Ontario · Grade 5
Social Studies, Grade 5
Ontario’s Grade 5 social studies course, from Heritage and Identity: First Nations and Europeans in New France and Early Canada to People and Environment: Government and Responsible Citizenship.
- Units
- 2
- Lessons
- 4
- Skills
- 23
- Provincial exam
- None
- Official curriculum
- Ontario Ministry of Education
Unit by unit
Every skill in the course, with its official code.
Unit 1 · 11 skills
Heritage and Identity: First Nations and Europeans in New France and Early Canada
Contact and Its Consequences
Positive and negative consequences of contact
I can describe positive and negative consequences of contact and explain why they mattered.
Official code: A1.1
How different parties benefited from each other
I can analyse ways First Nations, Métis, and Europeans benefited from one another.
Official code: A1.2
How early interactions connect to today
I can explain how early interactions connect to issues in Canada today.
Official code: A1.3
Peoples, Exploration, and New France
Major Indigenous nations at contact
I can identify major Indigenous nations and describe what made them distinct.
Official code: A3.1
Interactions before Europeans arrived
I can describe how First Nations and Inuit interacted before Europeans arrived.
Official code: A3.2
Why Europeans explored and settled
I can describe why Europeans explored and settled these lands.
Official code: A3.3
The institutions of New France
I can identify New France's institutions and explain why they mattered to settlers.
Official code: A3.4
Interactions between Indigenous peoples and Europeans
I can describe significant aspects of interactions between Indigenous peoples and Europeans.
Official code: A3.5
The birth of the Métis people
I can describe the factors that led to the ethnogenesis of the Métis people.
Official code: A3.6
Differences among peoples and why
I can describe differences among peoples and explain some reasons for them.
Official code: A3.7
Effects of European conflicts
I can describe how European conflicts affected Indigenous peoples and the land.
Official code: A3.8
The official wording · 11 outcomes
- A1.1
- describe some of the positive and negative consequences of contact between Indigenous peoples and European explorers and settlers in what would eventually become Canada
- A1.2
- analyse aspects of contact between Indigenous peoples and European explorers and settlers in what would eventually become Canada to determine ways in which different parties benefited from each other
- A1.3
- explain some of the ways in which interactions among Indigenous peoples, among European explorers and settlers, and between Indigenous and European people in what would eventually become Canada are connected to issues in present-day Canada
- A3.1
- identify major Indigenous nations that came into contact with European settlers and/or explorers prior to 1713 in what would become Canada and describe key characteristics of selected nations
- A3.2
- describe some significant interactions among First Nations and between First Nations and Inuit before contact with Europeans
- A3.3
- describe the main motives for Europeans’ exploration of Indigenous lands that were eventually claimed by Canada and for the establishment of permanent European settlements
- A3.4
- identify significant offices and institutions in New France(e.g., the seigneurial system; the Roman Catholic Church; the king, governor, bishop, and intendant; nuns, priests, missionaries), and describe their importance to settlers in New France
- A3.5
- describe significant aspects of the interactions between Indigenous peoples and European explorers and settlers in what would eventually become Canada
- A3.6
- describe key factors that led to the ethnogenesis of the Métis people in what would eventually become Canada, with specific attention to the Great Lakes and Mattawa regions
- A3.7
- describe some significant differences among Indigenous peoples and between selected Indigenous and European communities in what would eventually become Canada and identify some of the reasons for these differences
- A3.8
- describe some significant effects of European conflicts on Indigenous peoples and on what would eventually become Canada
Key ideas
Contact between Indigenous peoples and Europeans brought some new materials, trade, and alliances, but also disease, loss of territory, and conflict.
Many nations lived across regions: Great Lakes–St. Lawrence, northern Ontario, Atlantic Canada, and the Arctic.
Intermarriage between First Nations women and European men led to the ethnogenesis of the Métis.
Each nation had its own language, spiritual beliefs, governance, food and clothing, and roles for men, women, and children.
Each consequence had a significance — a lasting effect on the people involved.
Watch out for
- Thinking contact only helped or only harmed one side.
- Thinking all First Nations were the same.
- Listing consequences without saying why they were significant.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Unit 2 · 12 skills
People and Environment: Government and Responsible Citizenship
Governments Responding and Planning Action
How well governments address issues
I can assess how effective a government's action on an issue was.
Official code: B1.1
A plan of action for a social issue
I can create a plan of action for a social issue and say who should act.
Official code: B1.2
A plan of action for an environmental issue
I can create a plan of action for an environmental issue and say who should act.
Official code: B1.3
Government and Citizenship in Canada
Rights and responsibilities of citizenship
I can describe the major rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship.
Official code: B3.1
What each level of government does
I can describe what each level of government is responsible for and what it provides.
