Scope and sequence · History & Geography
Grade 5 Geography: Explorers, Navigators and Missionaries
A year of true stories about the people who found their way across the open ocean and the unmapped lands, from Prince Henry’s caravels creeping down the coast of Africa and Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India to John Harrison’s sea clocks, Mercator’s map, Captain Cook’s Pacific, the missionaries who mapped Africa and China, and the race to the poles and the top of Everest, each one told honestly and then tried at the kitchen table with a quadrant, a ball of paper and a map notebook.
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What to cover
32 of 36 lessons are MUST COVER. They are tested on the unit tests and exams, or are skills the SAT/ACT relies on. OPTIONAL lessons are enrichment. Do them if time allows. The course is complete when the MUST COVER lessons are done.
Unit 1: The Portuguese Open the Ocean
- MUST COVER 1.1 Henry the Navigator ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 1.2 Bartolomeu Dias Rounds the Cape · unit test
- MUST COVER 1.3 Vasco da Gama Reaches India ⚙ · unit test
- MUST COVER 1.4 Why Spices Mattered · unit test
Unit 2: Where Am I? Latitude at Sea
- MUST COVER 2.1 The North Star and Latitude ★ ⚙ · unit test
- MUST COVER 2.2 The Astrolabe and the Quadrant ⚙ · unit test
- MUST COVER 2.3 Dead Reckoning ⚙ · unit test
- MUST COVER 2.4 Lost at Sea: The Scilly Disaster of 1707 · unit test
Unit 3: The Longitude Problem
- MUST COVER 3.1 The Longitude Prize ★ ⚙ · unit test
- MUST COVER 3.2 John Harrison’s Clocks ★ ⚙ · unit test
- MUST COVER 3.3 Time Tells Place ⚙ · unit test
- MUST COVER 3.4 Cook Tests the Chronometer ⚙ · unit test
Unit 4: Mapping the World
- MUST COVER 4.1 Ptolemy’s Geography ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 4.2 Waldseemüller Names America · unit test
- MUST COVER 4.3 Mercator’s Projection · unit test
- MUST COVER 4.4 Projections Compared · unit test
Unit 5: Captain Cook and the Pacific
- MUST COVER 5.1 The Transit of Venus ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.2 Mapping New Zealand and Australia · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.3 Scurvy and the Ship’s Diet · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.4 Cook’s Death in Hawaii · unit test
Unit 6: Missionaries as Geographers
- MUST COVER 6.1 William Carey Goes to India ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.2 David Livingstone Crosses Africa ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.3 Hudson Taylor and Inland China · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.4 Mary Slessor of Calabar · unit test
Unit 7: The Ends of the Earth
- MUST COVER 7.1 Peary and Henson Near the North Pole ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 7.2 Amundsen Reaches the South Pole · unit test
- MUST COVER 7.3 Shackleton’s Endurance · unit test
- MUST COVER 7.4 Hillary and Tenzing on Everest · unit test
Unit 8: Judging Explorers Honestly
- MUST COVER 8.1 Courage and Skill ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 8.2 Real Wrongs · unit test
- MUST COVER 8.3 Exchange Across the Ocean · unit test
- MUST COVER 8.4 What Makes a Good Explorer? · unit test
Unit 9: Bonus: Map Lab OPTIONAL unit
- OPTIONAL 9.1 Find the Ship
- OPTIONAL 9.2 Explorer Cards
- OPTIONAL 9.3 Make an Old-Style Map
- OPTIONAL 9.4 Orienteering in the Park
36-week pacing calendar
From the course’s own 36-week pacing guide, with catch-up and review weeks added to fill a 36-week (180-day) year.
| Week | Plan | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Session 1: Lesson 1.1 Henry the Navigator: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.1 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 2 | Session 1: Lesson 1.2 Bartolomeu Dias Rounds the Cape: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.2 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 3 | Session 1: Lesson 1.3 Vasco da Gama Reaches India: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.3 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 4 | Session 1: Lesson 1.4 Why Spices Mattered: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.4 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook Session 3: Unit 1 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 5 | Session 1: Lesson 2.1 The North Star and Latitude: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.1 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 6 | Session 1: Lesson 2.2 The Astrolabe and the Quadrant: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.2 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 7 | Session 1: Lesson 2.3 Dead Reckoning: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.3 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 8 | Session 1: Lesson 2.4 Lost at Sea: The Scilly Disaster of 1707: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.4 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook Session 3: Unit 2 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 9 | Session 1: Lesson 3.1 The Longitude Prize: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.1 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 10 | Session 1: Lesson 3.2 John Harrison’s Clocks: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.2 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 11 | Session 1: Lesson 3.3 Time Tells Place: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.3 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 12 | Session 1: Lesson 3.4 Cook Tests the Chronometer: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.4 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook Session 3: Unit 3 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 13 | Session 1: Lesson 4.1 Ptolemy’s Geography: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.1 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 14 | Session 1: Lesson 4.2 Waldseemüller Names America: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.2 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 15 | Session 1: Lesson 4.3 Mercator’s Projection: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.3 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 16 | Session 1: Lesson 4.4 Projections Compared: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.4 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook Session 3: Unit 4 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 17 | Session 1: Lesson 5.1 The Transit of Venus: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.1 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 18 | Session 1: Lesson 5.2 Mapping New Zealand and Australia: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.2 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 19 | Session 1: Lesson 5.3 Scurvy and the Ship’s Diet: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.3 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 20 | Session 1: Lesson 5.4 Cook’s Death in Hawaii: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.4 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook Session 3: Unit 5 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 21 | Session 1: Lesson 6.1 William Carey Goes to India: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.1 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 22 | Session 1: Lesson 6.2 David Livingstone Crosses Africa: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.2 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 23 | Session 1: Lesson 6.3 Hudson Taylor and Inland China: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.3 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 24 | Session 1: Lesson 6.4 Mary Slessor of Calabar: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.4 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook Session 3: Unit 6 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 25 | Session 1: Lesson 7.1 Peary and Henson Near the North Pole: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.1 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 26 | Session 1: Lesson 7.2 Amundsen Reaches the South Pole: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.2 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 27 | Session 1: Lesson 7.3 Shackleton’s Endurance: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.3 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 28 | Session 1: Lesson 7.4 Hillary and Tenzing on Everest: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.4 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook Session 3: Unit 7 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 29 | Session 1: Lesson 8.1 Courage and Skill: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.1 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 30 | Session 1: Lesson 8.2 Real Wrongs: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.2 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 31 | Session 1: Lesson 8.3 Exchange Across the Ocean: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.3 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 32 | Session 1: Lesson 8.4 What Makes a Good Explorer?: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.4 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook Session 3: Unit 8 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 33 | Session 1: Lesson 9.1 Find the Ship: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.1 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 34 | Session 1: Lesson 9.2 Explorer Cards: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.2 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 35 | Session 1: Lesson 9.3 Make an Old-Style Map: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.3 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook | ||
| Wk 36 | Session 1: Lesson 9.4 Orienteering in the Park: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.4 project, worked examples, practice and map notebook Session 3: Unit 9 review and unit project |
Grading: Projects (effort, careful measuring and the explain-it step) 35%, Map notebook (dated pages, titles, compass roses, keys and neat plotting) 20%, Unit reviews 20%, Unit projects 25%. Scale: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69. Below 60: redo the project or review with help.