5th Grade Social Studies Curriculum – Contributions to the U.S. Arts & Science

Are you an upper elementary teacher looking to find a quality TEKS-aligned resource that targets important contributions of individuals in the United States? Looking for minimal-prep and engaging lessons and activities to teach social studies concepts to your 5th-grade students? Look no further!

Unit 14 of the Smart and Simple Social Studies Guided U.S. History Curriculum is about Contributions to the United States. This 2-week unit is designed to help 5th grade students learn about culture, science, technology, and society. Students will understand the relationship between the arts and the times during which they were created. Students will understand the contributions of people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to U.S. culture. Students will also understand the impact of science and technology on society in the U.S.

This 2-week unit includes lesson plans, guided notes, practice activities, exit tickets, a project, unit assessment, and more. Each lesson includes slideshows in both PowerPoint and Google Slides, as well as student digital activities of the notes, practice activities, exit tickets, project, and unit assessment.

This unit primarily correlates to the current TEKS 5th-grade Social Studies standards (adopted in 2024). It includes EVERYTHING you need to teach Contributions in the U.S. – just print & go!

This unit covers the following topics:

• Lesson 1: Art, Music, and Literature in U.S. History
• Lesson 2: Customs, Traditions, and Contributions of Groups in the U.S.
• Lesson 3: Notable Innovators in Science and Technology
• Lesson 4: Contributions to Science and Technology in the United States
• Lesson 5: Contributions to the United States Review

What’s included in this resource?

• 2-week pacing guide and overview
• Scope and Sequence
• 5 teacher lesson plan guides
• 4 non-editable slideshows (Google Drive & PPT versions)
• 1 editable slideshow review game
• Guided notes for Lessons 1-4 (2 versions: fill-in-the-blank and highlighted words)
• 4 practice activities
• 5 exit tickets
• Digital and full-color versions of student activities
• Unit Project
• Unit Assessment
• Answer keys for all student activities

What makes this Guided Social Studies Curriculum Smart and Simple?

✅ The social studies daily lessons and activities are bite-sized and can easily be implemented in 30-45 minutes.

✅ The social studies curriculum is TEKS-aligned (for Texas) but is still flexible enough to use in any order or with any state curriculum.

✅ Each social studies unit has everything you need to simply teach social studies – easy-to-follow lesson plans, guided notes, practice activities, exit tickets, and more!

It’s everything you need to implement engaging social studies lessons that students love and teachers enjoy (because it’s comprehensive and easy to prep)!