Idaho Social Studies 5.SS.1.9

Social Studies5th GradeHistory

The Standard

Analyze or distinguish the geographic, economic, and religious motivations that influenced the movement of people.

Idaho Content Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students explain why people moved by looking for clues about climate and land, work and resources, or religious practice. They use maps and short accounts to identify reasons that may overlap.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain that drought pushed a family from Oklahoma, while lost farm income gave them an economic reason to leave. They point to evidence rather than guessing from the destination.
Common Misconceptions: Students may mistake the route people took for a geographic reason they moved. They may call a search for farmland only geographic, missing the need to earn a living. They may assume every move had just one cause.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: “In 1935, drought ruined an Oklahoma family's crops, so they moved to California to find paid work.” Name one geographic reason and one economic reason, using a phrase from the sentence for each.

Lesson moves

On a blank map, draw arrows for Pilgrims, California gold seekers, and Dust Bowl families; label each arrow with a reason for moving.
Ask, “Could a Dust Bowl family's move have both a geographic and an economic cause?” Use drought and lost farm income as evidence.
Give teams a Pilgrim account, a gold advertisement, and a drought map; have them match each source to a motive and explain their choices.
Show a local job ad and a current drought map; ask why someone might move today, then compare with a Dust Bowl account.

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A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 5.SS.1.9, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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