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Elementary

Missouri State Capitol Building

Contact Information

Melissa Andersen
Elementary Curriculum Coordinator
Email
314-983-5395

Kindergarten

Priority Standards Primary Resource: Young Citizens

Discovering My World

Unit	Title	Enduring Understandings	Essential Questions
1	My Family, My School	Every family is special,even if they look different from mine. Families and schools have rules to help us be good citizens.	How are families the same and how are they different? Why are rules important at home and at school? What makes a good citizen at home and at school?
2	Families Around the World	Groups of people have different cultures that make them special.	Why is showing respect to all individuals important? How are families unique? How are holidays and traditions celebrated differently?
3	My Neighborhood	We live in a neighborhood and can navigate our neighborhood safely. People have jobs so they can buy things they need and/or want.	How do places in a neighborhood help people? How do we make choices? How do people get from place to place in a neighborhood safely?
4	My Country	Certain people have influenced change in the United States. The earth is made up of regions and countries that are special.	What is special about the United States? How do citizens show patriotism? What is special about other countries? How do land and water impact how people live?

Grade 1

Priority Standards Primary Resource: Young Citizens

Exploring My World

Unit	Title	Enduring Understandings	Essential Questions
1	Families Then and Now	Members of a family work together and care for each other. Rules help families, schools, and communities. Families, both past and present, are alike and different.	Why are families important? How are families similar and different? How do rules affect families?
2	Neighborhood and Towns	I am a member of a neighborhood and a town, and there are people who help and improve the community. Neighborhoods are made up of many components which can be represented on a map. Jobs can benefit the community by providing a way to meet the needs and wants of people.	What features make a neighborhood or town? How can I use globes and maps to help me find things? How do we get things we need or want? Why do towns need governments? How do people help their town?
3	We are Americans	America is made up of diverse people, cultures, and places. Groups and individuals came to the United States for a variety of reasons and left a mark on our nation.	What makes us all Americans? What is unique about the geography of the United States? How does the climate of each region affect the activities in that region (both with work and recreation)? How did the cultures of Native Americans differ from the colonists and explorers that came to America? What do famous Americans, symbols, and monuments of the United States reveal about what we value?
4	People are Similar and Different	There are similarities and differences between the cultures and traditions of people living on other continents and people living in the United States. The environment and climate affect multiple aspects of a person’s life, such as what they do for work and recreation.	How are other people the same and different from me? How does the environment shape how people live? What makes a community’s culture?

Grade 2

Priority Standards Primary Resource: Young Citizens

Connecting With My World

Unit	Title	Enduring Understandings	Essential Questions
1	School Community	We all belong to a school community.	Do we have to have rules? What makes a good decision? How can we improve our school?
2	Changes in a Neighborhood	Neighborhoods help meet the needs and wants of the people that live there	How do people use the land in a neighborhood? How are community wants and needs met? Why do people work?
3	The United States	The United States is a nation of diverse geography and citizens that are united by common ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality.	What makes America united? How does geography affect people's lives? How does the legacy of earlier groups and individuals influence subsequent generations? What are the rights and responsibilities of American citizens? What ideas unite Americans?
4	Connecting with People Around the World	People around the world have similarities and differences.	How do maps help us find places? How are people in other countries similar and different from me? Why do people around the world trade with one another? How do people around the world work together to solve problems?

Grade 3

Priority Standards Primary Resource: Young Citizens

Connecting With My World

Unit	Title	Enduring Understandings	Essential Questions
1	St. Louis: Past, Present, and Future	Cities have a past and present, and students can impact the future.	Why do people settle in new areas? How has our city changed over time? How do cities meet the needs of people?
2	Our Country's Geography	Geography impacts how and where we live.	How do maps help us understand where we live? How does geography impact how and where we live? How did geography impact how and where American Indians lived?
3	Our Country	The United States became a nation of many groups of people with a federal government who impacted those groups in different ways.	How did the United States become a nation? How were groups of people impacted by the growth of our nation? How do different groups have different perspectives in historical narratives? How does the federal government affect how we live?
4	Our World	The location of communities change the way people live and the challenges they face.	What types of information can we learn from different types of maps? What is it like to live in different types of communities? What challenges does our planet face? How do people respond to challenges they face?

Grade 4

Priority Standards Primary Resource: MyWorld Missouri History

Missouri History

Unit	Title	Enduring Understandings	Essential Questions
1	Early Settlement of Missouri and Exploration	In the past and in the present, people move from one place to another for better opportunities.	How do events and people in the past affect life today? What made Missouri suitable for a new home? How do opportunities for one group impact another group?
2	Westward Expansion	Nations expand in order to gain more resources, land, power, and influence.	What motivates people to leave their homes? In what ways was Missouri a jumping-off place? How did transportation impact settlers' ability to travel? What effects did the pioneers have on the Missouri Territory? How did Westward Expansion impact the settlers and Native Americans of Missouri?
3	Missouri Government	Our state government provides for its citizens. Citizens are responsible for how their governments work.	What might happen if the government did not exist? What should be the goals of government? How are the rights of citizens protected? How are local, state, and national governments alike and different? Why are checks and balances important to our government? How can people participate in government? How can people make their community a better place?
4	Civil War, Growth, and Change	Growth and development cannot happen without change which is always occurring. Change has unexpected results. People react differently to change. The influence of one’s point of view/beliefs both creates and resolves conflicts.	How can change create opportunities? How does perspective influence how a person remembers and tells about an event? Why do wars happen? What causes significant change? How do our perspectives impact how we experience and remember things? Why do things happen, and how do they unfold? What causes significant historical change? What is worth remembering? Why do people move? Why was there so much conflict in Missouri during the Civil War? How did transportation, education, and communication change after the Civil War?

Grade 5

Priority Standards Primary Resource: MyWorld Our Country

Early American Histories

Unit	Title	Enduring Understandings	Essential Questions
1	Geography and Regions	Geography influences culture, opportunities, choices, and ways of life. Maps and globes tell a story of history, politics, and economics.	What story do maps and globes tell? How does geography affect people’s lives?
2	The First Americans	The Western Hemisphere was laced with diverse, well-developed, and complex American Indian societies that interacted with one another over millennia.	How were the lives of American Indians influenced by where they lived ( geography)? How have American Indian cultures adapted and changed in response to environmental, economic, political, social, and other factors?
3	Early Settlement of America	Interaction between cultures brings about change, both good and bad.	Why do people leave their homelands and settle in new places? How do changes in technology affect people’s lives? What are the advantages and disadvantages when cultures interact?
4	Colonial America	Global trade and cultural exchanges alter the lives of people around the world.	What does it take to build a new society? How did different ways of life contribute to a diverse culture in the Americas? Does cooperation, cruelty, and misfortune better define Colonial America? What happens when cultures collide?
5	American Revolution	People can stand up for what they believe. Political change can have costs and benefits for different groups.	What is worth fighting for? Can political change happen peacefully? What rights should all people have?