economic thinkers understand why people specialize and trade, and how that leads to increased economic interdependence in the world economy.
Economic thinkers gather information from a variety of sources and evaluate the relevance of that information when constructing opinions, explanations, or arguments.

Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:

Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration the different opinions people have about how to answer the questions.
Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Identify cause and effect, and fact and opinion.
Conduct research by locating, gathering, and organizing information using online and print resources.
Explain content using maps, graphs, charts, and diagrams.
Use content specific technology tools to support learning.

Social Studies - 2022

Fifth Grade, Standard 4. Civics

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

6. Express an understanding of how civic participation affects policy by applying the rights and responsibilities of a citizen.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Construct an understanding of the foundations, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship in the United States.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Describe and explain examples of individual rights as a foundation of citizenship.
Give examples of group and individual actions that illustrate civic ideals in the founding of the United States. For example: Freedom, rule of law, equality, civility, cooperation, respect, responsibility, and civic participation.
Discuss how the concept of citizenship changed over time in the early American colonies.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Recognize how members of a community rely on each other through a variety of ways when creating rules and norms (Collaboration and Teamwork).
Connect knowledge of the foundations of citizenship in the United States to personal ideas/understandings (Civic Engagement).

Inquiry Questions:

Who is considered a citizen and why?
How has citizenship been decided over the course of U.S. history?
What is the most important right and responsibility of a citizen?
How does the government meet its responsibility to citizens?
What historical or current barriers to citizenship exist?
What barriers to citizenship have affected people including African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ, and religious minorities?

Nature and Skills of Civics:

Civic-minded individuals understand that civic virtues such as civility, cooperation, respect, and responsible participation are foundational components of our society.
Civic-minded individuals understand the significance of peaceful assembly by groups and respectful behavior during a performance or speech.
Civic-minded individuals understand that the foundations of citizenship in the United States ensure that citizens’ rights are being protected. For example: The rule of law applies to everyone in society and all individuals and groups are treated with respect.
Civic-minded individuals analyze historical documents to investigate the development of the national government.
Civic-minded individuals understand the responsibilities of the national government to its citizens.
Civic-minded individuals understand that in order to act responsibly and effectively, citizens must understand the important institutions of their society and the principles that these institutions are intended to reflect.
Civic-minded individuals gather information from a variety of sources and evaluate the relevance of that information when constructing opinions, explanations, or arguments.

Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:

Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Conduct research by locating, gathering, and organizing information using online and print resources.

Prepared Graduates:

7. Analyze the origins, structures, and functions of governments to evaluate the impact on citizens and the global society.

Grade Level Expectation:

2. Investigate the origins, structures, and functions of the United States government.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Explain the foundational documents and significance of the events that led to the establishment of the United States government. Including but not limited to the Philadelphia Convention, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Iroquois Confederacy, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Identify political principles of American democracy and how the Constitution and Bill of Rights reflect and preserve these principles.
Explain the origins, structures, and functions of the three branches of the United States government and the relationships among them.
Describe how the Constitution balances the power of national and state governments.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Identify and explain multiple perspectives when exploring the events leading to the creation of the United States government and the principles of American democracy (Critical Thinking and Analysis).

Inquiry Questions:

What are democratic ideals and practices and their historic origins?
Were the Founding Fathers correct in keeping the Constitution open for flexibility and interpretation?
How have historical documents defined and distributed power?
How has the Constitution been amended beginning with the Bill of Rights and since 1787?
How does a living document, such as the U.S. Constitution, benefit American democracy over time?

Nature and Skills of Civics:

Civic-minded individuals understand the concept of individual rights as a cornerstone to American democracy.
Civic-minded individuals understand the relationships between individual rights and personal responsibility.
Civic-minded individuals know that the origins, structure, and function of the United States government are studied to create an informed, civically literate, and responsible society. For example: Fundamental principles and liberties are still evolving as judges interpret the Constitution, and legislators make laws and local city councils, and boards create regulations.
Civic-minded individuals understand that in order to act responsibly and effectively, citizens must understand the important institutions of their society and the principles that these institutions are intended to reflect.
Civic-minded individuals understand that civics teaches the principles—such as adherence to the social contract, consent of the governed, limited government, legitimate authority, federalism, and separation of powers—that are meant to guide official institutions such as legislatures, courts, and government agencies.

Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:

Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration the different opinions people have about how to answer the questions.
Identify and discuss primary and secondary sources.

Social Studies - 2022

Fifth Grade, Standard 5. Personal Financial Literacy

| Read the Colorado Essential Skills | Expand Set of GLEs Below

Prepared Graduates:

8. Apply economic reasoning skills to make informed personal financial decisions.

Grade Level Expectation:

1. Examine how individuals use financial institutions to manage personal finances.

Evidence Outcomes:

Students Can:

Differentiate between saving and investing.
Establish the function of banking.
Distinguish between different types of financial institutions such as banks and credit unions, and the services provided. For example: Checking accounts, savings accounts, investments, and loans.
Create a way to keep track of money spent and money saved.

Academic Contexts and Connections:

Colorado Essential Skills:

Make connections between information gathered and personal experiences to apply and/or test solutions when choosing a financial institution or financial product (Adaptability and Flexibility).
Express one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and identify how they influence behavior when making decisions regarding choosing a financial institution or financial product (Self-Awareness).
Ask questions to develop further personal understanding when choosing financial institutions and financial products (Self-Advocacy and Initiative).

Inquiry Questions:

What risks and benefits are associated with spending versus saving and investing?
What factors influence choices to save or invest?
How can a checking account help to decide how to spend and save?
Why do people use financial institutions rather than self-banking?
How do people choose a financial institution?
What are the risks and benefits of different financial institutions?

Nature and Skills of Personal Financial Literacy:

Financially capable individuals research, analyze, and make choices regarding their needs when using financial institutions.
Financially capable individuals identify positive and negative incentives that influence the decisions people make.
Financially capable individuals use technology to track and graph the interest accrued on “virtual” investments, checking and savings accounts, investments, and loans.

Disciplinary, Information, and Media Literacy:

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.
Understand how rules for respecting others’ belongings apply to digital content and information privacy.

Need Help? Submit questions or requests for assistance to bruno_j@cde.state.co.us