The following monthly plans were created using the New York State Elementary Level Core Curriculum.  The bold statements for each day are the main concept that a lesson would be built around.  The lessons for September-October move very quickly because they are an overview of the material that should have been taught in fourth grade.  It is essential to cover this material if students don’t know it (based on diagnostic) because they will be tested on it in the middle of November on the Elementary Social Studies Test.  Note: it is extremely important to adapt any curriculum to the specific needs of your students.  These plans should not be used verbatim.  

September 2005

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
4	5	6	7	8	9	10	
	Labor Day

	

	

	First Day of School
Assess Students- Administer Diagnostic

	Growth of New York City- location, and boroughs	

	
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	
	Growth of New York City- physical features and resources	Exploration of New York City and the New World- reasons for exploration	Exploration of New York City and the New World- famous explorers

	Native Americans in New York City- Algonquians (family roles, customs, clothing, government, recreation, and literature)
	Native Americans in New York City- Iroquois (family roles, customs, clothing, government, recreation, and literature)		
18	19	20	21	22	23	24	

	Native Americans in New York City- compare and contrast the Algonquians and the Iroquois
	New York under colonial rule- Dutch settlements (reasons for Dutch settlement)
	New York under colonial rule- adaptation of Dutch lifestyle to New York City

	New York City and the American Revolution- important documents (Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Articles of Confederation)
	New York City and the American Revolution- major battles and major heroes

	
25	26	27	28	29	30		
	Post-Revolutionary economic development- technological advances (steamboat, railroad, Erie Canal)
	Post-Revolutionary economic development- labor movement
	Review concepts	Review concepts
	Assessment	

	

Social Studies: September Review of Fourth Grade

October 2005

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
2	3	4	5	6	7	8	
	Rosh Hashanah

	Rosh Hashanah	New York City and the Civil War- causes of the Civil War	New York City and the Civil War- impact of the Civil War on New York City (slavery, New York City’s response to slavery, and draft riots)	Urbanization of New York City-scientific and technological advances (bridges, electricity, subways, elevators, and skyscrapers)		
9	10	11	12	13	14	15	
	Columbus Day	Immigration- reasons for immigration, immigrant life in New York City

	Immigration- impact of immigration on New York lifestyle	Yom Kippur	Problems of industrialization- child labor, ghettos, and working conditions		
16	17	18	19	20	21	22	
	Problems of industrialization- legislation, labor leaders and women’s suffrage

	New York City government- structure of New York City, New York State, and Federal governments	Skill- reading a map using the key	Skill- reading graphs (bar graphs, line graphs and diagrams)	Skill- reading graphs (flowcharts, pie graphs and tables)		
23	24	25	26	27	28	29	
	Skill-reading graphs (charts and timelines)

	Skill-analyzing primary sources	Skill- taking notes	Review Concepts
	Review Concepts 		
30	31						
	Assessment						

Social Studies: October Review of Fourth Grade (continued)

November 2005

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
		1	2	3	4	5	
		Map skills-directions	Map skills- symbols and scale

	Map skills- types of maps (product, climate, political, etc.)	Map skills- longitude and latitude		
6	7	8	9	10	11	12	
	Map skills-continents	Teachers Only- No Students	Ecosystems- features of desert

	Ecosystems- features of mountain	Veterans Day		
13	14	15	16	17	18	19	
	Ecosystems- features of tundra

	Ecosystems- comparing and contrasting different ecosystems	Influence of geography on how people live- occupations

	Influence of geography on how people live- human/environmental interaction

	Influence of geography on how people live- homes		
20	21	22	23	24	25	26	
	Review Concepts	Review Concepts	Assessment

	
Thanksgiving Break

		
27	28	39	30	
The first few lessons on map skills will be a review of the material covered in preparation for the Elementary Social Studies Test.  This material can be skipped if students have exhibited a mastery of it.

	Effect of physical features on ways people make a living/interact with the environment- Alaska pipeline	Effect of physical features on ways people make a living/interact with the environment- Tennessee Valley Authority	Effect of physical features on ways people make a living/interact with the environment- harnessing waterways

Social Studies: October Geography of Planet Earth

December 2005

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
				1	2	3	
				Effect of physical features on ways people make a living/interact with the environment- change from agricultural to industrial economy	Effect of physical features on ways people make a living/interact with the environment- Great Lakes
		
4	5	6	7	8	9	10	
	Effect of physical features on ways people make a living/interact with the environment- St. Lawrence Seaway	Economic system in the United States	Economic system in the United States (continued)	Cultural changes in the United States through immigration and emigration- explorers from many nations
	Cultural changes in the United States through immigration and emigration- explorers from many nations (continued)
		
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	
	Cultural changes in the United States through immigration and emigration- Asian settlement of the Bering Strait	Cultural changes in the United States through immigration and emigration- Asian settlement of the Bering Strait (continued)	Cultural changes in the United States through immigration and emigration- immigration from around the world and its effects	Cultural changes in the United States through immigration and emigration- immigration from around the world and its effects (continued)	Cultural changes in the United States through immigration and emigration- immigration from around the world and its effects (continued)
		
18	19	20	21	22	23	24	
	Project to review concepts	Project to review concepts	Review Concepts 	Review Concepts 

	Assessment

		
25	26	27	28	29	30	31	
	
Holiday Break

		

