Many new challenges face Fifth Grade Students with the changes in the Common Core Standards. Students must develop a deeper understanding of the history of the United States through literature. The books that the students are required to read engage students in a journey through time from various perspectives. From the American Revolution through the Depression, the Civil Rights Movement and beyond students are expected to gain an appreciation for the struggles individuals, as well as our nation, have faced and overcome bringing us to our present and leading us to our future.