Georgia SS5H7.c

Social Studies5th GradeHistorical Understandings

The Standard

Explain the impact of the personal computer and the Internet on American life.

Georgia Standards of Excellence for Social Studies · Trace important developments in America from 1975 to 2001.

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students identify how personal computers and the Internet changed communication, work, school, shopping, and entertainment. They explain cause and effect by comparing daily tasks before and after these technologies spread.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students give accurate examples, such as email speeding up communication or computers changing how offices stored records. They can separate the effects of owning a computer from the effects of connecting to the Internet.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think personal computers and the Internet appeared at the same time or reached every household immediately. They may confuse the Internet with the computer itself or describe only positive effects.
How to Assess It: Use this exit ticket: Name one change caused by personal computers and one caused by the Internet, then explain how each affected American life.

Lesson moves

Give pairs task cards to sort into before computers, after computers, and after Internet access, then have them explain two choices.
Ask students to write how completing a school report in 1980 would differ from completing one in 2000.
Play an impact match game using technology cards, daily-life change cards, and explanation cards that students must connect correctly.
Have students plan a trip using a paper map and phone book, then compare that process with using online maps and booking sites.

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