Regions of the United States

Peoples and Cultures

In this cluster, students investigate how diverse peoples have shaped the cultures of different regions of the United States. Students learn about the settlement patterns of different cultural groups across regions, including Indigenous nations who were here first, enslaved Africans who were brought against their will, European immigrants, and later waves of immigrants from around the world. Through investigations of regional cuisine, art, and music, students discover how diverse peoples have left lasting cultural contributions in each region of the United States. Students work in regional expert groups throughout the cluster, building deep knowledge of the cultures of their assigned region. In the Formative Assessment, students create a Cultural Diversity Map that illustrates the cultural contributions of people in their region.

Land and Adaptation

In this cluster, students investigate how people have adapted to and shaped the land in different regions of the United States. Students learn that each region's climate, topography, and natural resources make different ways of life possible and that people respond to the land by building homes, farming, and developing industries such as mining, drilling, and logging. They also explore how these activities can shape and sometimes harm the land and how people use sustainable practices to care for it. Students continue working in regional expert groups, building deep knowledge of how people in their assigned region have adapted to its particular conditions, including the knowledge of the Indigenous nations who have lived there longest. In the Formative Assessment, students write an explanation of how a feature of their region's land led people to adapt to it in two different ways.

Challenges and Responses

In this cluster, students investigate how communities respond to the regional challenges they face because of where they live. Students learn that a region’s land and climate shape which natural disasters it is most vulnerable to: wildfires in the hot, dry West; hurricanes and storm surge along the warm Southeast coast; and nor'easters and coastal flooding in the Northeast. Through investigations of specific challenges, students examine the strategies that governments, communities, and Indigenous nations use to respond. In the Formative Assessment, students choose one regional challenge and write an evidence-based grant proposal recommending a strategy and naming who should receive funding to carry it out.