Teacher’s Guide to Around the World (2027 edition)

 

Welcome to the teacher’s guide to the FIFTH-GRADE TN History for Kids workbook Around the World.

This workbook was written to meet the 2027 Tennessee social studies standards. It is the fourth workbook for fifth grade — the other three being Long March to Tennessee, Work for Freedom and Across the USA.

One of the reasons we hope that this teacher’s guide is useful is that if you click on the images here, you can them show larger versions to you students.

We should also point out that almost the the entire content of this workbook covers Standards 5.43, 5.44, and 5.45 — because these 3 standards require fifth graders to learn all 7 continents, learn rivers and mountain ranges and deserts on those 7 continents; and “compare and contrast” the climate, physical features and major countries of the 7 continents — which is a LOT!

 

Chapter One: Home Continent

 

Standard 5.43: Identify and locate on a map the seven continents and five oceans using maps and globes.

Standard 5.44: Identify major physical features of the world, including: Rivers (Amazon, Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Yellow, Ganges); Mountains and Ranges (Alps, Andes, Himalayas, Ural); Deserts (Gobi, Sahara); Bodies of Water (Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Black Sea). 

Standard 5.45: Compare and contrast continents of the world in terms of climate, physical features, major countries and population size. 

The primary purpose of the TN History for Kids workbooks is to help teachers teach and students learn the required social studies standards. However, an important purpose of the 2 fifth grade geography booklets is to tell students that there’s a wonderful world out there!

 

We went out of our way to put beautiful images in this booklet that look nothing like most Tennessee fifth graders have seen before.

If you click on the images throughout this teacher guide, you will see much larger versions of some of the best photos in Around the World. If you have a projector attached to your computer, I recommend that you show these larger images to your class!

 

I’ve also inserted a map of Central America (on the right) which you are welcome to show your students.

 

 

 

SIDEBAR: Borders

 

Standard 5.36: Examine major human features on globes and maps, including transportation, political boundaries, and cities. 

On the left is the photo of the Mexican border in San Diego/Tijuana, on page 6.

 

On the right is the Canadian border photo that appears in the workbook Across the USA.

 

 

 

Chapter Two: Southern Neighbors

 

Standards: Same as Chapter One

You can’t take your students to the Amazon Rainforest, but you can show them photos of what it looks like and animals that they might encounter there.

 

On the right and left are photos of the Amazon rainforest.

 

Below we will show many photos of animals that live there.

 

 

Click on the right to see the photo of the Bullet Ant.

 

 

Click on the left to see the photo of the Amazonian Giant Centipede.

 

 

 

On the right is a jaguar.

 

 

 

On the left is a sloth, which appears to be smiling.

 

 

 

Chapter Three: Small only in Area

 

Standards: Same as Chapters One and Two

A lot of the material mentioned in this workbook is written based on the assumption that the students who are reading it previously read our third and fourth grade U.S. history workbooks (there are 6 of them).

The material on pages 17-20 are written based on the idea that the students have already learned SOMETHING about the Age of Exploration, the 13 colonies, the American Revolution, the world wars, etc.

If you’d like to learn more about these third and fourth grade workbooks, click here.

 

 

Chapter 4: Never Seen the Ocean

 

Part of the “Social Studies Practice” section of the Tennessee Social Studies Standards suggests teachers expose their students to a primary or secondary source and “summarize significant information,” “distinguish between fact and opinion,” and “recognize the authors purpose, point of view and reliability.” (SSP.002)

The photos in chapter 4 are all primary sources. Click on the one on the right and ask your students the following questions about them:

ONE: In what way do children look different than they used to?

TWO: In what ways do children look the same as they used to?

THREE: How would you describe the moods of the children in both of these photos?

FOUR: When you look at these photos in detail, what do you notice that you didn’t notice at first?

 

On the right you see the photo of immigrants on the deck of the S.S. Patricia in 1906.

And on the left you can see a close-up version of some of the immigrants in the previous photo.

