Make the new Grade 5 year teachable
Alberta's Grade 5 Social Studies curriculum moves through ancient civilizations, environments, economies, governments, legacies and informed citizenship. Start with one question that connects them, then choose the classroom resource that fits your next lesson.
Alberta says the final K–6 social studies curriculum was released in May 2025 and Grades 4–6 are to be implemented in the 2026/27 school year. Read Alberta's official curriculum overview (opens in a new tab)
Start with the free sample: Free Ancient Civilization lesson (opens in a new tab)
One question to connect the year
How did where people lived shape what they traded, how they governed, and what endured?
This is a suggested classroom inquiry from Milestone Teachers, not a prescribed Alberta sequence. Use the official curriculum and your school or division plan to decide what to teach.
01 · Locate the place
What did the environment make possible or difficult for people living there?
Begin with a map or other dated source. Ask who made it and what it leaves out.
02 · Follow an exchange
What moved between people, and who gained from the trade or tax?
Compare two sources before making a claim about an economy or an empire.
03 · Test a legacy
Which ideas or institutions endured, and whose account of that legacy is missing?
Separate what the sources show from a present-day judgment. Invite a reasoned civic question.
Milestone's suggested exit: write one claim, evidence from a named source, and one question you still need to investigate.
Look inside the teaching
Three real pages from the published free sampler and public Time and Place preview. Open an image to read the full page.
Open full-size page (opens in a new tab)
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Open full-size page (opens in a new tab)Choose your starting point
Start free
Try a complete lesson before choosing a unit. Free Ancient Civilization lesson (opens in a new tab)
Plan the sequence
Grade 5 Long Range Plan — A worked September–June sequence with coverage trackers and room for school changes. Printable planning PDF; lessons are sold separately. View the Grade 5 long-range plan on TpT (opens in a new tab)
Choose one teaching unit
- Ancient Civilizations — Choose this unit when you are opening the historical inquiry. View Ancient Civilizations on TpT (opens in a new tab)
- Ancient Economies & Empires — Choose this unit when exchange, power and empire are your next focus. View Ancient Economies & Empires on TpT (opens in a new tab)
- Informed Citizenship — Choose this unit when informed citizenship is your current planning focus. View Informed Citizenship on TpT (opens in a new tab)
Teach the full year
See the three-unit collection and current price on TpT. View Full Year Bundle · 3 units on TpT (opens in a new tab)
These resources are published on TpT. Check each listing for its current price, currency, contents and download requirements before purchasing.
Independent planning guide by Milestone Teachers. The Alberta curriculum is the authority; this page does not replace it or promise that a resource covers every outcome.
Milestone Teachers editorial guide · Last reviewed