Grade 5 History & Geography
A free Grade 5 course from the PGAMO Free K–12 School, built on Core Knowledge History and Geography. Units: World Lakes, Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations, The Age of Exploration, The Renaissance, The Reformation, England in the Golden Age, Early Russia, Feudal Japan, The Geography of the United States, Westward Expansion Before the Civil War, The Civil War, Westward Expansion After the Civil War, Native Americans: Cultures and Conflicts, Understanding Economics.
Every lesson has the chapter’s pages to read right on screen, the Big Question, words to know, talk-it-over questions with answers for the teacher, and activity pages to print. Each unit ends with a short quiz, and every unit has a printable study pack for learning offline.
This course is based on an original work of the Core Knowledge® Foundation (www.coreknowledge.org) made available through licensing under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This does not in any way imply that the Core Knowledge Foundation endorses this work. PGAMO added the lesson pages, study packs and quizzes layout, and shares them under the same license. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · Core Knowledge History and Geography. Free for everyone — this course may never be sold.
Features
- 116 lessons in 14 units
- The books’ pages right in each lesson
- Unit quizzes
- Printable offline study packs
Target audiences
- Grade 5 students
- Homeschool families and co-ops
Requirements
- Nothing to buy — every book is included free
- A parent or teacher to read and talk with younger students
Curriculum
- 15 Sections
- 117 Lessons
- 36 Weeks
- Start here1
- Unit 1: World Lakes5
- Unit 2: Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations8
- 3.1Chapter 1: The Maya: Rainforest Civilization30 Minutes
- 3.2Chapter 2: Maya Science and Daily Life30 Minutes
- 3.3Chapter 3: The Aztec: Empire Builders30 Minutes
- 3.4Chapter 4: Tenochtitlán: City of Wonder30 Minutes
- 3.5Chapter 5: The Inca: Lords of the Mountains30 Minutes
- 3.6Chapter 6: Inca Engineering30 Minutes
- 3.7Chapter 7: The End of Two Empires30 Minutes
- 3.8Unit 2 quiz: Maya, Aztec, and Inca Civilizations20 Minutes25 Questions
- Unit 3: The Age of Exploration11
- 4.1Chapter 1: The Spice Islands30 Minutes
- 4.2Chapter 2: Motives and Means30 Minutes
- 4.3Chapter 3: Portuguese Exploration30 Minutes
- 4.4Chapter 4: Christopher Columbus30 Minutes
- 4.5Chapter 5: A Spanish Empire and Its Critics30 Minutes
- 4.6Chapter 6: Magellan’s Voyage30 Minutes
- 4.7Chapter 7: England Explores and Colonizes30 Minutes
- 4.8Chapter 8: France and the Fur Trade30 Minutes
- 4.9Chapter 9: Dutch Trade30 Minutes
- 4.10Chapter 10: Slavery30 Minutes
- 4.11Unit 3 quiz: The Age of Exploration20 Minutes24 Questions
- Unit 4: The Renaissance10
- 5.1Chapter 1: A New Dawn30 Minutes
- 5.2Chapter 2: From Artisan to Artist30 Minutes
- 5.3Chapter 3: The Cradle of the Renaissance30 Minutes
- 5.4Chapter 4: Rome and the Renaissance Popes30 Minutes
- 5.5Chapter 5: Venice: Jewel of the Adriatic30 Minutes
- 5.6Chapter 6: Leonardo da Vinci30 Minutes
- 5.7Chapter 7: Michelangelo30 Minutes
- 5.8Chapter 8: Two “How-to” Men30 Minutes
- 5.9Chapter 9: The Renaissance in Northern Europe30 Minutes
- 5.10Unit 4 quiz: The Renaissance20 Minutes24 Questions
- Unit 5: The Reformation6
- Unit 6: England in the Golden Age7
- 7.1Chapter 1: Elizabeth I30 Minutes
- 7.2Chapter 2: Britannia Rules the Waves30 Minutes
- 7.3Chapter 3: The Civil War30 Minutes
- 7.4Chapter 4: The Puritan Ruler30 Minutes
- 7.5Chapter 5: Merry Monarch and Brother30 Minutes
- 7.6Chapter 6: The Glorious Revolution30 Minutes
- 7.7Unit 6 quiz: England in the Golden Age20 Minutes18 Questions
