Social Studies Long Range Planning

I have been teaching for 23 years. I have tried a lot of new things. Some worked. Some ended in disaster. I have finally gotten a system that I like and that works for me.  The standards that I teach begin with First Americans and spans all the way through the Civil War.

August-- I teach procedures, review continents; archeology
               ELA skills: pretest/ gather data

September-- Early Americans/Land Bridge Theory; 5 Native American Regions
                     My chapter book read aloud is  Sees Behind Trees.
                      Major Writing for the month: opinion paper- should Mammoths be Cloned?
                                 ELA skills: summarizing; central idea

October-- Explorers
                 My chapter book read aloud: Pedro's Journal and picture book:
                                                           Encounter
                  Major writing: compare/contrast Pedro's Journal and Encounter
                  ELA: inference; theme; ( comparing /contrasting point of view). 

November-- Colonization
                    My major chapter book: Sign of the Beaver
                    Major writing assignment: compare and contrast Jamestown and Plymouth
                    ELA skills: author's craft

December--- French and Indian War; begin events leading to the American Revolutions
                     Major Chapter book: George Washington's Socks
                      Major writing: Opinion/ Point of view writing-- patriot, French, Indian-- who owns the
                                               Ohio river valley!
                      ELA skills: compare/contrast primary secondary sources

January: --- Events leading to the American Revolution; American Revolution
                    Major Chapter book: finish George Washingtons Socks/ Numbering all the Bones
                    Major writing assignment: American Revolution Hero
                    ELA skills: text features; inferencing

February: Constitution
                 Major chapter Book: finish Numbering all the Bones
                 Major writing assignment: What does freedom mean to you?
                  ELA skills: Text structure

March: Westward Expansion
              Chapter book: Facing West
               Major Writing assignment: Oregon trail/point of view Journal entries project
               ELA skill: summarizing; comparing contrasting texts
             

April: events leading to the Civil War; Civil War
              Chapter book:  Will at the Battle of Gettysburg 1863 (this is a new one I am going to use this
                                        coming year)
              Major Writing: Biography
              ELA:  review skills

May: Review; ABC social studies book
 Major chapter book:  Summer of the Monkeys ( nothing to do with       Social studies. I just LOVE this book)
Major writing: My Over-the-top Plans for an Awesome Summer (I also review cursive writing  this month)
           ELA skills: group debates; DBQs and research

I have tons of picture books that I read throughout the year that also go along with the social studies, and in addition,  I incorporate all kinds of journal writing and paragraph writing.  Some units lend themselves better to the ELA standards than others-- and I plug the rest of them in where they "fit" the best in regard to the social studies.