Georgia SS1H1.a
The Standard
Identify the contributions made by these figures: Benjamin Franklin (inventor/author/ statesman), Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence), Meriwether Lewis and William Clark with Sacagawea (exploration), Theodore Roosevelt (National Parks and the environment), George Washington Carver (science), and Ruby Bridges (civil rights).
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Social Studies · Read about and describe the life of historical figures in American history.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students connect Franklin to inventions and public service, and Jefferson to writing the Declaration of Independence. They link Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea to the western expedition, Roosevelt to protected lands, and Carver to plant science. They explain how Ruby Bridges helped end school segregation.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given portraits and action cards, a student correctly matches all six contribution sets. The student describes each contribution in their own words and tells how it helped the country.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may say Franklin was a president or that Jefferson wrote the Constitution. They may claim Carver invented peanuts or confuse Theodore Roosevelt with Franklin Roosevelt. Some credit Lewis and Clark alone, leaving out Sacagawea's work as an interpreter and guide.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Match eight name cards to six contribution cards, with Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea sharing one card. Complete, “___ helped America by ___.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Students build a classroom timeline using portrait cards, picture clues, and one contribution label for each person or team.
Ask students to choose one figure and complete, “Our country is different because this person...” using a drawing and sentence.
Play “Who Am I?” by reading three contribution clues while students hold up the matching portrait card.
Open a map of a nearby protected park, then discuss how preserving that land connects to Theodore Roosevelt's work.
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