 

By my count, I count 5 children in this photo.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5: Desert and Savanna

 

Standards: Same as Chapters 1-4

On the right is the satellite image of Africa, taken by NASA.

 

On the left is the photo taken in Monrovia, Liberia by photographer Erik Hershman. Tennessee has a special connection to Liberia — because many former slaves from Tennessee were sent there between 1845 and 1855, including many previously enslaved to Montgomery Bell.

 

Here, on the right is the photo of the container ship on page 30. Almost no Tennessee fifth graders has ever seen a ship this size (how could they?) Project it on the wall and make it clear to him how large all of these containers are stacked on the deck.

 

Here, on the left, if the elephant photo on page 31.

If your students like elephants, you might show them part (or all) of the fascinating new documentary about the orphans of Retiti, the elephant sanctuary in Kenya.

Click here to see it.

 

 

 

Chapter 6: The Largest Continent

 

Standards: Same as Chapters 1-4 and Chapter 5

I like to show Tennessee students what children look like in other parts of the world. Click on the image on the right to show students at the Raika School in the state of Maharashtra in India. I think we can all agree that students at the Raika School look and dress nothing like students in Tennessee, right?

Click here to see more photos of students at the Raika School.

 

 

On the left is the satellite image (also on page 36) of the Gobi Desert, the Tibetan Plateau, Himalayas and India’s Northern Plain.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7: What’s in a Name?

 

Standards: Same as Chapters 1-3 and 5-6

Click HERE to see an “alternative” quiz for your students about this chapter, which may help them prepare for standardized tests. (The answers are C, B and D.)

The fifth-grade Tennessee History standards refer to the Gulf of Mexico and Denali by those names, but I knew we would face criticism if we didn’t at least address the fact that many Tennesseans now refer to them as the Gulf of America and Mount McKinley.

Click here to read all the names for the Mediterranean Sea. Click here to learn the story behind Angel Falls‘ names. Click here to read why the name Clingman’s Dome was changed to Kuwohi.

 

Chapter 8: Land Down Under

 

Standards: Same as Chapters 1-3 and 5-7

Click on the right to see the image of Australia from space.

It’s okay for students to laugh in social studies class; in fact, if they get used to laughing in social studies class, they may find that they enjoy it, and will be more likely to learn.

 

The reason I’m saying this is that click on the left to see a funny map of Australia which points out how many animals are dangerous there. I found this map on reddit.com, and the person who made it didn’t sign it.

And speaking of students laughing, you may show them this classic ESPN commercial starring the late, great Steve Irwin.

 

 

 

Chapter 9: Ice Continent

 

Standards: Same as Chapters 1-3 and 5-8

If your students want to learn more about Antartica (which is understandable) the should look over the website of the Antartictic Search for Meteorites Program here.

Katherine Joy, pictured on page 51 and on the right, has her own wikipedia page here.

 

There are a lot of things about Antartica that your students will find interesting and amusing. For one thing, there is no way to create a map of Australia, centered on the South Pole, without every corner of the map being North.

Click on the map on the left to illustrate this point.

 

The other thing your students may be interesting in is this: According to the British Antarctic Survey, there are 40 MILLION penguins in Antarctica. Antartica has ZERO full-time human residents. So these photos on the right and left are Antartica’s version of crowds!

 

 

 

Chapter 10: Why People Live Where They Live

 

Standard 5.46: Describe how physical features influence and impact human settlement patterns. 

Click HERE to see an “alternative” quiz for your students about this chapter, which may help them prepare for standardized tests. (The answers are D, B, and B.)

Click on the image to the right to show your students a larger version of the satellite image of Las Vegas.

Reasons this is a great satellite image: 1) You can see that Las Vegas lies in a desert; 2) You can see that people in Las Vegas use the water from Lake Mead to water grass that would not be growing were it not for the water from Lake Mead.

 

Also, the photos on page 57 are too small.

 

 

 

Click on the images on the left and right to see larger versions of them.

 

 

 

We have also uploaded the story about air conditioning in the June 6, 1953, Saturday Evening Post.