5FifthGrade
Quarter 2: Age of Exploration & the Columbian Exchange

Weeks 14–15

The Columbian Exchange

Goods, foods, animals, and diseases that crossed the Atlantic — and reshaped the world.

5.NBT.B.75.NF.A.1RI.5.3W.5.15-LS2-15-PS3-1NYS 5.3NYS 5.4
Download PDFOpen printable viewWorksheets (20 pages)With answers (25 pages)Answer key (5 pages)

Daily Plan

Monday

A Collision of Two Worlds

Lesson cardWorksheets
Students map the specific geographic origins of the 'Old World' and 'New World' goods, including tomatoes, potatoes, and horses, on a dual-hemisphere map.
Math
Students calculate the total change in native population sizes across the Caribbean by adding and subtracting multi-digit decimals representing millions of people (5.NBT.B.7).
ELA
Students analyze Alfred Crosby’s 'The Columbian Exchange' to identify cause-and-effect relationships between the physical movement of goods and global population shifts (RI.5.3).
Science
Groups model how maize plants transform sunlight into food energy to initiate matter cycles within an ecosystem (5-PS3-1).
Materials & prepShow

Social Studies

Math

ELA

Science

Tuesday

Biological Cargo and Ecosystem Shifts

Lesson cardWorksheets
Students examine the introduction of the horse to the Great Plains and its transformative effect on the Lakota and Comanche cultures.
Math
Students use grid paper to model and subtract the fraction of land used for varied crops versus monoculture sugar plantations to solve problems with unlike denominators (5.NF.A.1).
ELA
Students draft an opinion paragraph arguing which biological exchange had the greatest impact on history using evidence from the week's research (W.5.1).
Science
Students simulate the role of decomposers in a colonial-era forest to show how matter cycles from fallen timber back into the soil (5-LS2-1).
Materials & prepShow

Social Studies

Math

ELA

Science

Wednesday

The Invisible Invaders: Pathogens Spread

Lesson cardWorksheets
Students analyze the demographic collapse of Indigenous populations following the arrival of European pathogens like smallpox and measles.
Math
Students calculate the decimal difference in height and weight between European cattle and traditional New World game animals (5.NBT.B.7).
ELA
Students read primary source accounts of the Great Dying and highlight key details regarding the spread of smallpox among the Aztec population (RI.5.3).
Science
Using a food web diagram, students trace how the introduction of European pigs disrupted existing energy paths and matter cycles in North American woodlands (5-LS2-1).
Materials & prepShow

Social Studies

Math

ELA

Science

Thursday

Tastes of Power and Pain

Lesson cardWorksheets
Students investigate the rise of the Atlantic sugar trade and its direct link to the forced migration and enslavement of African people.
Math
Students add fractions with unlike denominators to determine the total proportion of a household’s diet consisting of introduced versus indigenous foods (5.NF.A.1).
ELA
Students peer-edit their persuasive essays on the long-term ecological consequences of the Columbian Exchange for clarity and strong supporting evidence (W.5.1).
Science
Students create a poster demonstrating how energy from the sun moves through a food chain containing sugar cane and human consumers (5-PS3-1).
Materials & prepShow

Social Studies

Math

ELA

Science

Friday

Synthesis of a Global Network

Lesson cardWorksheets
Students engage in a structured debate on whether the Columbian Exchange should be characterized primarily as a period of progress or one of destruction.
Math
Students solve a multi-step word problem involving the total weight of silver and cacao exports using both decimal operations and fraction addition (5.NBT.B.7, 5.NF.A.1).
ELA
Students present a formal 'Gallery Walk' presentation summarizing the lasting connections between the hemispheres based on their researched commodities (RI.5.3).
Science
Teams construct a final ecosystem model showing the flow of energy and cycling of matter in a post-1492 integrated world (5-LS2-1).
Materials & prepShow

Social Studies

Math

ELA

Science

ELA Supplement This Week

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Standards-tagged tasks landing in this window — reading responses, vocabulary, writing, grammar, or assessments from the Grade 5 ELA Package.

Vocabulary quiz · Week 14 · 20 minutes

#2.1 — Words from Esperanza Rising + Roots

Spanish-language vocabulary from the novel plus roots mono- and poly-.

L.5.5

Reading response · Week 15 · 40 minutes

#2B — Esperanza Rising — Late Chapters

Theme and character arc across the full novel.

RL.5.1RL.5.2RL.5.3

Math Supplement This Week

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Standards-tagged worksheets, quizzes, and assessments landing in this window — drawn from the Grade 5 Math Package and aligned to the CCSS being taught right now.

Worksheet · Week 14 · 30 min

#2C — Fractions with Unlike Denominators

Add/subtract unlike-denominator fractions and mixed numbers; apply in context.

5.NF.A.1

Quiz · Week 15 · 20 min

#2.3 — Quiz: Fraction Operations

10 problems on add/subtract fractions and mixed numbers.

5.NF.A.1

Science Supplement This Week

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NGSS-aligned labs, worksheets, quizzes, and assessments landing in this window — every lab ends in a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning response students record in the science notebook.

Worksheet · Week 14 · 30 min

#2C — Tracing Energy from the Sun

Complete energy paths and explain that food energy was once energy from the sun.

5-PS3-1

Lab · Week 15 · 10 min weekly, 2–3 weeks

#2D — Decomposers in Action (Multi-week)

Compare food scraps in three conditions (sealed jar, open + damp, open + soil) to show decomposers' role.

5-LS2-1

Social Studies Supplement This Week

Packet (.docx)Open full library →

NYS-framework map work, primary sources, comparison charts, and quizzes landing in this window — with state adaptations for TX, FL, CA, and VA available in the hub.

Daily / In-classWorksheet · Week 15 · 40 min

#2D — Colonization and Resistance

Students compare Spanish, Portuguese, English, and French colonial systems and identify acts of indigenous resistance.

NYS 5.3
Weekly quizQuiz · Week 14 · 20 min

#Q2.2 — Quiz 2.2 — The Columbian Exchange

10-question quiz on the directions and consequences of the Columbian Exchange.

NYS 5.3NYS 5.8

Student Workbook Pages for This Week

Open student workbook →

Color-coded printable pages students grab during the week — surfaced right when they're used.