Florida SS.5.A.6

SS.5.A.6 is a Florida social studies standard. These are the benchmarks under it.

• SS.5.A.6.1

  Describe the causes and effects of the Louisiana Purchase.

• SS.5.A.6.2

  Identify roles and contributions of significant people during the period of westward expansion.

• SS.5.A.6.3

  Examine 19th century advancements (canals, roads, steamboats, flat boats, overland wagons, Pony Express, railroads) in transportation and communication.

• SS.5.A.6.4

  Explain the importance of the explorations west of the Mississippi River.

• SS.5.A.6.5

  Identify the causes and effects of the War of 1812.

• SS.5.A.6.6

  Explain how westward expansion affected Native Americans.

• SS.5.A.6.7

  Discuss the concept of Manifest Destiny.

• SS.5.A.6.8

  Describe the causes and effects of the Missouri Compromise.

• SS.5.A.6.9

  Describe the hardships of settlers along the overland trails to the west.

01

What Students Need to Do

Students trace how the United States added territory and why settlers moved into new lands. They explain how migration affected settlers, Indigenous nations, transportation, and national politics.

02

What Mastery Looks Like

Students can place major land gains, trails, laws, and conflicts on a map or timeline. They can explain causes and effects using evidence from more than one perspective.

03

Common Misconceptions

Students may assume western lands were empty or that all migration was peaceful. They may also confuse land purchases, forced removal, exploration, and settlement as one event.

04

How to Assess It

Give students a blank map and ask them to label one land gain or migration route. Then have them write one cause and two effects, including an Indigenous perspective.

1. 01

   Build a floor map with state outlines, route cards, and yarn showing major trails, land gains, and forced removals.

2. 02

   Write a journal entry comparing a settler's reason for moving west with an Indigenous family's response to arriving settlers.

3. 03

   Play a cause-and-effect card match using events such as the Louisiana Purchase, Indian Removal Act, new canals, and overland migration.

4. 04

   Compare a historical migration route with a modern highway map, then identify how landforms still shape travel and settlement.

• SS.8.A.4

  Demonstrate an understanding of the domestic and international causes, course, and consequences of westward expansion.

• SS.8.A.4.1

  Examine the causes, course, and consequences of United States westward expansion and its growing diplomatic assertiveness (i.e., War of 1812, Convention of 1818...