Social Studies: DecemberRegions of the United States

January 2006

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
	2	3	4	5	6	7	
	Winter Recess	Geography- size, location, population, distribution, climate, and resources	Geography- comparison of provincial regions	Geography-effect of geography on Canadian people (occupations and growth of cities)	Geography- comparison to United States and other regions of the Western Hemisphere	

	
8	9	10	11	12	13	14	
	Culture/social- bilingualism	Culture/Social- varied ethnicities	Culture/Social- varied ethnicities (continued)	Culture/Social- traditions and holidays	Culture/Social- Comparison to the United States	

	
16	16	17	18	19	20	21	
	Martin Luther King, Jr. Day	History/Government- native civilizations	History/Government- French and English exploration	History/Government- immigration	History/Government- independence	

	
22	23	24	25	26	27	28	
	History/Government- relationship to the United States	History/Government- structure of government (Prime Minister and Parliament)	Economy- resources	Economy- U.S./Canada Links (St. Lawrence Seaway and acid rain)	Review Concepts 		
29	30	31					
	Review Concepts	Assessment					

Social Studies: JanuaryCanada

February 2006

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
			1	2	3	4	
			Geography- location (neighbors)

	Geography- resources and landforms	Cultural/Social- arts and literature 		
5	6	7	8	9	10	11	
	Cultural/Social- religion and family life

	Culture/Social- games and food	Cultural/Social- festivals and holidays

	History/Government- Aztecs and Olmecs	History/Government- Mayans and Spanish	

	
12	13	14	15	16	17	18	
	History/Government- independence movement	History/Government- modern Mexico	Economy- money system and problems of industrialization

	Compare and contrast to the United States and other areas	Project to review concepts	

	
19	20	21	22	23	24	25	

Mid-Winter Recess

			

	
26	27	28					
	Project to review concepts	Assessment	

				

Social Studies: FebruaryMexico

March 2006

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
			1	2	3	4	
			Geography- location and climate
	Geography- physical features (volcanoes and earthquakes)	Geography- effect on way of life	

	
5	6	7	8	9	10	11	
	Culture- influence of Indian cultures	Culture- food and homes	Culture- family life	Culture- arts and folklore	Culture- comparison of various cultures	

	
12	13	14	15	16	17	18	
	Historical/Government- Indian and European influence	Historical/Government- Panama Canal (U.S. role in region)	Historical/Government- variety of governments in region (dictatorship, democracy, etc.)	Historical/Government- variety of governments in region (dictatorship, democracy, etc.) (continued)	Economy- products (coffee and bananas)	

	
19	20	21	22	23	24	25	
	Economy- trade	Famous people from Central America	Comparison to the United States	Project to review concepts	Good Friday	

	
26	27	28	29	30	31		
	Project to review concepts	Assessment	Geography-location of islands	Geography- physical features and climate	Culture- influence of various Indian and European cultures	

	

Social Studies: March Central America

April 2006

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
2	3	4	5	6	7	8	
	Culture- language and cultural diversity in region	Culture- arts and literature	Culture- music and dance	Culture- holidays and religion	Culture- comparison of cultures	

	
9	10	11	12	13	14	15	
	History/Government- Columbus’ encounter with Tainos and Arawaks	Important events- Haitian Independence	Important events- Haitian Independence (continued)	Spring Break Begins	Spring Break Begins	

	
16	17	18	19	20	21	22	

	
NYC Schools Spring Break

	
23	24	25	26	27	28	29	
	Important events- Spanish-American War	Important events- Spanish-American War (continued)	Important events- Cuban Missile Crisis	Important events- Cuban Missile Crisis (continued)	Important events- invasion of Grenada	

	

Social Studies: April Caribbean

May 2006

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
	1	2	3	4	5	6	
	Important events- invasion of Grenada (continued)	Economy- products	Economy- case study of Cuba	Economy- case study of Puerto Rico

	Review Concepts		
7	8	9	10	11	12	13	
	Review Concepts 	Assessment	Geography- location	Geography- varied topography and ecosystems

	Geography- products		
14	15	16	17	18	19	20	
	Geography- natural resources and their importance to the economy
	Geography- effect of geography on occupations and lifestyle	Culture- family	Culture- diversity of languages and cultures (Spanish, Portuguese, African, Indian, etc.)

	Culture- diversity of languages and cultures (Spanish, Portuguese, African, Indian, etc.) (continued)		
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	

	Culture- literature and folktales	Culture- arts, music, and dance	History/Government- varied governments (military, dictatorships, democracy, etc.)

	History/Government- varied governments (military, dictatorships, democracy, etc.) (continued)	History/Government- independence movements and leaders (e.g. Bolivia)		
28	29	30	31				
	Memorial Day	History/Government- independence movements and leaders (e.g. Bolivia) (continued)	Economy- importance of resources

				

Social Studies: May South America

June 2006

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	
				1	2	3	
				Economy- concern over rain forest

	Economy- concern over rain forest (continued)		
4	5	6	7	8	9	10	

	Economy- problem of one crop economy	Review Concepts	Review Concepts	Brooklyn Queens Day
	Assessment		
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	
	End-of-Year Projects

	End-of-Year Projects	End-of-Year Projects	End-of-Year Projects

	End-of-Year Projects		
18	19	20	21	22	23	24	
	End-of-Year Projects 

	End-of-Year Projects	End-of-Year Projects	End-of-Year Projects

	Share Projects		
25	26	27	28	29	30		
	Classroom Cleanup	Classroom Cleanup	Last Day of School	

			

Social Studies: JuneSouth America and End-of-Year Projects