- Unit 7: Early Russia7
- Unit 8: Feudal Japan6
- Unit 9: The Geography of the United States11
- 10.1Chapter 1: The United States30 Minutes
- 10.2Chapter 2: New England30 Minutes
- 10.3Chapter 3: The Mid-Atlantic Region30 Minutes
- 10.4Chapter 4: The South30 Minutes
- 10.5Chapter 5: The Midwest30 Minutes
- 10.6Chapter 6: The Great Plains30 Minutes
- 10.7Chapter 7: The Rocky Mountain Region30 Minutes
- 10.8Chapter 8: The Southwest30 Minutes
- 10.9Chapter 9: The West Coast30 Minutes
- 10.10Chapter 10: Alaska and Hawaii30 Minutes
- 10.11Unit 9 quiz: The Geography of the United States20 Minutes23 Questions
- Unit 10: Westward Expansion Before the Civil War11
- 11.1Chapter 1: Daniel Boone30 Minutes
- 11.2Chapter 2: Exploring the Louisiana Territory30 Minutes
- 11.3Chapter 3: Native Americans Resist30 Minutes
- 11.4Chapter 4: Improvements in Transportation30 Minutes
- 11.5Chapter 5: Canals and Railroads30 Minutes
- 11.6Chapter 6: Land, Land, and More Land30 Minutes
- 11.7Chapter 7: Texas Joins the Union30 Minutes
- 11.8Chapter 8: Oregon30 Minutes
- 11.9Chapter 9: War with Mexico30 Minutes
- 11.10Chapter 10: Settling the Far West30 Minutes
- 11.11Unit 10 quiz: Westward Expansion Before the Civil War20 Minutes20 Questions
- Unit 11: The Civil War25
- 12.1Chapter 1: Slavery30 Minutes
- 12.2Chapter 2: The Life of the Slave30 Minutes
- 12.3Chapter 3: The Missouri Compromise30 Minutes
- 12.4Chapter 4: Growth of Antislavery Feeling30 Minutes
- 12.5Chapter 5: Growing Apart30 Minutes
- 12.6Chapter 6: A House Divided30 Minutes
- 12.7Chapter 7: Young Mr. Lincoln30 Minutes
- 12.8Chapter 8: The Crisis Deepens30 Minutes
- 12.9Chapter 9: The War Begins30 Minutes
- 12.10Chapter 10: Advantages and Disadvantages30 Minutes
- 12.11Chapter 11: Developing a Strategy30 Minutes
- 12.12Chapter 12: The War in the East30 Minutes
- 12.13Chapter 13: The Emancipation Proclamation30 Minutes
- 12.14Chapter 14: The Generals30 Minutes
- 12.15Chapter 15: Johnny Reb and Billy Yank30 Minutes
- 12.16Chapter 16: Women and the War Effort30 Minutes
- 12.17Chapter 17: The Tide Turns30 Minutes
- 12.18Chapter 18: Confederate Problems Mount30 Minutes
- 12.19Chapter 19: The War Draws to a Close30 Minutes
- 12.20Chapter 20: The Death of President Lincoln30 Minutes
- 12.21Chapter 21: The South in Ruins30 Minutes
- 12.22Chapter 22: The Struggle over Reconstruction30 Minutes
- 12.23Chapter 23: Congressional Reconstruction30 Minutes
- 12.24Chapter 24: The South Under Reconstruction30 Minutes
- 12.25Unit 11 quiz: The Civil War20 Minutes20 Questions
- Unit 12: Westward Expansion After the Civil War8
- 13.1Chapter 1: The Mining Frontier30 Minutes
- 13.2Chapter 2: Railroads Come to the West30 Minutes
- 13.3Chapter 3: The Cattle Frontier30 Minutes
- 13.4Chapter 4: Farmers Move West30 Minutes
- 13.5Chapter 5: Adjusting to Life on the Plains30 Minutes
- 13.6Chapter 6: Remembering the “Wild West”30 Minutes
- 13.7Chapter 7: The United States Gains Alaska30 Minutes
- 13.8Unit 12 quiz: Westward Expansion After the Civil War20 Minutes16 Questions
- Unit 13: Native Americans: Cultures and Conflicts9
- 14.1Chapter 1: Native Americans of the Great Basin30 Minutes
- 14.2Chapter 2: Native Americans of the Plateau30 Minutes
- 14.3Chapter 3: Native Americans of the Plains30 Minutes
- 14.4Chapter 4: Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest30 Minutes
- 14.5Chapter 5: Broken Promises30 Minutes
- 14.6Chapter 6: Tensions Mount30 Minutes
- 14.7Chapter 7: The Indian Wars30 Minutes
- 14.8Chapter 8: The Ghost Dance30 Minutes
- 14.9Unit 13 quiz: Native Americans: Cultures and Conflicts20 Minutes22 Questions
- Unit 14: Understanding Economics6
Instructor

Founder and Director of Pentecostal Gospel Assemblies