Official code: B3.2
First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments
I can describe Indigenous governance structures that exist in Canada today.
Official code: B3.3
Shared responsibility across governments
I can describe how governments share responsibility for services and issues.
Official code: B3.4
How governments hear from the public
I can describe how governments gather public input and why it matters.
Official code: B3.5
The duty to consult and accommodate
I can explain the duty to consult and describe when it applies.
Official code: B3.6
Government action to solve issues
I can describe actions governments have taken to solve significant issues.
Official code: B3.7
Why groups see issues differently
I can explain why different groups hold different perspectives on an issue.
Official code: B3.8
How citizens take action
I can describe different ways citizens take action on issues.
Official code: B3.9
The official wording · 12 outcomes
- B1.1
- assess the effectiveness of actions taken by one or more levels of government, including Indigenous governments, to address an issue of national, provincial/territorial, and/or local significance
- B1.2
- create a plan of action to address a social issue of local, provincial/territorial, and/or national significance
- B1.3
- create a plan of action to address an environmental issue of local, provincial/territorial, and/or national significance
- B3.1
- describe the major rights and responsibilities associated with citizenship in Canada
- B3.2
- describe the jurisdiction of different levels of government in Canada, as well as of some other elected bodies and some of the services provided by each
- B3.3
- describe some First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governance structures that currently exist in Canada
- B3.4
- describe the shared responsibility of various levels of government for providing some services and for dealing with selected social and environmental issues
- B3.5
- describe different processes that governments can use to solicit input from the public and explain why it is important for all levels of government to provide opportunities for public consultation
- B3.6
- demonstrate a basic understanding of what is meant by the federal and provincial governments’ having a duty to consult and accommodate First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, and describe some circumstances in which this constitutional right for Indigenous peoples might apply
- B3.7
- describe key actions taken by governments, including Indigenous governments, to solve some significant national, provincial/territorial, and/or local issues
- B3.8
- explain why different groups may have different perspectives on specific social and environmental issues
- B3.9
- describe some different ways in which citizens can take action to address social and environmental issues
Key ideas
Governments — federal, provincial, municipal, and Indigenous — take actions to address issues.
Rights include equal protection under the law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to vote.
Assessing effectiveness means weighing whether the action actually helped.
Responsibilities include respecting others' rights, taking part in elections and decision-making, and improving one's community.
Examples include policies on drinking water in First Nations communities, child poverty, or Great Lakes management.
Watch out for
- Assuming every government action is fully effective.
- Thinking citizenship is only about rights and not responsibilities.
- Describing an action without judging its effectiveness.
Every skill’s key ideas, worked examples and checks are in MapleMind.Practise this unit
Plan the term
Pick your term and the days you study. Each unit gets its share of the weeks and comes back a week later for a review. The last two weeks go over the whole course.
The official curriculum
This page follows Ontario’s own curriculum for Social Studies, Grade 5.
Textbooks
The textbooks Ontario Ministry of Education lists for Social Studies, Grade 5:
- D2L Ontario Social Studies 5
From the Trillium List, read October 27, 2026. ontario.ca
Study it in MapleMind
MapleMind teaches Social Studies, Grade 5 one skill at a time. Each skill gets a short lesson, practice as you go and a check worth up to three stars. It remembers where you stopped.
Course Companion
Your year in one workbook
A fun way to keep Social Studies, Grade 5 organized, get to know your child better and see early when they need a hand. Fill it in on a screen, or print it.
- Pages
- 22
- Fillable fields
- 1,202
- Price
- $4.99
Questions about Social Studies, Grade 5
What is Social Studies, Grade 5?
Ontario’s Grade 5 social studies course: 2 units and 23 skills, from Heritage and Identity: First Nations and Europeans in New France and Early Canada to People and Environment: Government and Responsible Citizenship.
What units are in Social Studies, Grade 5?
1. Heritage and Identity: First Nations and Europeans in New France and Early Canada and 2. People and Environment: Government and Responsible Citizenship.
Is there a provincial exam for Social Studies, Grade 5?
No. Ontario gives no provincial exam for Social Studies, Grade 5.
What textbook does Social Studies, Grade 5 use?
The textbooks Ontario Ministry of Education lists for Social Studies, Grade 5: D2L Ontario Social Studies 5, D2L Corporation.
What comes after Social Studies, Grade 5?
Social Studies, Grade 6.
Can MapleMind help with Social Studies, Grade 5?
Yes. MapleMind teaches every skill of Social Studies, Grade 5, step by step, with practice and checks, and its tutor answers questions about any of them. It’s free with daily limits, on iPhone, Android and the web.
Get ready for Social Studies, Grade 5
Practise every skill of Social Studies, Grade 5 in MapleMind, free with daily limits.
