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5th Grade Core Knowledge
History and Geography
Spatial Sense and World Lakes Unit Organizer
Summary
In this domain, students will continue adding to their knowledge of world geography and spatial sense. Students
will also learn about important lakes of the world and how lakes are formed. Students will demonstrate their
knowledge of the geographical concepts taught by finding “Wandering Wanda” with clues that are given in
class. Through read aloud and lecture they will understand climate and time zones, the formation of lakes, and
resources lakes provide to the surrounding areas.
The Big Idea
Maps and globes are used to show location and other aspects of human and physical geography.
Colorado State Standards
SS.6.2.1.a Use longitude, latitude, and scale on maps and globes to solve problems
SS.7.2.1.c Collect and analyze data to make geographic inferences and predictions regarding the
Eastern Hemisphere
SS.6.2.1.b Collect and analyze data to interpret regions in the Western Hemisphere
SS.6.2.1.e Distinguish different types of maps and use them in analyzing an issue
SS.7.2.2.d Explain how the physical environment of a place influences its economy, culture, and trade patterns
SS.5.2.1.b Use geographic tools to identify, locate, and describe places and regions in the United States and
suggest reasons for their location
SS.7.2.2.d Explain how the physical environment of a place influences its economy, culture, and trade patterns
Common Core Standards
W5.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task,
purpose and audience.
L5.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling
when writing.
a. Use punctuation to separate items in a series.*
b. Use a comma to separate an introductory element from the rest of the sentence.
d. Use underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works.
e. Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
RI5.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a
grade 5 topic or subject area.
Core Knowledge Unit:
I. World Geography
A. Spatial Sense: working with maps, globes, and other geographic tools
 Read maps and globes using longitude and latitude, coordinates, and degrees.
 Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn: relation to seasons and temperature.
 Climate Zones (review from Grade 4): Prime Meridian, Greenwich, England;
International Date Line.
 Artic Circle and Antarctic Circle.
 From a round globe to a flat map: Mercator projection, conic and plane projections.
B. Great Lakes of the World
 Eurasia: Caspian Sea
 Asia: Aral Sea
 Africa: Victoria, Tanganika, Chad
 North America: Superior, Huron, Michigan, Great Salt Lake

South America: Maracaibo, Titicaca
Core Knowledge Language Arts
I. Writing, Grammar, and Usage
A. Writing and Research
 Produce a variety of types of writing with coherent structure or story line.
 Know how to gather information from different sources, presenting the information in his or
her own words
B. Grammar and Usage
 Correctly use punctuation studied in earlier grades.
Previous Unit: None
Prior Knowledge
Kindergarten- Grade 4
 What maps and globes represent and how to use them
 What rivers, lakes, and mountains are and how they are represented on maps and globes
 The location of the oceans, poles, and 7 continents
 The name of their continent, country, state, and community
 The use of map keys and symbols and directions on a map
 The location of Mexico and Central America; the countries of North America, the Equator;
Northern and Southern hemispheres
 The use of a scale, an atlas, and online resources
 Geography of Canada
 Rivers of the World
 Measuring distances using map scales
 Reading maps and globes using longitude and latitude, coordinates, and degress
 Times zones, Prime Meridian, Greenwich, England; International Date Line
 Major mountain ranges by continent
Next Unit: Ancient Meso-American Civilizations
What Students will Learn in Future Grades
Grade 6
I. World Geography (Spatial Sense; Deserts)
Cross Curricular Links
Mathematics
I. Numbers and Number Sense
 Order and compare numbers
VI. Geometry
 Lines, measuring degrees, angles
Additional Resources
For Teachers:
 The National Geographic Society, www.nationalgeographic.com/education.
 Nystrom, www.nystromnet.com

TerraServer, http://terraserver-usa.com
For Children:
 World Lakes, edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr.
 Lake Michigan (A True Book) by Ann Armbruster
 Mapping the World by Sylvia A. Johnson