What each grade learns › Grade 5 › Geography

What does a 5th grader learn in Geography?

Your child learns to read globes and maps, describe places and regions, and understand landforms, weather, and climate. They also explore how people use and change the land, then take a tour of the world's major regions, from the Americas a

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36 weeks, 72 lessons, in 8 units. Every school and state does it a little differently, so think of this as the usual path.

Globes and Map Basics

Children learn how the Earth is modeled and how we describe where things are, which is the foundation for every other map skill.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.1.3-5, D2.Geo.2.3-5
  1. Week 1: Globes and flat maps: how they are alike and differentAt home: Look at a globe or a map in a book and name one thing each shows well.
  2. Week 1: The equator and the Northern and Southern HemispheresAt home: Draw a circle on paper, add a line through the middle as the equator, and label the top and bottom halves.
  3. Week 2: Lines of latitude (parallels)At home: Use a ruler on a world map to trace a horizontal line and name two places that sit near it.
  4. Week 2: Lines of longitude and the prime meridianAt home: Trace the prime meridian on a map with your finger from the top to the bottom.
  5. Week 3: Finding a place with latitude and longitudeAt home: Pick a city on a map and say which two lines cross closest to it.
  6. Week 3: The seven continentsAt home: Say the seven continents out loud and point to each one on a map.
  7. Week 4: The five oceansAt home: Name the five oceans and point to the one closest to where you live.
  8. Week 4: Using a compass rose: north, south, east, westAt home: Stand in your yard or kitchen and point to each direction, then give a family member directions using them.

Reading and Making Maps

Children practice reading the parts of a map, choosing the right kind of map, and drawing their own.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.1.3-5, D2.Geo.2.3-5, D2.Geo.3.3-5
  1. Week 5: Why flat maps stretch the Earth: map projectionsAt home: Try pressing a peeled orange peel flat and talk about why it tears or stretches.
  2. Week 5: Map titles, keys, and symbolsAt home: Make a key with three symbols for a map of your home, such as a star for the kitchen.
  3. Week 6: Using a map scale to measure distanceAt home: Measure two spots on a map with a ruler or a piece of string and work out the distance.
  4. Week 6: Using a grid to find places on a mapAt home: Draw a tic-tac-toe style grid over a map of your room and give a coordinate for a hidden object.
  5. Week 7: Physical maps and elevation colorsAt home: Look at a physical map and say which color means low land and which means high mountains.
  6. Week 7: Political maps: borders, capitals, and citiesAt home: Find your state or country and its capital on a political map.
  7. Week 8: Road maps and planning a routeAt home: Plan a pretend trip between two towns using a road map or map app, and describe each turn.
  8. Week 8: Thematic maps: rainfall, population, and moreAt home: Find a weather map and explain what the colors tell you about today.
  9. Week 9: Satellite images and aerial photosAt home: Look up your street in a satellite view and spot your home, a park, or a road.
  10. Week 9: Drawing a map of your neighborhoodAt home: Draw a map of your street with a title, key, and compass rose.

Places and Regions

Children learn the language geographers use to describe places and group them into regions, and they meet the regions of the United States.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.3.3-5, D2.Geo.4.3-5, D2.Geo.5.3-5
  1. Week 10: Absolute and relative locationAt home: Give your home's address (absolute), then describe it as near a landmark (relative).
  2. Week 10: Physical characteristics of a placeAt home: List three natural features of your area, like hills, a river, or weather.
  3. Week 11: Human characteristics of a placeAt home: List three things people built or created in your area, such as roads, buildings, or festivals.
  4. Week 11: What is a region?At home: Sort the rooms of your home into regions, like sleeping area and cooking area, and explain why.
  5. Week 12: Formal regions: states, countries, and bordersAt home: Find your state on a map and name the states that share its border.
  6. Week 12: Functional regions: areas organized around a centerAt home: Find your local school district or mail delivery area and talk about what it is centered on.
  7. Week 13: Vernacular regions: the Midwest, the South, and moreAt home: Ask a family member what region they think your area belongs to and why.
  8. Week 13: The five regions of the United StatesAt home: Find the five U.S. regions on a map and say which one you live in.

Landforms and Bodies of Water

Children discover the major shapes of the Earth's surface and the forces that build and wear them down.

Standards: NGSS 5-ESS2-1, 5-ESS2-2; C3 D2.Geo.2.3-5
  1. Week 14: How places change over timeAt home: Compare an old photo of a place with a new one and spot three changes.
  2. Week 14: Layers of the Earth and moving platesAt home: Press a few slices of bread or crackers together on a table to show how plates push against each other.
  3. Week 15: Mountains and how they formAt home: Push two sheets of paper or a towel together on a table and watch the folds rise.
  4. Week 15: Volcanoes: how they build landAt home: Build a model volcano shape from pillows or a pile of sand and show where lava would flow.
  5. Week 16: Earthquakes: why the ground shakesAt home: Rub your palms together slowly and then slip them, to feel how pressure builds and releases.
  6. Week 16: Plains and plateausAt home: Use a flat book for a plain and a book on a stack for a plateau, then compare them.
  7. Week 17: Valleys and canyons: how water carves landAt home: Watch rain or garden water make small channels in dirt or sand.
  8. Week 17: Islands, peninsulas, and coastsAt home: Find one island and one peninsula on a world map and describe how they are different.
  9. Week 18: Rivers and watershedsAt home: Crumple a piece of paper, color the ridges with marker, and sprinkle water to see where it runs.
  10. Week 18: Lakes, oceans, and where Earth's water isAt home: Compare how much of a globe is blue and how much is land.

