Trimester 1
Unit 1 – Government
 I understand that the United States began as 13 separate
colonies.
 I understand that the signing of the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776 gave the colonists their
freedom from England and this is when the United States got
its name.
 I can explain the difference between and the importance of
the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
 I can identify the 3 Branches of Government, who is in
charge of each and the basic role they play.
 I understand how elections work.
 I can identify and explain the importance of the basic
symbols of the United States of America.
 I understand that the United States’ flag has gone through
many changes as our country has grown.
 As a citizen of the United States, I have certain
responsibilities and privileges.
Trimester 2
Unit 2 - Thinking Like a Geographer
 I know the directions on a compass rose and how to use
them to find places on maps.
 I understand the parts of a map, including a key, and how to
use them to locate places on maps.
 I understand how to use the scale on a map to determine
distance.
 I can identify a Wisconsin map and the states and bodies of
water on its borders.
 I can identify the equator and the hemispheres and use them
to help locate places on a map.
 I know how to use latitude and longitude lines and
coordinates to locate places on a map.
 I know that Wisconsin is part of North America and that
continent is made up of 3 main countries including the
United States, Canada and Mexico.
 I can identify various land and water features on maps.
 I can label the 7 continents and 5 oceans on a world map.
 I can use maps to learn about Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the
United States, and the world where we live.
 I understand how maps help us describe the geography of
places around the world.
 I can use maps to locate places around the world.
 I can identify major geographic turning points that shaped
the area that is Milwaukee today.
 I can identify land and waterways around Milwaukee, the
United States and the world.
Trimester 2 & 3
Unit 3: Thinking Like a Historian and Milwaukee’s First People
TOPIC: Thinking Like a Historian
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Students will understand how the past helps us to make sense of the present.
Students will understand history by analyzing artifacts and interpreting photos
from the past and today.
Students will understand that there are a variety of ways to learn about the past.
Students will understand important events in Milwaukee’s history by using a
timeline.
TOPIC: Native Americans/Milwaukee’s First People
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Students will understand the features of the Milwaukee area that attracted people
to settle and live in this area.
Students will understand that Native Americans lived in this area before the
Europeans arrived, and were complex societies.
Students will learn how the government forced Natives from their lands in the
Milwaukee area.
Students will be able to describe how the Natives’ lives changed when settlers
arrived in Wisconsin.
TOPIC: Explorers and Fur Traders
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Students will understand that Nicolet, Marquette, and Joliet, European explorers,
traveled from Green Bay to the Mississippi River in the 1600’s, mapping the area
of Wisconsin. These maps showed new routes to the Mississippi River Valley
and with these maps more people began to arrive in the area.
Students will learn how fur trading and trapping shaped the Milwaukee area.
Students will understand the impact that technology had on the settlement of the
Milwaukee area.
TOPIC: Milwaukee’s Founding Fathers
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Students will understand that three individuals: Juneau, Kilbourn, and Walker
were key folks in developing Milwaukee, and their competition pushed the area to
grow.
Students will discuss and describe how technology had a huge impact on the
lives of the first settlers in Milwaukee.
Students will understand why the railroad was an important invention and how it
helped Milwaukee become a wheat capital.
Trimester 3
UNIT: Coming To Milwaukee: The First Settlers
TOPIC: Arriving in Milwaukee/Immigration
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Students will understand what it means to be an immigrant.
Students will understand that there were conditions and events that pushed
people to leave their homelands and factors that attracted them to settle in the
Milwaukee area.
Students will understand the challenges that immigrants faced traveling to and
settling in a new place.
TOPIC: Neighbors & Strangers/Government
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Students will understand the aspects of homeland cultures that immigrants
brought to Milwaukee.
Students will understand the reason for conflict between the immigrant groups
during this time.
TOPIC: Then & Now - Comparing Milwaukee's Past & Present
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Students will use the U.S. Federal Census reports to study population trends
over time.
Students will be able to compare and contrast the early settlers of Milwaukee
with the lives of people living in Milwaukee today.