Weather and Climate

Children learn why different parts of the world have different climates and how climate shapes plants, animals, and life.

Standards: NGSS 3-ESS2-1, 3-ESS2-2, 5-ESS2-1; C3 D2.Geo.5.3-5
  1. Week 19: Weather versus climateAt home: Describe today's weather, then describe what the weather is usually like in each season where you live.
  2. Week 19: Earth's tilt and the seasonsAt home: Shine a flashlight on a ball or orange tilted in two directions to see how sunlight changes.
  3. Week 20: Climate zones: tropical, temperate, and polarAt home: Find the three zones on a world map and note which one you live in.
  4. Week 20: The water cycleAt home: Watch a covered pot of warm water or a cold glass on a warm day to see evaporation and condensation.
  5. Week 21: Wind and ocean currentsAt home: Blow gently across a bowl of water and watch the surface move.
  6. Week 21: How elevation changes climateAt home: Find a tall mountain on a map and talk about why its top has snow even in warm areas.
  7. Week 22: How oceans and lakes affect climateAt home: Compare the temperature of a coastal city and an inland city on a weather website.
  8. Week 22: Biomes: forests and grasslandsAt home: Pick a forest or grassland animal and tell how it lives there.

How People Use the Land

Children see how people use, depend on, and protect natural resources and how land and climate shape where and how people live.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.6.3-5, D2.Geo.7.3-5, D2.Geo.8.3-5, D2.Geo.12.3-5
  1. Week 23: Biomes: deserts and tundraAt home: Compare what you would wear and carry in a desert and in the tundra.
  2. Week 23: Natural resources: renewable and nonrenewableAt home: Sort items at home, like wood, water, oil, and sunlight, into renewable or not.
  3. Week 24: Farming and where crops growAt home: Read the labels on three foods and find where they were grown on a map.
  4. Week 24: Forests, timber, and conservationAt home: Find a paper or wood item at home and talk about how to reuse or recycle it.
  5. Week 25: Water: where it comes from and how we use itAt home: Track how many times your family uses water in one morning.
  6. Week 25: Energy from the land: coal, oil, wind, and sunAt home: Point out three things at home that use electricity and wonder where the energy might come from.
  7. Week 26: Where people live: population densityAt home: Look at a population map and say whether your area is crowded or spread out.
  8. Week 26: Cities, suburbs, and rural areasAt home: Describe which of the three your community is and what makes it so.
  9. Week 27: How people adapt to and change their environmentAt home: Think about a home, a coat, or a road and how it helps people live in your climate.
  10. Week 27: Trade and transportation around the worldAt home: Check labels on three items at home to see where they were made and trace the trip on a map.

World Regions: Americas and Europe

Children begin a tour of the world's regions, learning landscapes, climates, and everyday life in the Americas and Europe.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.3.3-5, D2.Geo.5.3-5, D2.Geo.6.3-5
  1. Week 28: North America: countries and landscapesAt home: Name the three largest countries in North America and find them on a map.
  2. Week 28: Canada: lakes, forests, and cold northAt home: Find the Great Lakes on a map and note which are shared with the U.S.
  3. Week 29: Mexico: mountains, deserts, and coastsAt home: Look at a physical map of Mexico and point out its mountains and coasts.
  4. Week 29: Central America and the CaribbeanAt home: Find the Panama Canal on a map and talk about why ships use it.
  5. Week 30: South America: the Andes and the AmazonAt home: Trace the Amazon River with your finger from the Andes to the Atlantic.
  6. Week 30: Brazil and its neighborsAt home: Find Brazil on a map and name two countries that border it.
  7. Week 31: Europe's landforms and watersAt home: Find the Alps, the Mediterranean Sea, and a major river on a map of Europe.
  8. Week 31: Europe's climate and how people liveAt home: Compare the weather of a southern and a northern European city online.

World Regions: Africa, Asia, Oceania, Poles

Children finish the world tour with Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Antarctica, comparing how land and climate shape life in each.

Standards: C3 D2.Geo.3.3-5, D2.Geo.5.3-5, D2.Geo.6.3-5, D2.Geo.10.3-5
  1. Week 32: Cities, languages, and countries of EuropeAt home: Choose a European country and learn how to say hello in its language.
  2. Week 32: Africa's deserts, savannas, and rainforestsAt home: Find the Sahara on a map and compare its size to your country.
  3. Week 33: The Nile and Africa's people and citiesAt home: Trace the Nile from south to north and name one city along it.
  4. Week 33: Southwest Asia: deserts and waterAt home: Find the Arabian Peninsula on a map and talk about how people get water in dry places.
  5. Week 34: South Asia: the Himalayas and the monsoonAt home: Find Mount Everest on a map and name the countries around the Himalayas.
  6. Week 34: East Asia: China, Japan, and the KoreasAt home: Locate Japan on a map and notice that it is made of islands.
  7. Week 35: Southeast Asia: islands, rivers, and riceAt home: Look at a map of Southeast Asia and count a few of its islands.
  8. Week 35: Australia and New ZealandAt home: Find Australia on a globe and say which hemisphere it is in.
  9. Week 36: The Pacific IslandsAt home: Find a group of Pacific islands on a map and see how far they are from the nearest continent.
  10. Week 36: Antarctica and the polar regionsAt home: Find the North and South Poles on a globe and compare them.

Written with AI from what schools usually teach (like the Common Core for math and NGSS for science). Check your state's standards if you need to match them.